Music Magpie Recycling Money Maker

I sent the first load of CDs that were left at the recycling centre to Music Magpie last week and received payment very promptly.
Congratulations all round!!

Some new recycling fundraisers

Don't throw them away! If they are in their original cases, Music Magpie will pay for them and then sell them to new, appreciative customers.
However, if you are feeling magnanimous, you could post your unwanted goods to Elmsett CEVC Primary School IP7 6PA and help our small, very green Eco-school to raise funds for two large projects that are in the planning process.
The building work for the final extensiion is due to start later this year and as it will take up a large area of the playground, plans are afoot to have an all-weather surface area constructed on the meadow, next to the school.

Calm Before the Storm

Global warming is going to be worse than predicted is just one of the gloomy items of news from Planet Ark. Yet there is still a sense of apathy from the policy makers, planners and the "Not my Problem" families.
A number of my environmentally aware friends and relations are advertising the latest film about climate change. The Age of Stupid looks as if it could be a reality, non fiction horror prediction for everyone's future.

Christmas Card News

We took 5 bin liners of Christmas card to our local Tesco and I managed to weigh them on my bathroom scales this year, so the total weight was roughly 50kgs.
Over the last ten years the number of bin liners has usual been more than 5, so I reckon that we have sent almost half a tonne to the Woodland Trust's scheme.
Anyhow, I sent them an email to let them know about our efforts and had the following reply

Thank you very much for collecting all those cards for us! We are extremely grateful to you all for making such a huge effort on our behalf. Please will you pass on our thanks?

Our scheme isn’t all about tree planting. It’s really important to remember that the benefits of taking part in the scheme are two-fold. As well as raising money for trees to be planted - 17,000 trees last year, it also reduces the amount of harmful methane being pumped out into the atmosphere by cards being dumped on landfill. Our cards are recycled and re-used, reducing our impact on the planet.

Secondly, while it might seem that dropping off one card doesn’t make a big difference, we remind people that if everyone recycled just one card, we’d be able to plant 15,000 trees! Over the 12 years the scheme has run, around 144,000 trees have been planted. So what might seem like a small gesture is, actually, hugely important and has a big impact when it’s part of a national effort.

Once again, many, many thanks for your valuable contribution and for supporting our scheme.

With very best wishes

Alison Evershed

Christmas Card Recycling Scheme Administrator
http://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/

I'm looking forward to receiving the certificate!

I'm dreaming of a GREEN Christmas.

Let's recycle to help our environment (and its inhabitants) this Yuletide.

Your Christmas cards are valuable to The Woodland Trust, who will receive recycling credits for the weight of donated cards and use the money to plant more trees. Many people think that planting trees is one of the best ways to reduce carbon dioxide and prevent flooding and soil erosion

Of course, you will recycle your envelopes, but you can also save the stamps and send them to the R.S.P.B., who sell them to raise funds for the Save the Albatross campaign. The address is on on their website, but here it is, if you're short of time!

R.S.P.B
P.O. Box 6198, Leighton Buzzard,
Beds. LU7 9XT

Money Well Spent

The new covered area, paid for by the recycling fund, has just been completed.
It will be a super space for the younger children to do outdoor activities, and the only sheltered place for parents to gather at the beginning and end of school.

The school owes a great deal to all the companies that support our cartridge recycling program and all the people who use our community recycling centre. I don't know the total cost of our new structure yet, but it will be around £9,000. Thank you all very much. You have improved the "school experience" for pupils and parents in one go. Excellent!

Energy Saving Week

It's Energy Saving week. Maybe the credit crunch will prompt more energy-saving? Find out more about how to cut your energy bills and save the planet on the Britain Unplugged website.

We're going to spend some money!

Great news!

The covered, outdoor, play area will be constructed over half term.

There has been some delay, as the plans had to be approved by Babergh District Council.

The Recycling Fund and money raised by the PTA will pay for this much needed extension and should look similar to the photo below.

Parents of the younger children will be sheltered from bad weather when they bring and collect their offspring and there will be plenty of room for prams and pushchairs!

The children will use the area as an extension to the class, as recommended by a recent Ofsted Inspector.

Who's Crazy?

For a number of years, the Publican from a local village has brought his empty bottles and aluminium cans to our recycling centre, pleased in the knowledge that he was helping school and the environment.
I was happy as I slung the bottles into the banks, to think that, not only was I helping school and the environment, but I was probably keeping fit as well!
Another load arrived yesterday, tucked neatly away behind the paper and bottle banks. I flexed my muscles in readiness for the task ahead.
BUT....
Evidently this is the last load. The bottles have been classified as commercial waste and in future, will be collected from the pub (bins provided,at a cost), by a well known waste and recycling company. The glass will end up in the local landfill site.
WHO'S CRAZY????

Schools plastic bag videos

The children of Godwin Primary School, Forest Gate, Newham, performed their own Plastic Bag song at Marks & Spencer's Marble Arch store on 6th May 2008.


The children at Lyme Regis's St Michael's Primary School made an anti-plastic bag video.

Reason for optimism?

Today's East Anglian Daily Times reports,

Plastic bags could soon become a thing of the past in Suffolk as councils and businesses work together to eliminate their use.

But is there cause for celebration yet?

The same report goes on...

