London Community Recycling Network: News Round-up — April 24 '08
Filed under: Information, Communication & Research
Good afternoon,
This week in London News – your chance to assess the main Mayoral candidate’s respective environmental policies, there is an opportunity to join the Communications team and a reminder about compost awareness week coming up.
Nationally the government reveals plans for a WEEE consumer campaign, the carpet industry forms a recycling alliance and McDonalds turns waste into energy.
There’s more news available from across London and the UK on the Environment and the Third Sector, as well as Member Opportunities, Events, Jobs and Volunteer Opportunities. So scroll down and enjoy!
Oh, And Finally this week, a story about the perils of the democratic process.
Warm regards
The London CRN Team
* IT: Innovation Technology; Thursday 8th May, 6pm
London CRN will be launching a brand new website and other online facilities this May and to make the most of this, the May event will explain exactly what to expect of the new site, how to use it and will showcase the best of other online innovation. This event is essential for anyone wanting to know more about how to use the internet to their best advantage. Mission Fish and The Nag will be speaking as well as LCRN’s own web designer. There will of course be food, drink and a chance to network in the real world, as well as the virtual. RSVP to alex@lcrn.org.uk
* London
CRN seeks a
Communications Assistant
* Compost Awareness Week: are you ready?
Are you holding an event for Compost Awareness Week? If so, let us know and we will mention it in our e-news over the next two weeks. Whether you’re a community group or a local authority – or if you’re working together – send details of the time, date and location of your event to edouard@lcrn.org.uk and we’ll include it.
For those not in the know, this year’s Compost Awareness Week is taking place between Sunday 4th and Saturday 10th May. The campaign, now in its eighth year, aims to raise awareness of the benefits of compost and composting across the country. For more information check out our e-news next week. …for more on Compost Awareness Week
* CRN UK annual conference, People & resources: Third sector, first choice; Wednesday 4th-Thursday 5th June; Jury’s Hotel, Great Russell Street
Wednesday 4th June will showcase the sector’s achievements and future potential with a full day of speakers and workshops followed by a gala evening of entertainment and awards. You will then have an opportunity to take part in organised project visits in and around London on Thursday 5 June. The full programme will be available and advertised in our enews next week. Exhibition spaces are limited this year: please call the CRN UK events team on 0117 942 0142 to book your place now.
Five bursaries of up to £100 will also be available to London CRN Members. If you have previously been unable to attend the conference due to financial restrictions then do check the bursary form you receive next week to see if you are eligible for consideration.
* TRAID at Alternative Fashion Week Award winning recycled fashion label TRAIDremade will showcase its ethical clothing line at Alternative Fashion Week in Spitalfields on Friday 25 April. TRAIDremade will show off its revamped pieces alongside a cornucopia of designers providing a fashionable alternative to the monotony of the high street. TRAIDremade will be on the catwalk on Friday 25 April at 1:15pm at Spitalfields Market, Crispin Place, Brushfield Street, London E1. For press enquiries or photos contact Leigh McAlea at TRAID by email or call 020 8733 2585. TRAIDremade was dreamt up by leading fashion recycling charity TRAID (Textile Recycling for Aid and International Development) as a way to reduce the 1.3 million tonnes of clothes and shoes going to landfill every year – enough to fill Wembley Stadium three times over. For more on this story from TRAID… * Waste Watch Campaign reduces recycling contamination levels to 1% A targeted awareness raising campaign in 2 trial areas of East London has reduced recycling contamination rates to an unprecedented 1%. Waste Watch, Commissioned by Shanks East London, selected 2 sites in the London Boroughs of Barking and Dagenham and Havering with particularly high kerbside collection contamination rates for their scheme which included leafleting, bin stickers and press releases in the local news media. Training was also given to collection crews. Nicholas Hannon, the campaign's Project Manager said, "In general residents were receptive to the communications materials and the increasingly stronger messages distributed to repeat offenders also proved effective in reducing contamination throughout the campaign." The results were startling with a 13.7% reduction in Barking and Dagenham and an 11% drop in Havering. To view the entire article click here
* Free recycled leftovers from the Chelsea Flower Show
Community gardens, city farms, school gardens and allotments associations could get their hands on free plants and materials from the Chelsea Flower Show this year, thanks to a scheme set up by Good Gifts, the ethical gifts catalogue. The company has recently negotiated with RHS to run a recycling depot for gardens at the Chelsea Flower Show, which runs from Monday 26th May to Monday 2nd June and expects items like plants, turf, bricks, stone, paving, breeze blocks, plant pots and timber to be available.
