Daily Reviewer Top 100 Recycling Blogs

Greetings,

I just wanted to write a quick line to say thanks very much to everyone at The Daily Reviewer for placing me in their top 100 recycling blogs! You might have noticed my shiny new badge on the right hand side of the page. It's really nice to be commended for the blog and I hope you will all continue to enjoy my musings about recycling and sustainability.

Onwards & upwards!

Lucy.

Green Thinking In The Construction Industry?

Greetings,

I was browsing Twitter and came across a link to this article and was really interested by the use of recycled plastic as a concrete aggregate. The con s truction industry is responsible for generating huge amounts of landfill waste (albeit often inert) , so to see an innovative use of a potentially difficult waste stream being recycled into a useable long-term product is encouraging. I would be interested to know what the long term implications of the product are, for example is it durable? What happens when is it breaks down and what environmental impacts the plastic will have when used in this format?

I’m not entirely convinced that this is the best practical final use of the material, but it’s good to see the construction industry getting its ‘green’ hard hat on.

Onwards & upwards!

Lucy.

EMERGE - Recycling In Manchester

Greetings,

I realised the other day that I've been running this blog for well over 6 months now but I've not explained in any depth to you who and what EMERGE is/are and what we do.

EMERGE was set up as a voluntary organisation in 1996 by myself and a group of like-minded individuals, the objectives of which were to help bolster the local economy of Openshaw, engage the wider community in thinking and doing more about sustainable resource management and thereby act as a catalyst to get businesses and households recycling.

We registered the company as limited by guarantee (effectively a not-for-individual-profit basis) in May 1998 and ran on a new business support plus a Princes Youth Business Trust grant and loan but it wasn't until 1999 that we actually employed our first full-time member of staff. EMERGE now collects from over 700 businesses, 125 schools and 7000 households in the Greater Manchester area. We employ 30 local staff from our HQ in Openshaw and recycle a comprehensive range of materials including most dry recyclates and some hazardous waste.

Have a look at the history page on our website for more information about how we have developed since the outset. I'd like to believe that many of the people who work at EMERGE aren't only here because they need to earn a crust, but because they genuinely believe that through high quality recycling services, environmental education and positive engagement we can make a genuine difference to conserving resources and protecting our precious planet now and in the future. Sounds idealistic? Maybe, but I'd say we need more idealism, optimism matched with tenacity in order to sort out the mess we are making!

I've been grafting on some red tape recently and hopefully I should have something quite interesting to tell you about EMERGE soon, we're keeping it under wraps for now but it will definitely put us into a unique position in the recycling industry!

I'll keep you posted, watch this space!

Onwards & upwards!

Lucy.

The UK's First Eco Kitchens

Greetings,

I've just discovered a great business, Milestone Eco Design based in Ilkley, they have produced the UK's first kitchen made entirely of recycled materials.

Some of the great features include; cupboard doors made from recycled yoghurt pots (at last!), work surfaces made from recycled coffee cups (trivets recommended!), a recycled (and recyclable) steel sink and cabinets made from 50% recycled timber.

Is this the eco-kitchen of the house of tomorrow? I certainly hope so.

Onwards & upwards!

Lucy.

South Korea Advocates Environmental Improvement

Greetings,

Some good news from the east, South Korean giant Samsung Electronics has just committed to investing $4Bn to reducing carbon emissions from its manufacturing plants, with the aim of reducing their carbon emissions by 50% by 2013.

This announcement follows on from a statement released by the South Korean government about their $84Bn Green Action Plan. This scheme is aiming to make improvements across the entire national infrastructure including manufacturing, transportation, construction & technology.

It's very reassuring to see one of the world's top ten carbon producers making such a commitment to reduce their emissions.

Onwards & upwards!

Lucy.

Recycling in Manchester, MA.

Greetings,

I was very interested to see what's been happening 'across the pond' in Manchester, Massachusetts. I certainly makes for some interesting parallels with what the latest developments are here in the UK!

They are currently planning a move onto a pay-as-you-throw scheme as the statistics from Gloucester MA show a 13% increase in recycling rates and a 29% reduction in waste incineration since implementation of a similar scheme. Interestingly if these rates could be duplicated in Manchester MA, they could recoup as much as 35% of its spend on disposal through onward sale of recyclates.

Other developments in Manchester MA include the introduction of a single stream recycling scheme, which they hope will help to increase participation and subsequently total recycling rates for the town, as well as reducing the total cost of disposal by as much as $135,000 a year. Across the 5 year scheme they are projecting to make a total saving of $600,000 after costs.

It certainly makes for interesting comparison with recent developments here in Manchester UK. Especially after the announcment of the deal between GMWDA and Viridor Laing to build a series of facilities in Greater Manchester, it seems almost inevitable that the majority, if not all of Manchester will also move towards a single stream recycling system in the not too distant future.

