Dilema

I have this burning question which I can't seem to find an answer to.

Am I better buying a product in a can or a glass jar?

Now we know that both can be recycled fairly easily, but which is the better in terms of energy used for initial manufacture and then the energy used to recycle .

I have not been able to answer this and would like to know .

National Zero Waste Week

Over at MZW Mrs Green has declared next week National Zero Waste Week.

So pop over and have a look at some interesting articles to inspire you to join in and have your own Zero Waste Week.

Myself I am going to not buy any biscuits/choc bars/sweets unless the packaging is totally recyclable.

So I will have to get my baking head on, and also look very carefully at my purchases.

Crisps are also gradually being replaced by pop corn done on the stove with either a little salt or a little sugar sprinkled over as soon as it comes out of the pan.
It does mean there is one plastic bag per week that the corn came in but that is preferable to 20 odd crisp packets plus outer bags.

Recycling CDs and DVDs

I am shamefully copy and pasting this from MZW, but it is easier as Mrs Green explains it so nicely.

When we did our zero waste week last year, Recycling cds sponsored one of our prizes with their best selling cd clock.
Now they are asking you for your help!
Recycling cds have teamed up with Bruce Munro; a lighting design, chandeliers and illuminated sculptures company.
Bruce Munro are are currently working on an exciting art project involving a quantity of unwanted CDs and DVDs. They need 1 million unwanted cds and dvds by September and to date have 42,649.
This is your opportunity to sift through your cupboards and drawers and find all those unwanted discs ready to be recycled into a work of art.
In order to take part, you need to fill in a short online form on the Recycling Cd’s home page telling them the amount of discs you have to recycle, your name and email address. You will then be sent details on how to send your cds and dvds to them.
Get together with friends, family, school, college, community or other groups to gather all the unwanted CDs and DVDs you can find. If you run a website, blog, twitter or facebook, then help spread the word.
Not only will you be helping to reduce landfill but you’ll be contributing to a very special art work.
Go on; you know you have some unwanted discs lying around and it feels great to declutter!

School Trip

I'm not actually sure if this should be on here or my sister blog.

Anyway yesterday I went with the yr 4 students to our local Wildlife/Coastguard/RAF bombing range at Donna Nook.

The children were taught about beach safety by the coastguards, taken into the watch tower by the RAF and received a talk on the Coastal Environment by the Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust.

The third of the 3 concentrated on how litter and rubbish can affect the birds and sealife around the Lincolnshire Coast, including the Grey Seals who annually come to the beach at Donna Nook to give birth to their pups.

The speaker explained to the children how a waste balloon or carrier bag can look like a jellyfish from underneath and showed pictures of the effects from the animals eating such items.

He also showed items of litter he had picked up off the beach which had either sell by dates or competition dates on showing how old the plastic was, and explaining how even though there is information on the internet quoting that sweet and chocolate wrappers will disintegrate in 3-5 yrs he had some which were 15-20 years old. He then showed the children a washing up liquid bottle that he had picked up that morning which was priced marked in "old money (d)" so showing that this bottle was still around after at least 40 yrs.

Another aspect he touched on was how dogs running free on the beach had a detrimental effect on the sand and grassland nesting birds, frightening them away to the point that one area a little up the coast from there does not now have any birds nesting from those types.

Hopefully some of the information will have been taken in and will be remembered.

War on Waste - Hilary Benn changes packaging rules

Articles in the national press today are showing that we are getting a step in the right direction regarding excess waste and packaging.

It will be amazing for the UK as a whole if this actually comes to fruision, as we have far too much waste packaging.

Launching the new strategy at the Chartered Institution of Wastes Management Futuresource conference today, Mr Benn said:

“We need to rethink the way we deal with packaging, from production line to recycling bin. The plans we’ve announced today set out how we will achieve that – with the goal of making it as easy as possible for consumers to avoid needless packaging in the first place and to get rid of what they do receive in a way that doesn’t just create more landfill. I also want consumers to play their part by reporting excess packaging wherever they see it – because we’re all in this together.

“In a few years time I want people to be able to shop without having to worry about what they’re going to do with the packaging when they get home, and where it will go after they’ve disposed of it.”


DEFRA have also made some comments on this.

(I have borrowed this from MZW as Mrs Green beat me to this)

Here’s the latest from DEFRA:
“Consumers will see a major overhaul of all packaging over the next decade, under plans announced by Environment Secretary Hilary Benn today.

The Government’s new packaging strategy, Making the most of packaging, looks at the packaging of the future and what our shop shelves and kitchen cupboards should look like if we cut the amount of packaging produced, used and thrown away, and increase the amount recycled.

Under the plans published today, the whole chain from production to disposal of packaging will be tackled:

Enforcement action will be made easier against manufacturers of excess and unnecessary packaging, and consumers will be encouraged to continue to report excessive packaging to Trading Standards;

The Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP) will work with manufacturers and retailers to reduce packaging for everyday products in line with the best on the market;

The recyclability of packaging will be improved and clear guidance will be provided for manufacturers on designing it with recyclability in mind;

The use of refillable and reusable packaging could be expanded, so in the future customers could have the option of buying anything from laundry detergent to coffee by simply taking empty containers back to shops to be refilled;

The Government will work with local authorities and packaging producers to improve household recycling services, so that in future more types of packaging are collected for recycling;

Recycling rates for plastic, glass, and aluminium will be targeted for improvement. This will mean more ‘recycling on the go’ points introduced in public places for drinks cans, and more glass collected for recycling from pubs, clubs and restaurants; and

Banning of some materials, such as aluminium and glass, from landfill altogether is also being considered.

Add to this that Mr Benn has also indicated that Best Before and Use By dates will also be removed/changed and one catch all date will be used instead which gives consumers a clearer idea of when something will be past is useful date and may infact be harmful if eaten..

Palm Oil Follow Up

I was pleased to see in Sainsburys the other day that their own label frozen fish products not only have the Marine Stewardship Council label but now a flash on the packaging stating that the Palm Oil used is from a sustainable source.

Hopefully other manufacturers will folow suit.

Ban the Plastic Bag

Please read the article by The Greenhouse Neutral Foundation over on www.myzerowaste.com and sign the petition.

Alternatively just sign the petition here