This year, because exhibitors are being encouraged to recycle, there may be a great deal, but to get a chance of grabbing some free goodies, FCFCG members need to register and groups will be selected on a first come, first served basis. Once registered groups will then be given a specific time between Monday 26th May and Monday 2nd June when they can come and collect. Groups will need to provide their own transport and enough manpower to load up their own vehicles.
To get involved you will have to complete an application form. On this form you can list items you are particularly interested in having. If you would like any further information regarding the scheme or an application form please contact Alex on people@charitiesadvisorytrust.co.uk or on 0207 7949835
* London Mayoral Environmental Policies at a glance
With the London Mayoral elections just one week away we thought we would include some links to the principle candidates environmental policy pledges, just in case you still hadn’t made up your mind.
Siân Berry (Green Party). Boris Johnson (Conservative) Ken Livingstone (Labour) Brian Paddick (Liberal Democrat)
* Greenpeace reveals the heroes and villains of the recycling bin
Greenpeace activists have interviewed representatives from London’s 2 best and 2 worst performing boroughs when it comes to recycling to find out the secrets of their success and reasons for their apparent failures. London, as a whole, has the worst recycling rate for any region in the country at an average of just 23% and it is estimated that the cost of landfilling has risen to the equivalent £70 per household in the Greater London Area per year.
To find out more on London’s best and worst performing Local Authorities please click here…
* Symposium: papers available - Strategies & Technologies for Sustainable Urban Waste Management
The RRF event, held at the Mayfair Conference Centre on the 21st April, was a chance to disseminate the work of the Sustainable Urban Environment (SEA) waste consortium. Funded by EPSRC, a £1.5 million suite of extensive research projects was undertaken by a group of UK universities. All the presentations are now available to download for free at the SUE Waste Consortium's website at the following addresses; http://www.resourcesnotwaste.org/ * Government reveals plans for WEEE consumer campaignThe government has announced that it will make a big push this summer to increase consumer awareness of waste electronics and electrical equipment recycling to help boost the WEEE recycling rate. Speaking at the Recycling and Waste Forum 2008 in Birmingham, Tony Pedrotti, the director of sustainable development at the Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR), revealed that the government was aiming to increase the collection rate to 10 kilograms per head by the end of the year.To read the full article please click here… * Carpet industry forms recycling allianceCarpet manufacturers, retailers and recyclers from across the UK have teamed up for the first time to boost carpet recycling rates. The stakeholders have formed an alliance called Carpet Recycling UK, which has 15 founding members, including the UK's first carpet recycler, Swindon-based Greenback Recycling.Kate Atkinson, who set up the initiative alongside carpet industry experts Laurance Bird and Bill Tippett, told letsrecycle.com that carpet recycling was a "growing concern", and the organisation showed there was "a real recognition that something should be done". In particular she highlighted the impact that Site Waste Management Plans, introduced earlier this month, might have on demand for recycling services, with landfill charges also boosting interest in the sector.
To read the full article please click here
* Sustainable Management of Biowastes
The Environment Agency
has set out position papers on a range of topics relating to biowaste
management. These position statements state the Agency's views on some of the
most pressing issues concerning biowastes. Facing up to the challenges of
dealing with biowastes over the next decade will need the right balance of
controls and incentives to encourage the reuse of waste while protecting the
environment and human health, according to the Environment Agency.
