EMERGE's Recycling Blog

A notice

2011-08-25T11:35:00.000+01:00

The EMERGE blog has moved to here.
Don't forget to check out the website too EMERGE Recycling

EMERGE WANTS YOU! Become a Zero Waste Champion today!

2011-08-09T13:45:00.000+01:00

EMERGE'S Zero Waste Challenge is up and running, so it's time to join in!

It's been an exciting few weeks here at EMERGE and today's no exception, so let's get cracking and have a chat about our Zero Waste Challenge Project.

Now, any of you fine folk that are following us on Twitter will have hopefully seen a few posts by yours truly about Nigel- one of our Champions - who is keeping a daily blog about his progress. It's a cracking read and highly recommended! Nigel is just one of the many people we have taken up the challenge of reducing the amount of rubbish you thrown away to as close to zero as possible in one month.

The average person in the UK throws away seven times their own body weight per year.

It's a shocking fact, isn't it? Just think about all that rubbish- where does it go? Well, the simple answer is landfill, and I think we can all agree that's not an acceptable solution.

By reducing waste we;

conserve resources
combat climate change
reduce land, water and air pollution
save money

The best bit is that it's something that you (yes, you) can do something about. Making a positive difference to the environment can be as easy as not buying yoghurt and eating fruit, it could be re-using old containers and not throwing them out. Zero Waste sounds a bit daunting, but it is by no means not attainable.

Manchester is such a wonderful city and one that us at EMERGE love. We're combining the 15 odd years of experience we have with reusing, recycling and reducing we have with the Zero Waste Project to make the city a sustainable and waste-free place to live.

Not only individuals can become involved: if you are a community group or a small business wanting to help reduce waste you can take up the challenge too!

Just one small thing like watching what you throw away could make a huge difference to the environment. So, are you up for the challenge?

TAKE THE ZERO WASTE CHALLENGE

5 ways to reuse yoghurt pots

2011-08-03T10:58:00.001+01:00

Having been inspired by one of our fantastic Zero Waste Champions, Nigel, I have decided to share a few tips on what to do with those hard-to-recycle yoghurt pots.

Flower pots. Quick and easy, a great way to separate out young plants until they are ready to be moved to bigger things. Make sure you put a few holes in the bottom though!
Paint pots Now, I always remember as a kid having those days where my sister and I took over the dining table with all sorts of paints, crayons and other crafting things. We always needed something to decant the paint into something and a yoghurt pots were always available.
Screw, nails, etc storer If your a big DIY fan you can store any random screws in yoghurt pots. You can write on the pot and keep them on a shelf for future use- you never know when you might need them.
Candle Moulds Saw this one on another site- the small yoghurt pots are great for moulding candles in apparently! Just make sure they are heat-resistant.
Piggy Banks The bigger pots with the sturdier lids can be used by all ages as a great money saving box. Just cut a hole in the top and throw your pennies in!

So, I hope that helps!!
Good luck Nigel!

Useful Links EMERGEs Zero Waste Champions
Nigel's Blog

MMU's Hulme Campus- plans for a greener university.

2011-07-28T12:44:00.000+01:00

Manchester Metropolitan University is set to lead the way for greener, eco-friendly sustainable campuses in a time where academic institutions need not only watch their financial spending but their environmental commitments also.

It’s clear from the outset that environmental sustainability is one of the main themes MMU’s planned new £120 million campus in Hulme, south of the city centre. Not just short term reductions are on the agenda – long running issues of sustainability within an urban environment are part of the bigger picture, as laid out in their Strategic Framework.

Whilst the university is sceptical the new campus would help immediately achieve their aims of zero carbon, water and waste impacts it is easy to recognise the potential of such a project to contribute to Manchester becoming a zero-waste city.

Looking through one of the most interesting commitments in my view is to reducing all unwanted material being sent to landfill, with implications for full university-wide application. Through the building of the new campus MMU will conduct a,

“detailed analysis of supply chains and operational practices, with the emphasis being placed on reduction of inputs without compromising efficiency.”

This isn’t just for your every-day materials but also for much bigger things and being able to meet long-term requirements- such as avoiding the demolition of buildings and making sure supply networks can handle any change in its usage and requirements.

