This Must Not Happen Again!
On paper and in the news this trial for environmental crime looks like a good result for the Environment Agency.
But should they have acted a lot earlier to put this criminal, who used threats and intimidation to make money by dumping toxic waste in the countryside, out of business.
Who too, is going to pay for the clean-up of the site?
How The Turks Deal With Pollution
This horrific story is in The Times today, although I’m pointing to a green web site, so evryone can read it.
Turkey may well have nine percent economic growth, but at what cost?
So is it right, that we increase unemployment, because of imports from Turkey?
In my view it isn’t!
C and I once had a holiday in Turkey and in some ways we weren’t impressed. Luckily we could afford to go somewhere better.
As a coeliac, I starved in Turkey, as they just couldn’t get the idea of what gluten-free was! Despite the fact I had an excellent translation.
Giving Up on the Bin
I hate the SimpleHuman rubbish bin, I bought for my kitchen, with a vengeance. Quite frankly, it’s absolute rubbish.
The main problem is that every time you take out one of the containers, it traps your fingers and as mine are sensitive after the stroke, it’s hurts. I forget the fact that it needs expensive special bin liners, the lids don’t stay up when you want and that it takes up valuable floor space in my small kitchen, but it has to go.
But lets face it, evety other one I’ve seen is expensive and/or a useless design.
So I’ve now relegated it to a bin for my dry recyclables.
My Useless SimpleHuman Bin
Note how I’m using two IKEA hooks to hold up a Waitrose carrier bag for my food waste and other non-recyclables.
I’ve bought a few useless things in my time, but I believe this is the worst husehold item I’ve ever bought.
The Earth Bites Back
This was the title of a lunchtime lecture at University College London on March 3rd. Professor Bill Mcguire argued that we’d see a lot more natural disasters, as the earth responded to our treatment of it.
And now we’ve had two major earthquakes in a short space of time in Christchurch and now Japan.
They may not be connected, but it doesn’t man that we should let up in our efforts to cut carbon emissions and other practices that damage our environment.
And Now Recycled Cardboard is a Health Danger!
According to this report on the BBC, the ink in recycled cardboard used in food packaging is a health risk. I have a feeling too, that Nick Higham’s report was actually filmed not far from me. It was certainly somewhere in Hackney.
Apparently, the problem is the mineral oils in the ink.
I know it was years ago, but my father had terrible dermatitis because according to the doctor of all the solvents in printing ink.
Whilst on the subject of paper, I find difficulty reading a newspaper, as I find turning the pages difficult. I thought it was because of the stroke and lack of feeling in my hands, but others, who are young and fit also have the problem. I’ve been told it’s down to the amount of recycled paper used these days.
Paper Bin Bags
I’ve started to use paper bin bags to line my useless bin.
Paper Bin Liners
I got mine from a company called Healthy Planet Bags.
They work pretty well, although I think I’ve bought the wrong size. They are 100% biodegradable too!
But then the bin manufacturer wouldn’t want the bin to fit any bags other than their own expensive ones.
I also think that the best option would be the standard American grocery bag that doubles as a rubbish sack.
Surely someone must sell them in the UK!
Green Man With a Van
This company just had to happen.
I wish them luck, as not only is it a good ecological idea, but a good marketing ploy.
What Is It About Suffolk?
There is an item on BBC Breakfast this morning about GreenBottle, which is a new concept of milk bottle, that uses a papier mache outer container and a small amount of plastic to actually hold the milk. When you have finished the milk, you split the container, with the outer biodegradable shell going into the cardboard recycling and the inner container into the normsl household waste. Read the full story here.
If I look at what makes a good idea, it ticks a lot of boxes.
- It doesn’t expect the customer to make serious changes to their thinking.
- It would appear that it doesn’t mean there are large changes to manufacturing and distribution.
- Asda have not objected to stocking milk in these bottles. I’m always cynical about supermarkets. Their problem is they try to live up to a macho image.
- Customers like it.
- It is kind to landfill, even if the end user doesn’t recycle it.
But my initial question was, why has this been invented in Suffolk?
I do sometimes wonder, if it’s because Suffolk has always lived on the scraps government chooses to doll out to it and people in Suffolk get used to thinking about how to get round the problems that blight their lives.
As an example, railways in Suffolk have never received the investment they need. I was brought up partly in Felixstowe and it was a miserable place for a teenager, as to get to Ipswich was either a decrepit train, an occasional bus or a bike. In some ways, I wonder if that was all good training for my life now. You learned to plan journeys efficiently, until you could scrape enough together for a car.
Suffolk too is a very independent county and Suffolk people and businesses support each other. GreenBottle have partnered with the independent Marybelle Dairy to prove the concept of the bottle.
In other ways, it might not be what Suffolk has but what it doesn’t. Until the last couple of years, there was no university in Suffolk.
Does all of this push people to think for themselves? And dare I say it out of the bottle.
Crapman – An Australian Hero
This piece appeared in The Times today.
It is not just sport that they take seriously in Australia. In a country beset by drought and at the mercy of its climate, the environment is high on the agenda. On a Christmas Eve visit to the impressive Healesville Wildlife Sanctuary near Melbourne, we were quickly aware that the battle is on to get Australians to use recycled toilet paper. “Wipe for wildlife” signs greeted us at every turn and at regular intervals we are wished “G’day” by a superhero figure whose cape was decorated with an unfurling toilet roll.
It was only towards the end of our visit that I discovered that our green crusader rejoiced under the name of Crapman.
The Australian sense of humour has a distinct edge.
Little (And Big) Boxes Everywhere
Today the recycling collection takes place and I’ve just thrown out 32 boxes that were used by the movers for packing.
Boxes for Recycling
I bet I was charged for every box, so shouldn’t they pick them up for a reward. Obviously, this wouldn’t be practical in all cases, but surely with moves to a large town or city, it would save money and create less carbon dioxide all round.
The Anonymous Widower 