To read the position papers please click here
Other headlines…
…Wrap Figures Highlight the scale of the waste food problem According to figures published by the Love Food Hate Waste campaign, fruit and vegetables account for almost half of the 6.7 million tonnes of food being binned each year, most of which could have been eaten. (click here for more)
… Price rise predicted for compost Demand for compost could increase following an unprecedented rise in the cost of chemical based fertilisers, a WRAP study has claimed. (click here for more)
…CPRE call for bottle deposit scheme Consumers could be paid for recycling their plastic bottles under a scheme proposed by the Campaign to Protect Rural England. (click here for more)
…Council under fire over bin fine Local authority which pursued a prosecution against a man who over-filled his wheelie bin has found itself lampooned in the national press. (click here for more)
…McDonald's turn waste into energy Eleven McDonald's locations in the Sheffield area have completed a test programme turning waste into energy, and found it has helped reduce their greenhouse gas emissions (click here for more)
* Become an undercover agent to defend the environment in a comic strip
Children can now learn about ways to protect the environment, while chasing eco-villains on the European Environment Agency's new 'Eco Agents' website, available in 24 languages.Eco Agents website invites 9- to 14-year-olds to become undercover 'eco agents' in comic strip stories. In each story, five heroes from the Netherlands, Finland, Poland, Turkey and Greece are assigned to a special mission, such as infiltrating a 'wind farm' in the Netherlands, which is a cover-up for a natural gas extraction facility. After creating a personal profile, each new recruit actually appears in the comic strips alongside the permanent characters. Each mission includes games where children earn points towards a general score. Two storylines on climate change and water quality are already online. They will be followed by stories on sustainable lifestyle, biodiversity and air quality. * CSR is 'not one-size-fits-all
“Corporate social responsibility is not a one-size-fits-all policy - and firms have to assess how vulnerable they are to customer criticism before deciding which measures to adopt”. That was the recommendation of Professor Craig Smith, chair of ethics and social responsibility at international business school INSEAD, speaking at the opening of a one-day conference on CSR, hosted by the University of East London. “Larger companies that sell to the general public tend to be more vulnerable if they are not being socially responsible and those that do rely on the custom of the general public to make a profit have to think hard about their impact on society and the environment”, he said, pointing to protests by green campaigners against companies such as oil giant Exxon Mobil.
For more on this story click here
* EU’s environment advisors call for end to biofuel growth plans
Pressure is mounting on the European Union to abandon its love affair with biofuels, with its own scientific advisors calling for the target of boosting them to 10 per cent of transport fuel use to be abandoned and urging a new investigation of the environmental risks and benefits.
For more on this story please click here
* New firm to prepare ground for Social Investment BankThe pioneers of a Social Investment Bank to improve access to finance in the third sector have set up a company to research the market and identify new financial products for charities and social enterprises. Social Finance, a limited company, will prepare the ground for the bank in anticipation of the Government deciding to go ahead with the scheme. To read the complete article please click here * Sustainability champion' fund launchedA fund to help Welsh charities visit other organisations and learn about sustainability has been launched. The Be Informed fund, financed by the Big Lottery Fund in Wales and managed by the Wales Council for Voluntary Action, will contribute up to £200 to the cost of visiting ‘champion’ organisations from across the UK that have set up successful trading activities or delivered public services effectively. To view the rest of this article please click here MEMBER OPPORTUNITIES
* Compost Awareness Week: are you ready?
Are you holding an event for Compost Awareness Week? If so, let us know and we will mention it in our e-news over the next two weeks. Whether you’re a community group or a local authority – or if you’re working together – send details of the time, date and location of your event to edouard@lcrn.org.uk and we’ll include it.