A sustainable transport plan will aim to reduce the use of cars, and put the emphasis on cycling or walking. Schemes such as Nottingham Trent’s Ucycle has shown to have a very positive impact on increasing the use of greener transport across universities, would such an idea work in Manchester?

It all sounds very impressive, but is it possible?

We’re still not in the best of times to be building great big buildings and with possible large fluctuations in the cost of construction iand other related services s there any guarantee from MMU to stand by theses commitments if the going gets tough?

I guess we can only wait and see.

Vertical Farming – A new and original approach to food production being taken in our city.

2011-07-26T11:54:00.001+01:00

“Vertical farming”- sounds slightly odd, doesn't it? Think of it like applying the same logic behind building a block of flats instead of a row of houses to agriculture. It’s an idea with international recognition, but what’s Manchester got to do with it?

The concept, strongly and vocally backed by Dr Dickson Despommier, a professor at Columbia University, who believes it is a plausible and viable solution to ever-increasing urban populations and meeting food demand. His website claims that 80% of suitable land is in use, and you don’t need to be that sharp with maths realise that could be a problem.

The question beckons; faced with a limited potential for expansion using mainstream methods, what do we do?

Well, how about we do the same for farming that we do for housing? Indoor farming has been used for centuries; it’s not a new idea. Perhaps it just needs a fresh take on the concept?

So we build up? Sounds like a plan. But is it the only option? Can’t we take the zero-waste approach to this? Why not reuse and recycle somewhere for our new farm?

As alluded to at the beginning of this piece, Manchester does indeed have a role to play. The BBC reported this last week on plans to re-use a derelict office block in Wythenshawe and turn it into a Despommier-inspired 8-storey high vertical greenhouse.

In a pioneering application of the vertical farm thinking, Alpha House (as it was known) will be transformed into Alpha Farm for the 2013 Manchester International Festival, producing all sorts from leaf and root vegetables. There’s also very exciting plans afoot to accommodate fish, bees and even hens across the building.

What a truly original and inspiring idea. We’ve all seen some of the old office blocks scattered around the city- time we started re-using them! Through creating more locally grown, fresher produce we could really unlock the potential of this idea. With proper support and backing vertical farms could be a way of supporting local economies and communities whilst creating jobs throughout the city.

What about all those harmful pesticides and fertilisers? Well, done in a controlled and closed environment using organic methods would theoretically reduces their usage to zero. Through the use of aeroponics, aquaponics and hydroponics harnesses the power to recycle water, reduce soil erosion and protecting the wider ecosystem.

Of course there are downsides; it’s a new technique with limited practical testing (especially on a large-scale), old buildings may need substantial refurbishment to be suitable for growing crops and the local infrastructure may not support agricultural production.

But in my opinion, you’ve got to put the effort in to reap the rewards. Of course its not as simple as throwing a few grow-bags down in an empty office block but as a long-term alternative I think the effort should be made to support such as initiative.

This is the point where Manchester truly has the potential to be front-runners in a new and exciting venture.

It seems that soon gone are the days of having a window box with a few vegetables in it… now the sky’s the limit!

PS: Have a look at this video for more about vertical farming.

FareShare Guest Blog: The Zipslide Jump (of my life)!!!!

2011-07-25T13:00:00.000+01:00

And so the day begins!!! The most anticipated event in FareShare North West, the Zipslide day is finally here!

Well I would say bright and early, but Manchester had its typical rain on my outward journey there. It wouldn’t be Manchester without this, right? Just a small trip on the tram and arriving to meet the rest of the FareShareNW Team with our event tents and the zipslide being setup all safely. All ready to go? Bring it on!

Then a glimpse of the zipslide…

I must say, to me, the zipslide wire didn’t seem to be that high than what I had imagined. But either way, I know, to many, it will still pose as a huge thrill yet a challenge to test one’s fear of heights all for the good cause – Fundraising and raising awareness of minimising food wastage and helping those in need.

