July 30th, 2010
Recycling is being made easier for you and your households every day. The council collect your waste every week with glass, plastic, tins and paper also being taken. And there are the many of you who recycle your clothes, shoes, books and linens.
Now, there is another option to do every bit we can to recycle and re-use products and materials. Dorset Reclaim, who started in 1998, have been tirelessly working to encourage local people to re-use, recycle and reduce the amount of waste going to landfill. At Dorset Reclaim they offer a free collection service for most domestic items, and collect anything that helps to make a house into a home, from furniture,and electrical items to carpets and curtains, crockery and cutlery.
Dorset Reclaim have prevented 17,500 tonnes of waste going to landfill by helping to distribute good quality furniture, electrical and household goods to low income families. Items can be collected from the Dorset Reclaim warehouse or delivered for a small fee.
Dorset Reclaim is a registered charity project working throughout Dorset and East Hampshire areas. Buy donating unwanted furniture, household and electrical goods you are not only minimising your carbon footprint, helping the environment but there are many local families who will benefit from your unwanted items.
To help with the project or to donate any items click HEREor check out there depots in Bournemouth, Poole and Dorchester.
Tags: Carbon Footprint, Dorset, Dorset Reclaim, landfill, re-use, Recycling | Posted in Uncategorized
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July 1st, 2010
Tis the season of the bicycle! With all the great weather Britain has been having recently it is a perfect time to get on the bike.
With the Bike 2 Work scheme there are now more reasons to embrace your two wheels for healthy and environmental benefits. Through the governments Green Transport Plan, it is possible for everyone to benefit by being able to save up to 50% on brand new bicycles and cycling equipment.
There are benefits for everyone joing the Bike 2 Work scheme. As an employer you can join the scheme to make savings on employers NI contributions (up to 12%, reduce your business carbon footprint and your company will be added to the Green Achiever Business Directory. Your staff will be healthier, fitter, have more energy and your car parks will be less congested. As an employee there are the advantages of better health, becoming fitter, reducing your carbon footprint, saving money and gaining advice and help from selected bike shops.
There are many bike shops all over the country covering the scheme and willing to support everyone wanting to get on their bikes and ride! Whatever your size, ability and budget there is a bike to suit everyone.
Hundreds of thousands of workers all across the country commute to work in some way or another whether it be by their own car, car share, or public transport. By taking part in this new scheme will not only reduce everyone’s personal carbon footprint and save money but will help to reduce the overall carbon footprint of Britain.
The Bike 2 Work scheme website hosts a handy savings calculator that will estimate how much you can save using the scheme and a form to register your interest. Go now to the site to become a Green Achiever and find out more, click HERE
Tags: Bike 2 Work, business carbon footprint, carbon emissions, Carbon Footprint, environmental benefits, green achiever, green transport plan | Posted in Uncategorized
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June 24th, 2010
Team Green Britain is the organisation that has been put together to bring awareness and education to everyone in Britain to inspire further moves towards doing everything possible to reduce Britain’s carbon footprint.
All of this week from Saturday 19th June to Sunday 27th June is Team Green Britain Bike Week. Team Green Britain Bike Week has been brought to the nation to provide awareness of how cycling can be a part of everyone’s lives and will benefit everyone physically for health benefits and environmentally by cutting down on the carbon footprint. Cycling is a healthy, practical and convenient lifestyle choice which can help to look after Britain and eveone individually.
Team Green Britain’s ongoing support has alreadybenefitted many across the nation by providing and funding 13 workshops and publishing cycling guides. You can visit www.bikeweek.org.uk
Team Green Britain have not only produced Bike Week and Green Britain Day but are constantly working towards combining a team that will work together to reduce the carbon footprint, use less energy, live healthier lives, save money and have fun doing it. Everyone has the opportunity to join the team and make a difference.
Join Team Green Britain now by clicking HERE!
Tags: bike week, carbon emissions, Carbon Footprint, cycling, healthy living, Team Green Britain, Team Green Britain Bike Week | Posted in Carbon Footprint, Events, Transport, carbon emissions
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May 24th, 2010
Who doesn’t love to go shopping? I for one am a closet shopping fan and love the excitement of getting home with some new treats, but my thoughts do go to shocking amount of plastic bags, wrapping and packaging I am also carrying around that is just going to get thrown away.
Going deeper than just the plastic bags and packaging are the embedded emissions which is the carbon that goes into producing, making, transporting the product. These embedded emissions are within a large majority of products, invisible to the eye at the till paying for them but something you cant change. However…….
There are many ways I, and many other shopping lovers can be carbon conscious when out buying something nice. 10:10 the group working towards reducing carbon emissions by 10% in 2010 and who have got the backing of the new government have produced a helpful hints and tips guide for those wanting to reduce their carbon-shopping-footprint.
10:10 have five simple rules for energy efficient shopping starting with; 1) Dont Be Cheap, if you buy something cheap you normally end up having to replace it or buy another one. The old adage of ‘you get what you pay for’ applies here too, so choose quality over quantity. 2) 2nd Hand Treasures, a form of recycling, bought and used by someone else can be re-used and loved by another. 3) Buy Efficient, check the energy efficiency label on all products to check it wont drain you dry when plugging it in at home. 4) Think About Wood, when having to buy any wood think of reclaimed wood, as it is carbon-emission friendly and can be better quality than the new stuff. And finally 5) Sit Back and Relax, home delivery options when buying online are the best bet as the overall emissions of the delivery truck and all it is transporting is spread out out among several people while you in your car collecting the new bed is all down to you.
For those of you who would like to know more about their shopping and how far things have to go to get in your basket have a read of How Bad Are Bananas: The Carbon Footprint of Everything written by Mike Berners-Lee. For all up to date news and info on 10:10 and their on-going project go to www.1010global.org
Tags: 10:10, carbon conscious, carbon emissions, Carbon Footprint, embedded emissions, shopping | Posted in Carbon Footprint, Recycling, carbon emissions
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January 25th, 2010
The University of Bath is undergoing a project to find environmentally friendly building materials that can be used as an alternative to the current products used within the construction industry.
A straw house came up as a viable option. Straw is not only a renewable resource, but also a farming by-product, which made it a popular choice for the researchers. It can be locally grown and absorbs carbon monoxide, therefore buildings made from straw have zero or even a negative carbon footprint. It can potentially provide such good insulation that normal heating may not be necessary, keeping running costs low and minimising environmental impact.
The construction itself has been built using prefabricated panels, consisting of wooden frames filled with straw or hemp, then rendered with a breathable lime based system.
Research into alternative building materials is important as cement contributes up to 10% of all carbon dioxide emissions. Hopefully this project, which over the year is to be monitored, will prove that straw is a sustainable building material. Let’s just hope it can withstand all the wolves huffing and puffing and trying to blow the house down!
Tags: Balehouse, Carbon Footprint, Construction, farming, renewable resource, Straw | Posted in Climate Change, Recycling, Self sufficiency, Sustainability, environment, renewable energy
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