For those not in the know, this year’s edition of Compost Awareness Week is taking place between Sunday 4th and Saturday 10th May. The campaign, now in its eighth year, aims to raise awareness of the benefits of compost and composting across the country. For more information check out our e-news next week. …for more on Compost Awareness Week
* IT: Innovation Technology; Thursday 8th May, 6pm
London CRN will be launching a brand new website and other online facilities this May and to make the most of this, the May event will explain exactly what to expect of the new site, how to use and showcase the best of other online innovation. This event is essential for anyone wanting to know more about how to use the internet to their bet advantage. Mission Fish and The Nag will be speaking as well as LCRN’s own web designer. There will of course be food, drink and a chance to network in the real world, as well as the virtual. RSVP to alex@lcrn.org.uk
* CRN UK annual conference, People & resources: Third sector, first choice; Wednesday 4th-Thursday 5th June; Jury’s Hotel, Great Russell Street
Wednesday 4th June will showcase the sector’s achievements and potential with a full day of speakers and workshops followed by a gala evening of entertainment and awards. You will then have an opportunity to take part in organised project visits in and around London on Thursday 5 June. The full programme will be available and advertised in our enews next week. Exhibition spaces are limited this year: please call the CRN UK events team on 0117 942 0142 to book your place now.
Five bursaries of up to £100 will also be available to London CRN Members. If you have previously been unable to attend the conference due to financial restrictions then do check the bursary form you receive next week to see if you are eligible for consideration.
If you are holding any events that you’d like advertised in the e-news then email news@lcrn.org.uk and we’ll put it in the e-news.
* Recoup Conference – Tuesday 29th April; Central Hall, Westminster
Following on from the
success of their events in 2007, Recoup will hold a further one day program on
29th April 2008 designed to guide you through current issues and hot topics in
the areas of plastics recycling, recovery and related environmental issues –
helping your organisation to maximise the plastics recycling opportunity &
shape a socially responsible plastics packaging recycling programme. …for more on this event and how to book
* Pupastudio to celebrate 2nd birthday – Thursday 1st May, 6-9pm; Oxford House Gallery, E2 6HG
Following the success of a secret garden in April 2006, Pupastudio returns to Oxford House Gallery, introducing a new range of free standing screens for creating stimulating flexible interiors. The exhibition will run for the month of May and the screens will then travel to different locations around London for the duration of London Sustainability Weeks in June.
Hope you will be able to come along, enjoy the space, give your opinion and help celebrate the coming years!
* SonicRecycler4 – Saturday 10th May, Watermans, Brentford
A unique evening of provocative, entertaining and experimental music, presented by Sprawl, Brentford Recycling Action Group and Watermans. SonicRecycler4, the fourth in an annual series, is an event showcasing the many different strands of eclectic ideas in music, based on the idea of recycling. With performers, DJ's, films, stalls and interactive presentations, it's a packed evening of radical sounds in a lovely Thameside venue. Runs from 4 pm to 11.30 pm with live performances 7pm to 10.30 pm. - Think: Reduce, Re-use, Recycle
Admission: Tickets £10 (Conc £8) from Box Office or online at http://www.wegottickets.com/event/28432 (Foyer/bar area free admission)
For more information on the event and the performers please visit http://www.myspace.com/sonicrecycler or http://www.bragonline.org.uk
* ADVANCES IN BIOLOGICAL PROCESSES FOR ORGANICS AND ENERGY RECYCLING - 15th May 2008, The Birmingham & Midland Institute, Birmingham
This event brings together a wide range of experts who are active in the development and application of biological processes for waste organics and generation of renewable energy. The event looks at the process options across the whole process flowsheet from sorting and pretreatment through to the treatment of solids and nutrient rich liquors.
To register please fax back the attached booking form or book online at http://www.aqua-enviro.net/calendar_detail.asp?id=110
* Carbon smart events: Go beyond recycling – Thursday 24th May; Early Education, Whitechapel
Many companies introduce a recycling scheme and then stop there or wonder what to do next. Do you want to take the next steps in reducing the environmental impacts of your office environment? Our Carbon Coaching sessions are designed to expand the knowledge of green champions, office managers, and anyone green and keen, so that they understand the issues and how to engage colleagues and management in taking further action. …for more on this event and how to book
*
Segmenting
for Sustainability - June 24,
2008,
London
COMPOST AWARENESS WEEK (Sunday May 4th to Saturday May 10th):
With compost awareness we |