Participants slowly appeared to take on the challenge and see-through their efforts with much enthusiasm. I must say, it turned out to be quite an impressive number! Passers-by got attracted by all the activities, the food and the whole event, which helped to gain a few more participants to zipslide all for the good cause! Such great news!!

Throughout helping out the event at the FareShare tent and the food stall, I have been constantly debating whether to do a zipslide myself. >_< I’ve never faced any outdoor activity challenge such as this, but then again I used to love going on intensive funfare rides, what could be different? However, I’ve never really had my fear of heights tested. Do I go for it?

Or will I coward out of it?? The angels and demons, so to say, were constantly going through my mind!!!

In the end, I found some good volunteering buddies to brave it all together. Ahh! Definitely helped me calm down my nerves and turn them into excitement. And so the walk to the Imperial War Museum starts…

Everything set and harnessed up, I was ready!! It really felt like cross between a mission impossible moment and going on a space mission!

At the top of the lift, the doors open… a bridge to our set-off point, the feeling is just like in the films! Then the open space, where we’d be jumping out this building, is before us. One by one, waiting to jump. One by one… the nerves makes us realise how real this is happening!!! Not wanting to be the last, nor the first. Mixed feelings still!

My turn. YIKES!!!!!! All hooked up and ready. No time to look down. No time to breathe, no time to think, no time to jump!!!! Just clipped on and “hanging” then the guy doing the safety checks lets go!!! Then I’m off!!!!! .. I didn’t have the chance to think and prepare myself... haha I guess it’s thanks to being short?

Love it!!!! Yet so scared!!! The rain pouring and hitting against my face!!!!! All adding to the lovely zipslide experience. The speed and the jump downwards definitely went too quick, then sudden moment you hit the brakes… This is when you remember to return back to reality. A safe landing thankfully!

What a day!

I hope more events like this will come again and to see more volunteers to join in such unique experiences. I am thoroughly anticipating the next FareShareNW event to come, for the sheer fun and experience of making a difference to help for what we stand for and making new friends. Well done FareShare!

Jenny

The Zip Slide Challenge!

2011-07-22T14:01:00.000+01:00

FareShare North West went bananas last Saturday, taking a leap to help end food poverty in the North West

What a day!!!

Over 100 people in a variety of costumes leapt off the Imperial War Museum North for fun and to support those in need. From the 30 metre high tower at the museum many brave (and some very scared!) individuals launched themselves 250m across the Ship Canal back onto solid ground outside the Salford Lowry.

Despite Manchester’s attempts to spoil our fun with some occasional and distinctly heavy rain showers, some adventurous folks even zipped twice!

And we did indeed go bananas!!

Lucy Danger – the CEO of EMERGE was first to leap and Nicola Milner—EMERGE volunteering co-ordinator and volunteers/colleagues sported banana outfits in keeping with the theme ‘no good food should go to waste’.

Why bananas?

Because they’re a really great example of a nutritious, healthy food! Sadly, when they go brown they often get wasted when they could be easily made into a smoothie or a nutritious loaf!

Our “Love Food Hate Waste” themed cookery demonstrations by Robert Owen Brown (Head Chef, Mark Addy) – Tripe, Bone Marrow and Black Pudding and Wood Pigeon, Dave Lythall (Head Chef, Lime) – Sea Bass on Potato and Black Pudding and Cracking Good Food – Risotto and Curry, a local charity promoting healthy sustainable eating.

So why did we do it?

As FareShareNW Director Lucy Danger explains:

“Diverting edible food from landfill and helping to alleviate food poverty is a no-brainer! We’ve run the Zip Slide Challenge to give people an opportunity to have fun whilst helping us to do more to help those in food poverty locally.”

Many members of the public, organisations and businesses signed up to Zip, including Manchester’s famous pub-restaurant The Mark Addy and Lime on Salford Quays. They support us because they believe that FareShareNW is a great charity, addressing two of the UK’s most urgent issues: waste and food poverty.

Robert Owen Brown, Head Chef of The Mark Addy said:

"It’s nonsensical. But the fact is, perfectly good food ends up going in the bin when it doesn’t needs to and something needs to be done about it."

