Everyone knows the effects of this particular economic downturn are far ranging, but the effect on recycling is slightly disappointing. A general global slowdown has caused demand for raw materials to suffer, and this has in turn depressed the demand and price for recycled material. So you have the case in the UK where Local and Central Government has been trying to get us to recycle more and more (and we’ve been doing it reasonably well and the Government’s target of 40% of waste recycled by 2010 looked achievable) but now we have more recyclable material than we know what to do with. The demand for it has rapidly and dramatically dropped off. The UK is particularly stuck since we have very little recycling resources locally: most of our recyclable waste goes overseas to places like China, and the cost of shipping the material is now proving to be un-economical. So prices haven’t just fallen, the market itself has shriveled up.
So now, you have a situation where 75% of UK councils are reporting price drops (the other 25% are on fixed contracts with companies that take the waste - although presumably they may be suffering as well) and 27% of councils are actually storing materials in the hopes that the market will pick up again. The Environment Agency has said that it will support councils storing recyclable materials on a temporary basis (6 months - or possibly longer if needed). What’s clear is that if the material starts working its way back into landfill, confidence in recycling will be damaged severely. With 23% of councils looking for alternatives to recycling, Paul Bettison, the Chairman of the Local Government Association Environment Board has them to consider landfill as the option of last resort. He said in a letter to councils:
“If the difficult market conditions were to persist and it be necessary to consider temporarily using other waste management routes, councils should follow the waste hierarchy. The waste prevention message should, of course, always come first. When looking at alternatives to recycling, the composting of biodegradable materials and then energy recovery should be considered. Landfill should be a last resort.”
He is, of course, right - we need to waste less first. In lean times, this makes double sense as it means we use more of what we’re paying for, and we pay less in council tax for collecting and disposing of it. The UK also really needs to consider whether it needs its own recycling facilities to deal with a larger proportion of its waste. In the meantime? Reduce your waste, Reuse what you can, Recycle what you can’t. And hope the councils come up with a good plan so we don’t end up like a scene from Wall-E.
Thursday 20 November 2008
Our Eco Shop’s pop-up Christmas boutique opened in Westbourne Grove this week. A collaboration of UK designer-makers and small green companies have come together for the second year running to create the shop. From now until Christmas Eve, they will be selling a selection of fair trade, ethical and organic products from the boutique.
BCSF was at the launch party last night to check things out. Alongside old favourites like Little Green Radicals and Izzy Lane, we discovered some exciting new ethical brands such as Harlands, an organic home furnishings company that makes chemical-free upholstered sofas, chairs and headboards.
It was good to see that even in the current financial climate, the shop was packed. And people weren’t just there for the delicious organic wine and nibbles - there were plenty of transactions taking place too! There’s a lot packed into the two-level shop. You can pick up everything from baby clothes, jewellery, stationery, beauty products to an electric cycle. It might be just the thing if you’re out looking for unique presents - many of the items on sale are one-off creations, and nothing in the shop is mass-produced.
Our Eco Shop is located at 303 Westbourne Grove, W11. Nearest tubes are Notting Hill Gate and Ladbroke Grove.
Opening times 10:00-18:00 (Mon-Sat), 12:00-17:00 (Sun), from November 10th until December 24th.
The UN released figures yesterday that showed greenhouse gas emissions of 40 industrialised nations rose by 2.3% between 2000 and 2006. There was a slight dip between 2005 and 2006 (0.1%), but this was too small to suggest a downward trend.
Compared to 1990 levels, emissions actually fell by about 5%. However, this pre-2000 decrease has been attributed to the economic decline of transition countries in Eastern and Central Europe during the 1990s.
The report did not include figures from India and China. Along with the US, these three nations have not yet taken action under the Kyoto Protocol.
Among industrialised nations, 16, including the UK, are on track to meet their Kyoto Protocol obligations.
With the Kyoto Protocol expiring in 2012, the Copenhagen climate change conference in 2009 is shaping up to be key to future emissions targets.
Photo by Flickr user freefotouk. Published under a Creative Commons license.
Yesterday, the Guinness World Record for the Largest Gathering of People Wearing Underpants was broken, and BCSF was there to witness it. Pants to Poverty, the campaigning movement/underwear retailer, used the promise of free pants, bacon butties and shots of whisky to entice 116 brave souls to bare (almost) all at chilly St Pancras International. They claimed the record to the rallying cry of “We love pants, we hate poverty!”
The event attracted a fair amount of media (including an unusually high proportion of Japanese TV stations) and public attention. The message seemed to get round to most morning commuters that these seemingly insane people in their underwear were actually there for a good cause. Read More »