Aldeburgh - No official campaign to reduce plastic bag usage.

Bury St Edmunds - “We are trying to encourage people to use plastic bags less but we recognise sometimes you just need one.”

Eye - The town council has not yet formally discussed the issue.

Felixstowe - “We are currently looking into schemes before the next town council meeting.”

Hadleigh - No measures currently in place by the town council.

Leiston - Self-regulation is working well.

Southwold - No policy on plastic bags is currently in place.

Sudbury - “... it is really down to the individual to economise and reuse bags.”

Maybe they could try harder?

For more on plastic bags, see the Abolish Plastic Bags website.

End of Term

Hilary Benn, our environment minister, announced last week, that British state schools are to be included under the government's new domestic carbon emissions trading scheme from April 2010. Energy use in schools will be measured and count toward the emissions permit quotas of local authorities, which in turn will be encouraged to advise schools on energy efficiency.

"Young people stand to gain most from the action we take today, on climate change. That's why schools should be included in the shift to a low carbon economy," Benn said in a statement. Britain has also earmarked 110 million pounds for installing renewable energy technology in more than 200 secondary schools undergoing refurbishment over the next three years.

Great news, but too late perhaps, for the Suffolk School that had to install air conditioning in their new building which houses their computer department, when south facing windows made working conditions intolerable!

Meanwhile, the materials that are brought to our recycling centre continue to be diverted away from our local landfill sites and provide an extra income for school projects. We shall have two extra facilities soon. People will be able to leave unwanted books, which we shall try to sell.

We shall also be collecting unused toner and inkjet cartridges, a new addition to run alongside our successful used cartridge recycling project.

Just a drop in the Ocean

When our local village shop stopped supplying free plastic carrier bags to customers , the EGGS Steering Group decided to order some eco-friendly bags from the Good Bag Company. We are very proud of our Buckle's Wood Bags. They are strong, long lasting, made from jute and can be recycled or composted at the end of their useful life! What's more, the wide gusset makes them easy to fill in the shop. Why "just a drop in the ocean"? Partly because plastic debris is forming a floating mass in the Pacific Ocean and damaging the wild life in the sea and surrounding coastal areas. Partly because, saying NO to plastic carrier bags will not save the planet.

Let's hope that the Government is serious about their proposed green revolution. Our World desperately needs URGENT ACTION.

Just for June

Mid Suffolk and Babergh District Councils are organising the Bra Recycling scheme below. I thought it was a good idea, so an appropriate bin will appear at the recycling centre soon. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We need your help Ladies!

As part of Recycle Week (June 2nd – 9th), we need your help to “recycle one more thing”, and the Suffolk Waste Partnership are encouraging Bra Recycling!

As well as helping the environment (the bras are sent to West Africa where they are reused and recycled), the project will also raise money for Macmillan.
So, dig out all your unwanted, unflattering, and unfitting bras (and encourage your Mum, Sister, and female friends and colleagues to rummage too!) and bring them in.

Paws for Thought

This is Hairy Maclairy, a local stray, who has been lurking in our garden for the last couple of years. I started to buy cat food again to tempt her in on cold winter nights. She comes in to eat, but prefers to be outside in the wild.

What has this to do with recycling? Well, whilst perusing the many brands and colourfully packaged varieties of cat food, I realised that all landfill sites must be full of POUCHES. Convenient for people, but not good for the planet, as I think that they are made from plastic. Cat food in cans (steel) and trays (aluminium) can be recycled and are a better buy.

What could be a campaign slogan Pass over Pouches? ---ummmm --- not sure about that! Do you have any ideas?

The scourge of plastic

Plastic Carrier Bags

Our local village shop and Post Office has announced that, from the 1st April, customers will be encouraged to re-use their plastic carrier bags. If it is an Elmsett Shop bag, then 1p will be donated to a charity. However customers needing a new bag will be charged 2p. It's a great start to make people more aware of the detrimental effect that plastic debris has on our planet.

Another option is to buy a long lasting, ethically produced bag. The people in the small Devonshire town of Modbury lead the way in tackling the problems of plastic waste.

There are lots of ethical shopping bags at the Ethical Superstore, including string bags.

3 is a magic number

Eco -Schools Celebrations

When we opened our recycling centre in 1994, we were surprised to discover that our recycling topic involved a lot more than just sorting rubbish into piles for recycling and heaps that were destined for our local landfill site. Our recycling topic soon grew into a "caring for our environment" theme and reached into most areas of the curriculum.
Now, our environment and climate change is an urgent, global issue, with gloomy forecasts about our plight on the news almost on a daily basis.
So I was delighted to hear that the staff and pupils at Elmsett have continued to work on green themes, and were rewarded for their efforts by receiving their second Eco-Schools GREEN FLAG at the end of last year. Great news. They have new targets to work on, in order to gain their third flag. If they go on beyond that, the fourth flag is permanent. I don't think many schools have achieved that.

Too little---Too late

So--not much effort was made to reduce our energy consumption on E-Day, maybe because it wasn't given much attention in the media.
Perhaps a glimpse at the article for Monday 3rd March on an American blog might persuade people that some sort of urgent action is needed to protect our children's future.
Click on the link "checklist toward zero carbon", for a comprehensive view on the state of our planet and what everyone can do about it.
But--don't bother if you're depressed!!!!