“Being a chef you’re on the front line of food wastage.” Rob explains, “We’ve all been guilty of it, but by supporting FareShare and raising awareness of what this fantastic charity does, I’m just doing my little bit – everyone should!”

Organisations such asCornerstones providing hot meals to people on very low incomes in Moss Side, Mustard Tree who operate a soup run for the homeless and the George House Trust who help refugees, are typical beneficiaries of FareShareNW; other examples include hostels, school breakfast and after school clubs in deprived areas, day centres for the sick, elderly and infirm, organisations helping the vulnerable and those in poverty.

The zip slide has been a great help to supporting FareShareNW and in turn those that it supports. Since 2008, FareshareNW has redistributed over 650 tonnes of food which is enough food for 1.5 million meals to those in need in our region.

A HUGE thank you to everyone involved from the organisers, Zip Slide UK, the chefs, the Manchester School of Samba and finally THE ZIPPERS THEMSELVES!!!

For more photos of the day, click here

Guest Blog: Virtual conferencing and a greener events industry by Alex Walker

2011-07-21T15:42:00.000+01:00

Virtual conferencing and a greener events industry

I’ll be totally honest, I care about the environment. Not in a happy-clappy, tambourine playing, hug a tree and wash yourself in a river kind of way. More like the rest of you, I've become accustomed to separating my cans from my bottles and paper, which led me to think more about my buying behaviours and what I can do to prevent excess waste and minimise landfill.

This I feel is a common sentiment. We all care about the planet, we don’t want to see natural resources wasted and we try our best to do our bit to help.

The environment and marketing

Alex Walker, Sage Accoutants' team

I work in Marketing, which as an industry doesn’t have a great reputation when it comes to sustainability. Most of us regularly receive Direct Mailers which go straight into our rubbish bins, and if you’ve ever been involved in a rebranding exercise it’s often shocking quite how much redundant collateral is thrown out.

How many leaflets just get binned after events?

By far and away, the worst offender though has always been the Events industry. And it got me thinking is there another way? Think about any stand you’ve even been on, or visited for that matter. Over the course of a couple of days they will hand out thousands of flyers, leaflets and other items of promotional material. If you take that number, then multiply it by the number of stands at the venue, and then multiply it by the number of events the venue hosts you begin to get an understanding of the scale of the waste problem.

Most of us if we put our hands up will admit that we only ever read 5% (or less) of the materials we take away from an event again, in fact most of us probably just keep a hold of salient business cards and the rest will end up in a bin eventually.

Then there is the issue of transportation, for all of the material, displays, badges, giveaways and other paraphernalia have to get to the venue and generally the only way to do this is by car or van. All of the delegates have to make their way to the event as well, while many will try to make use of public transport, the reality is that the majority still drive. All of this traffic adds up to a substantial carbon footprint for even a small event.

The Events industry does recognise there is a problem and is taking measures to improve standards and share best practice. In fact they are currently developing a British Standard for environmental practice in events. (BS8901)

Virtual conferencing

I was very excited to chance upon a new approach to Events which I believe will help to alleviate these problems. It’s called ‘virtual conferencing’ and I was introduced to it through the ACCA Global Virtual Conference, where Sage will be hosting a stand. The premise behind virtual conferencing is that it allows your delegates and exhibitors to interact in the same way they would at a physical event, but all through a computer at their desk.

Exhibitors have a fully branded virtual stand which allows them to network with delegates, host web-chats on areas of specialism and run surveys and giveaways. Delegates can use the stands to access and download content to their computer, without it ever needing to see a printer.

For me this approach is a ‘no-brainer’, not only does it take delegates away from their work for less time, but they still come away with all the relevant information they need to inform their decisions without the inherent carbon footprint. I’m looking forward to seeing this method of conferencing in practice. We’ll be hosting our first virtual stand at the ACCA Global Virtual Conference on the 27^th of July, why don’t you log in and take a look?

Guest Blog from Alex Walker, Sage Accountants’ Team

Thank you!!

2011-07-18T13:06:00.000+01:00

Thank you!!!

Just a quick message from everyone at FareShare North West to say, THANK YOU SO SO MUCH!!!

It was a fantastic day, the weather (for the most part) stayed fine! Everyone here thought it was a blast, we were blown away by the tremendous support from all the zippers, chefs doing the food demos and the Manchester School of Samba!

If you have any photos, we'd love to have them! Email them through or send through a link if they're online somewhere!

We have certificates for anyone wanting one! Email us with your address and one will be zooming it's way to you asap!

OR! Fancy a souvinir mug? Only £6.50 and you can re-live the terror/excitement everytime you have a brew!!

Once again, thank you so so much!!
Watch out on the website for events coming soon, as well as lots of new blog reports about FareShare NW and EMERGE Recycling.

Follow @EMERGERecycling

Zip Slidin' Away!!

2011-07-15T13:26:00.000+01:00

Zip sliding ain't just zip sliding, oh no!

Did you know that we'll also be hosting some cooking demonstrations from some of Manchester's finest chefs? Of course you did!!

I can hear you asking, "but just who are these magnificent people?!"

Well, you need wait no more!!

From 11am till midday Robert Owen Brown, head chef of the Mark Addy, will not be showing how to make fantastic meals with cheaper cuts of meat - one of Rob's specialties! It certainly won't be "offal"!
We also have a small part of the delightful Manchester School of Samba playing between 12 and half past.
THEN! Kim and Kath from Cracking Good Food will be serving up some veggie delights of Vegetable Jalfreezi, Squash Risotto and Wild Mushroom Risotto between 12.30 and 2pm.
The Manchester School of Samba make another appearance, giving you some fun Brazilian beats while you tuck in to the food!
From 2.30pm Dave Lythall from Lime restaurant will be going a bit fishy with some Sea Bass.

Many thanks to Nick from the "Have A Banana" Stall on Oxford Road - we'll be handing out free bananas!!

All demonstrations will be along the theme of Love Food Hate Waste, how to cook simple, delicious meals from fresh ingredients... there will be tasters for the public!

See you there!

FareShare Blog- Sainsbury's Food Drive

2011-07-14T12:26:00.000+01:00

FareShare NW volunteers sort
through the many donated items

Feeding those in need gets a helping hand from Sainsbury's.

The event, the first of its kind, was called "help feed those in need" and was hailed a "resounding success" by FareShare NW manager Seb Serayet, speaking from his New Smithfield Market base today.

The food, which ranged from pasta packs to tinned beans and soups, is now being trayed up as "Sainsbury's Specials" and is being offered to FareShare NW's fifty-plus client beneficiary groups.
These groups help the homeless, poor and unemployed across Greater Manchester.

Volunteers staffed a shopping trolley at the exit of the store over Friday, Saturday and Sunday (July 8-10th) alongside Sainsbury colleagues. Shoppers gave generously. Items donated include usually scarce commodities like tea, coffee and sugar.

Nineteen national FareShare depots took part in the event. The most successful Sainsbury's/FareShare partnership should be known next week.

Keith - FareShare NW volunteer

FareShare North West goes bananas

2011-07-13T17:39:00.000+01:00

FareShare North West Zip Slide

Gone bananas? Take a leap to help end food poverty in the North West Last few places only £50!

On Saturday 16th July FareShare NW and 100+ friends are leaping off the Imperial War Museum North for fun and to support those in need! From 10 – 5pm The Zip Slide from 30m high tower at the Imperial War Museum will go 250m across the Ship Canal and Salford Quays landing at the Lowry.

The Zip Slide Challenge is open to anyone wishing to take part and 100 more people are needed to help raise funds to help combat food poverty locally; time slots are being allocated on registration. Monies raised will directly help FareShare NW to divert in-date surplus food donated by the food industry to assist the poorest communities. The last remaining Zip Slide places are only £50 each (or raise this in sponsorship). For more info/register as soon as possible via our website: www.emergemanchester.co.uk or just turn up and pay on the day! (If you want a specific time slot, better to book in advance).