Looks like we have more in common with our US cousins than you might think!

Onwards & upwards!

Lucy.

NING - Recycling In Manchester

Hi folks,

Just a quick post to inform you that I've set up a NING social network called: Recycling In Manchester. Please feel free to join and offer your input, I'd love to see this really take off as a hub for like minded people to discuss how we can make a real difference in Manchester.

Onwards & upwards!

Lucy.

Eco Bribes, the Future of Recycling?

Greetings,

I'm not convinced by the latest scheme devised to increase household recycling rates, rewarding households with shopping vouchers. Surely education and encouragement is a better approach than bribing or fining the general public where recycling is concerned? Otherwise where is the incentive to recycle when you are not at home, what reason is there for you to recycle beyond the financial incentives?

The pilot scheme being rolled out in Windsor and Maidenhead is bound to prove to be a success but I have to question whether by educating the general public about the economic and environmental benefits of their domestic recycling, similar successes could be won without the need for backhanders? Any thoughts anyone? Happy to reconsider!

Onwards & upwards!

Lucy.

Manchester Recycles Sewage!

Greetings,

I've come across another interesting development in Manchester; apparently United Utilities in partnership with WRAP are planning to roll out a scheme across Greater Manchester which will involve commercial sewage recycling! Apparently it can be converted into a biomethane which can then be used in place of gas to warm people's homes etc. This limitless supply of sustainable energy presents a great opportunity as it significantly reduces the carbon footprint of gas import and might even represent a significant cost saving to the end user, according to Caroline Ashton - Biofuels Manager, United Utilities.

Whilst at first you might turn your nose up at the thought of powering your home with recycled sewage, it really is the ultimate example of closed loop recycling!

Onwards & upwards!

Lucy.

WRAP Encourages Kerbside Recycling

Amazing News:

This week WRAP has launched a report which outlines why co-mingled recycling streams are less effective than source segregation of materials in terms of both cost and quality output.

In a leaflet entitled 'Choosing The Right Recycling Collection System' WRAP outlined their opinion:

"kerbside sort systems offer reliable material quality and lower net costs for council taxpayers. They are also capable of capturing the same volume of material as co-mingled schemes."

"Because of our priority for quality materials as a way to improve resource efficiency, WRAP believes that kerbside sort collections should be preferred where they are practical and should be in the majority of local authority areas."

I'm delighted that WRAP has taken this stance as the lead body on developing and improving materials' recycling infrastructure and systems in the UK. Their latest report adds to the body of evidence supporting kerbside sort collection systems. At EMERGE we have known for a long time that source separated collection schemes such the ones we run for councils and for businesses in Greater Manchester produce a far higher quality of material with a massively reduced risk of contamination, as well as engaging people fare more effectively in the process of managing the waste they generate.

More information about how kerbside sort schemes work for councils can be found at the Campaign for Real Recycling website and hopefully this report will be taken into consideration by other councils when they decide how to implement and improve their own recycling schemes.

Onwards & upwards!

Lucy.

Sony Ericsson Launch Recycled Mobile Phone - C901 Greenheart

Greetings,

I'm glad to see another of the major mobile phone manufacturers has decided to produce a handset which is more environmentally sustainable.
The C901 Greenheart is the first product to be developed with Sony Ericsson's sustainablity guidelines in mind.

Featuring a casing made from 50% recycled plastics and their first ever in-phone manual (which reduce the amount of paper produced per phone by 90%), this phone is full of eco-gubbins like a carbon calculating pedometer and light sensors to reduce energy usage. It also comes bundled with a low power charger and a 100% recycled plastic headset.

It is great to see Sony Ericsson joining the ranks alongside other phone manufacturers such as Motorola and Samsung designing and producing products for those of us who are more environmentally minded.

Onwards & upwards!

Lucy.

Thank You Manchester! :)

Wow!

What a busy week I've had! Just about recovered from climbing up Scafell aside from a few niggling aches and a wee chest infection!

Last friday I was invited to the Inspiring Women Awards at the Midland Hotel, Manchester. Following a fabulous 3-course meal accompanied by sparkling wine I was presented with the award for 'Social Entrepreneur' which came as something of a shock especially considering the competition! A big thank you to the event organisers and especially to Kath Robinson who nominated me. It's really fantastic that the work everyone at EMERGE and I have done over the years has received recognition in the wider North West community. Not that we're resting on our laurels by any stretch - we've got big plans for expanding the 3Rs (waste reduction, reuse and recycling) and resource efficiency in Greater Manchester, to continue expanding upon the educational and community work we do and to grow as a social business as well.

I've got a mountain of bids, tenders and partnerships to contend with now but before I wade into it I 'd just like to take this opportunity to thank you so much for your support , we wouldn't make any progress without it .

Onwards & upwards!

Lucy.