Ethical Living

For those wanting to be ethical on your interiors check out this videohere

It's just one of those annoying things isn't it when you cut down on your packaging, separate out your recycling and are still left with a little pile that looks like it can be recycled but you not sure if it can and who you should give it to. Well as I can see Michael finishing off another cartoon of Innocent smoothies I thought I’d have a Google and find out.

Being made from paperboard (typically 70-90%, low-density polyethylene (typically 10-25%)and aluminium foil (about 5%, only in long life or aseptic packages) tetra paks can be recycled. The problem seems to be that councils have not deemed them to be a big enough priority to add them to their kerbside recycling collections. A reason cited by some include the fact that there isn't anywhere near enough in the UK that can take the cartons for reprocessing that makes it economically and environmentally viable. Although this does seem to be a rather strange excuse when others materials are transported halfway around the world to be reused?

The carton recycling process is essentially quite simple. Baled cartons are dropped into a pulper, similar to a giant domestic food mixer, filled with water, and pulped for around 20 minutes. This delaminates the packaging, breaking down the package to produce a grey-brown slurry. The aluminium foil and polyethylene are separated from the fibre, which is recovered to make new paper products.

Many European countries achieve very high carton recycling rates. For example, in Germany and Belgium it is between 65 and 70% - only slightly ahead of Austria, Sweden and others. The European Union as a whole achieves a 30% carton recycling rate. But in many many many parts of the UK it is extremely difficult to find somewhere to take them.

Tesco has teamed up with Tetra Pak and the Alliance for Beverage Cartons and the Environment in the UK (ACE UK) to introduce two carton collection banks in Tesco stores every week until September across the country. But of course if you can't bear to go into Tesco (think it's better for the environment to steer clear of the place!) then Tetra Pak does operate a postal recycling scheme for those who wish to recycle their cartons.

Labels: Brighton, Ethical living, recycling

In view of the new WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) Directive Magpie has launched Re-use IT! an initiative that aims at curbing the amount of IT equipment currently land-filled from the Brighton and Hove area. Magpie customers will now be able to dispose of their old computer equipment in an environmentally sound way. They are able to collect IT equipment that is old or no longer works for recycling. The collections are made on a special round, your usual collectors will not be able to take IT equipment with your other recycling. See here for further details...

Labels: Brighton, Ethical living, recycling, WEEE

Thousands of people are expected to join celebrities including
Jude Law , James Blunt and Razorlight's Johnny Borrell on
The Big Ask online march, which is calling for a tough new climate
change law. The campaign is being launched today by Friends of the Earth. It
coincides with a new survey revealing that over two thirds of
people in the UK want the Government to introduce a new law
requiring UK carbon dioxide emissions to be cut every year.

Friends of the Earth is hoping that thousands of people -
particularly the YouTube generation - will join the march over the
coming months and help persuade Gordon Brown's Government that its
plans for a climate law must be strengthened.

March for climate change here!

Labels: Campaigns, Ethical living

The Lammas group are aiming to create an ecovillage in Pembrokeshire which will become a demonstration model for low impact living. They are working in partnership with Pembrokeshire County Council, but recently there has been some opposition to the project. They are asking for anyone who cares that there should be a flagship project of this sort in the UK to write in support of the group. If the application to build a low-impact ecovillage in North Pembrokeshire is successful it will have significant implications for sustainable development across the UK. However the Lammas application has met a mixed reaction from local people resulting in local activists creating petitions against the development. To find out more and show your support see their website here

Labels: Campaigns, Low impact living

An award-winning new eco-house round the corner from me in Hanover, Brighton has been completed by local firm DRP Architects. The two bedroom timber framed house exceeds the Building Research Establishment (BRE) ‘excellent’ rating in energy saving and carbon reduction. In view of its exemplary ‘green’ features, the house has already won a ‘Green Apple Silver Award’ in the ‘National New Build Residential’ category, June 2007.

The architects have used a whole range of eco technologies and materials - including passive solar gain, a green roof, locally sourced sweet chestnut cladding, lime based render, solar hot water heating, grey water recycling and sheep’s wool insulation. The result is a scheme that reduces carbon emission by approximately 17% when compared to Building Regulations has around 33% less water consumption compared with a typical home.

Simon Atkins, the DRP director responsible for the project, comments: “If more new houses like this one were built, Brighton and Hove would seriously reduce its carbon footprint while the population would enjoy lower energy bills.”

Labels: Brighton, Eco Houses

I feel a bit sad to admit this but as a Web Editor by day and director of Ethical Wood Furnishings i spend the majority of my waking hours on a computor. I must say though that I thought that all the tip tapping on the keyboard would be helping to create a postive change for local people and the environment. However I've just read that of the $250 billion spent per year on powering computers worldwide, only about 15% of that power is spent computing-the rest is wasted idling. Now even though i do turn off the laptop at night those cups of coffee I keep making and the time spent poking at the worms in the office (see the post below) are all times that my computer is sitting there waiting patiently for me to return blinking away energy. I've just downloaded a LocalCooling Application which is supposed to automatically optimize your PC's power consumption by using a more effective power save mode. Apparently I "will be able to see your savings in real-time translated to more environmental terms such as how many trees and gallons of oil you have saved." Let's see...

Michael and I manage to recycle a great proportion of our rubbish but the dreaded eco guilt creeps in when I throw away leftovers from dinner and all the bits and pieces from the chopping board. Many councils are offering residents an improved service and increased support for home composters and there are lots of tips and resources online for those who want to make a compost heap. We have absolutely no outdoor space whatsover so a composter in the bottom of the garden is definitely out. At work we have a wormery and whilst the wiggly things are a great source of humour and fun in the office (yes we are quite sad) and they do work very well, I've discovered that unless you are very good about draining them off regularly then they absolutely stink. And in a small one bedroomed flat I just can't stomach the thought of it. I'm thinking of trying a Bokashi Composter but I'm a bit disappointed that the container is only made from 85% recycled plastic. If anyone uses one of these please let me know if it works...

Labels: recycling