There will also be ‘Love Food Hate Waste’ themed cookery demonstrations by Robert Owen Brown (Head Chef, Mark Addy), Dave Lythall (Head Chef, Lime) and Cracking Good Food, a local charity promoting healthy sustainable eating. And don’t miss out on your free banana - awarded to all Zip Slide Challenge Heroes! J

FareShare NW Director Lucy Danger commented: “Diverting edible food from landfill and helping to alleviate food poverty is a no-brainer! We’re running this exciting Zip Slide Challenge to give 200 people an opportunity to have fun whilst helping us to do more to help those in food poverty locally.”
Many members of the public, organisations and businesses have already signed up for the Zip Slide, including Manchester’s famous pub-restaurant The Mark Addy and Lime on Salford Quays. They believe that FareShare is a great charity, addressing two of the UK’s most urgent issues: waste and food poverty.
Rob Owen Brown, Head Chef of The Mark Addy said: "It’s nonsensical. But the fact is, perfectly good food ends up going in the bin when it doesn’t need to and something needs to be done about it."

“Being a chef you’re on the front line of food wastage.” Rob explains, “We’ve all been guilty of it, but by supporting FareShare and raising awareness of what this fantastic charity does, I’m just doing my little bit – everyone should!”

All companies taking part will be promoted via FareShare North West’s dedicated ‘thank you’ web page.

This Zip Slide Challenge is to raise funds for FareShare North West, a charitable scheme redistributing surplus in-date food to people in food poverty in the North West region. Many communities in the North West have high levels of unemployment and low-income households. Manchester, Liverpool and Blackpool have the highest number of children living in poverty in the UK. Organisations such as Cornerstones providing hot meals to people on very low incomes in Moss Side, Mustard Tree who operate a soup run for the homeless and the George House Trust who help refugees, are typical beneficiaries of FareShare; other examples include hostels, school breakfast and after school clubs in deprived areas, day centres for the sick, elderly and infirm, organisations helping the vulnerable and those in poverty.

Sainsbury help FareShare to tackle food poverty and food waste

2011-07-13T12:15:00.000+01:00

FareShare North West

We worked with Sainsbuy's in Denton and managed to collect over 39 trays! Fantastic result

Guardian
Thursday 7 July 2011 07.00 BST

Sainsbury's shoppers asked to donate food from their trolleys to poorSainsbury's launches trial with food redistribution charity FareShare to encourage giving to struggling local charities.
Shoppers are to be asked to help struggling community charities and disadvantaged people in their area by donating store cupboard essentials such as pasta and tinned foods from their own trolleys.
Sainsbury's is launching the food donation trial at selected stores from 8-10 July as new research from the food redistribution charity FareShare reveals that 40% of local community projects relying on food donations are struggling to meet demand.

Shoppers will be asked to add an extra item – from a suggested list – to their basket or trolley, and it will then be distributed to local community projects for the homeless and disadvantaged by FareShare. The scheme is based on one operated in France, which has attracted a record 13,000 tonnes in one weekend alone.

The Sainsbury's trial is being carried out in 19 stores, including New Cross Gate in London, Garthdee in Aberdeen and Kings Heath in Birmingham. If successful it could be rolled out across the UK, making it easier for shoppers to donate food regularly.
Lindsay Boswell, chief executive of FareShare said: "At a time of severe economic hardship, we are seeing unprecedented and increasing demand for food donations. We are highlighting the issue to encourage the food industry and the public to increase their support."
Roger Burnley, Sainsbury's retail and logistics director, said: "The food we donate to FareShare tends to be fresh produce as this has the shortest shelf life. However, to make a nutritious meal, you need more than just fresh food, which is why we would like to give customers the opportunity to donate store cupboard items."

FareShare is a national food charity which addresses hunger in the UK by redistributing quality surplus food from the food industry to people who need it. It works with a range of retailers and manufacturers, including Marks and Spencer and the Co-op, and also helps to address the issue of food waste.

Sainsbury's has been working with FareShare since 1994, but this is the first time customers are being asked to take part. FareShare is unique in that it secures surplus, fit-to-eat, food from the food industry and redistributes it to community charities, saving the charities nearly £8m a year in food and other costs. It runs 16 operations and every day 35,000 people benefit from its services through 700 separate community projects.
Boswell said: "FareShare is a cost-effective solution to the food industry's surpluses. With more people than ever needing help just to eat, and the squeeze on charities and other organisations to provide food, we need more food companies to follow the example of companies like Sainsbury's, which last year provided us with enough food to provide 1 million meals."

For more info
http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2011/jul/07/sainsbury-shoppers-donate-food-poor

It’s good bike from me, and it’s good bike from him.

2011-07-08T11:00:00.000+01:00

It’s a long running theme that cycling is a money saver: no petrol costs along with relatively low maintenance and repair costs.

But is it just a financial decision?

It seems like Maxton Walker (Guardian 7/7/2011), through focussing on a purely financial incentive for cycling is missing the bigger picture.

He seems to criticise the cycling way of life for not being as cheap as it seems once you factor in all the other associated costs. Despite this, and according to his own calculations, he still would save about £450 per year if he chose a bike over a bus!! And who really cares if it takes a little longer? Surely we’re not in that much of a rush?

But is money the only thing you should be concerned about? There are so many wider benefits to cycling!!

Less air and noise pollution
An improved urban environment
Physical and mental health will improve dramatically.
Lower healthcare costs in the long term for yourself and others
More accessibly in rural areas (and in many urban areas too!)

To name but a few...

Cycling isn’t just an exercise on how to save on the pennies, it’s a way to improve your life and the lives of those around you. I'm a passionate cyclist. Have you met anyone who is a "passionate bus passenger"?!
It’s clean, sustainable and fun.

Ask me which I’d prefer and I’ll say bikes over busses, every time.

FareShare Blog: Beneficiary- Cornerstone Day Centre

2011-07-07T13:13:00.000+01:00

With around 200 visitors a day, Cornerstone is very much a busy and bustling centre aiming to support those from all walks of life.

The centre accommodates a wide range of clients; many are homeless, socially isolated and alienated. Suffering from poverty along drug and alcohol problems is not uncommon.

The day-centre is one of FareShare North West’s biggest beneficiaries and the food is always appreciated. “No matter what we get from FareShare, it always gets eaten.” explains Sister Lucy Dunne, who oversees the running of the centre. “The name is right- food is fairly shared to those that need it the most”

Sister Lucy explains how FareShare’s support is crucial, “Food is our big thing. Providing a good well-balanced, nutritious meal is so important for the people coming here. A lot of the visitors simply wouldn’t be able to get it from anywhere else.”

It’s a reminder that not only food quantity is important but also food quality. FareShare NW works alongside large suppliers such as Kellogs, Brakes and McCains to ensure that beneficiaries receive varied and nutritious deliveries.

Throughout our conversation Sister Lucy along with other volunteers highlight the problems the Cornerstone centre faces, “when we get things like mincemeat in, it’s wonderful. Around sixty pounds per meal is needed just for the mince for the dinners. Something as basic as milk for a cup of tea or coffee is costing us so much money every day”

Please support FareShare NW so it can continue to support such valuable organisations as Cornerstone as well as expanding to help even more communities in and around Manchester.

FareShare NW

Cornerstone

FareShare North West Zip Line Challenge Update

2011-07-05T15:20:00.000+01:00

FareShare North West Zip Line Challenge Update

It’s all going great here, a big thanks to everyone who is already signed-up!

We’re thrilled to have some fantastic Manchester organisations and companies supporting us, you can find them on our website HERE.

BUT!! Be aware, spaces are limited. Make sure you register ASAP so you don’t miss out on a fun and worthwhile event.

DID YOU KNOW?: if you raise £50 it could feed someone for 4 months.

This is a fantastic opportunity to do something fun and show your support for a local charity providing a vital service to some of Manchester’s poorest communities aiming to end food poverty in the North West.

A special, big thanks to the Mark Addy pub-restaurant. Head Chef, Robert Owen Brown, is not only zip sliding and fundraising but will also be holding two cooking demonstrations on the day. ROB will be joined by other Mancunian chefs, also giving demos and explaining how FareShare North West supports organisations in and around Manchester by taking in-date surplus food and re-distributing it.

FareShare NW Director Lucy Danger commented: “Diverting edible food from landfill and helping to alleviate food poverty locally is a no-brainer! So we’re running this exciting Zip Slide Challenge to give 200 individuals an opportunity to have some fun whilst helping us to develop our capacity in order to do more.”

It’s not only companies which have given us fantastic backing, but many individuals have pulled out all the stops to show love for FareShare. Many have already accomplished their fundraising targets!!

The support of companies and organisations is vital to helping FareShare NW achieve its long-term goals and help some of the poorest communities in the region.

For more information about the event:

BOOM - Nicola Milner: Fundraising superstar

2011-07-01T13:30:00.000+01:00

Mainly because she's sat next to me, but even so, just a quick message to congratulate Nicola on reaching her £150 fundraising target for the FareShare North West Zip Slide Challenge!!

Woooo!!

Want to join in?

OF COURSE YOU DO!

FareShare Blog: Zip Slide support from The Mark Addy

2011-07-01T09:17:00.000+01:00

FareShare NW are delighted to have the support of one of Manchester's Origional Riverside Pub - The Mark Addy.

Not only is head chef Robert Owen Brown backing the charity, he is also zip-sliding off the Imperial War Museum in Salford Quays to help fundraise for us!

Local lad Rob explains, "With being a chef, you're at the front line of food wastage: we avoid waste by using as much of an animal as we can." The Mark Addy is proud to support local food networks and selling less common, innovative foods, it's obvious from Rob's passion and enthusiasm that food is of great importance to him!

"With FareShare it's about making people aware of it, nobody's going to argue it's not a good idea. It's genius." Rob's fully behind FareShare NW, asking customers and their supplies for sponsorship- he's sure to raise lots!

On the 16th of July, Rob will not only be zip sliding over the beautiful Manchester Ship Canal but he'll be hosting some food demos outside the Lowry along with other local chefs.

The only thing I had left to ask Rob was if he was a little scared about jumping off the 30 metre high air shard at the museum; "Nah, I've got no problem with heights, it just the falling off them that I don't like!"

If you fancy doing the zip slide and raising money to stop food poverty in the North West?
You can get more details HERE

You can keep up to date with Rob's progress on their website or follow them on Twitter | Facebook

Volunteers wanted for Sainsbury's Food Drive

2011-06-30T13:35:00.000+01:00

FareShare NW needs volunteers to help with Sainsbury’s Food drive

FareShare NW is a charity which ensures ‘Good Food is Not Wasted’ by redistributing quality ‘surplus’ food from the food industry to community groups in Greater Manchester that support homeless and disadvantaged people.

On July 8th, 9th & 10th Sainsbury’s in Denton will be running ‘Make a Difference Days’ whereby customers will be asked to donate items such as tins, pasta and hot drinks to FareShare NW. The food collected will be redistributed amongst the charities and community groups that FareShare supports.

FareShare NW needs volunteers to ensure the food drive is successful.

Volunteers will stand near the exit with the Fareshare banner and publicity materials and talk to people about FareShare. Volunteers will help customers drop their donations in a trolley and empty it in the FareShare van whenever it is full.

Help is needed from 11am to 6pm on Friday and Saturday and 11am to 4pm on Sunday. Volunteers can do half day shifts or the whole day.

Please contact Nicola Milner on 0161 223 8200 or email if you would like to get involved.

FareShare Blog: Jenny at Envirolution

2011-06-29T17:33:00.000+01:00

Ever thought of volunteering?
The vast opportunities are one of a kind! Well, on my first mission I popped down to Plattfields Park on Saturday 18th June 2011. A great start getting lost and losing my potential fellow volunteer recruits! After 30minutes, I finally met up with them in the amazing Envirolution event.

Words cannot describe how this event surpassed my expectations on the levels of inspiration, creativity and such warmth in the atmosphere! Well, many of you might be wondering what’s so special about this “Envirolution” event, right? It is the place to be in Manchester, to showcase environmental solutions, just as you might have guessed from its name!

The Envirolution contained everything with a Hot Topic Zone to an Interactive Zone and Entertainment Zone fun. With the focus on FareShare, food and health promoting, a stall dedicated to making FREE smoothies caught my eye. Refreshing, healthy and eyeing up that lovely fruity drink, I knew it was time to investigate how to get this! