February 22nd, 2010
Ever feel ashamed of living in the UK? On the whole I feel highly privileged to live in this country, but just sometimes I’m forced to publically blush at the petty minded bureaucracy which plagues us. Case in point is a story I first came across on a US blog UK Barber Banned from Composting. It’s also been covered by The Telegraph. I had to read both articles twice because I simply couldn’t believe what I was reading.
It seems that a local barber, Jeff Stone from Blackburn in Lancashire, has been banned from taking hair clippings and salon newspapers home to compost: Why I hear you ask?
Is he stealing from the people whose head it once belonged?
They left it behind happily so apparently not.
Is human hair somehow toxic to our delicate eco-structure?
No, in fact quite the reverse, apparently all environmental agencies recognise human hair as fantastic, highly biodegradable compostable material, perfect for adding nitrogen to the soil.
Perhaps he’s taking home so much of it, it’s upsetting the neighbours?
Nope – only one small swing bin every two or three weeks.
Well then, obviously it’s because Blackburn and Darwen Councils have invested heavily in establishing domestic and retail recycling programs and by taking the hair home Mr. Stone is somehow confusing the system?
Absolutely not, documentation received by Mr. Stone confirms that the waste will be emptied at landfill sites at Whinney Hill, near Accrington, and Withnell just outside Blackburn.
Well then, what could possibly be the problem…? Surely it would have nothing to do with money? Surely no council would stoop so low as to force Mr. Stone to buy one hundred Council issued waste sacks, which he doesn’t need and which cost £100, in order to ‘comply’ with their guideline?
Apparently so.
Reassuring isn’t it that Councils have so little to do; that crime levels are so low, housing so abundant, local facilities so immaculate, that they have nothing better so spend our council tax on than paying people to search through our dustbins checking for people who might be ‘illegally’ trying to save the planet…
Tags: biodegradable hair clippings, Blackburn, compost, Lancashire, local barber, Local Council | Posted in Local Councils, News, Recycling, Self sufficiency
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January 27th, 2010
The unrelenting driving force behind the Weymouth Relief Road project is the so-called Green 2012 Olympics. Despite campaigner’s insistence and the findings of independent research body Transport Research Laboratory, that the town’s infrastructure cannot cope with the huge expected influx of people and traffic to the area, it seems the government and local councils remain hell-bent on shoehorning everyone in somehow.
Work began late last year on identifying a site for the Olympic Sailing Village after plans for using an off-shore cruise ship were rejected. It is estimated that with the arrival of approximately 400 international athletes, around 500 to 600 bedrooms will be required to accommodate all the competitors and officials…
With 3,300 people already on the housing register in Weymouth and Portland local councils area hoping that any new developments will be turned into affordable homes for locals after the 2012 Olympics.
Government now imposes strict environmental standards upon new council building projects, including legislation on insulation, energy efficiency standards, double glazing and the use of sustainable materials. However taking into account government actions to date, it seems where the 2012 ‘Green’ Olympics are concerned, environmental interests fly well and truly out the window.
Tags: 2012 Olympics, government, Green Olympics, housing crisis, Local Council, Weymouth Relief Road | Posted in 2012
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August 14th, 2009
British Film Director and green celebrity Guy Ritchie who resides in Ashcombe House, near Salisbury, has submitted plans to Wiltshire Council to make his 18th Century property ‘more self-sufficient’.
It is his intention to install greenhouses, vegetable plots and fruiteries at the £9 million estate, which was given to him following his divorce from Madonna.
The part-walled gardens leading from the back door to the staff building will be turned over to vegetables and given a row of greenhouses to produce vines, fruit, early vegetables and seedlings. The low-level soil heating will be provided by green energy, via the woodchip boiler situated within the staff block.
The application went onto to state that the ‘produce from the greenhouses will be used on the estate, all part of a very admirable effort to make the estate more self-sufficient and sustainable.
Meanwhile on the other side of life….
The growing popularity of allotments has meant that local Councils, Poole Council included are seeking ways of providing more allotments.
The Poole model provides a good example of the national allotment shortage. Currently there are eight allotment sites in the borough containing 409 plots. However, there are 715 people on the waiting list who could have to wait 18 years before being able to plant their own fruit and veg – or may never get one at all.
“Waiting lists in Poole are considerable and if the current turnover of plots is maintained some applicants may never be allocated a plot in their lifetime,” said a report that went before councillors.
It seems that a simple patch of land to grow your own fruit and veg is yet another shining example of the great divide in the UK today.
Tags: Allotments, Green celebrity, grow your own, Guy Ritchie, Local Council | Posted in Local Councils, Sustainability
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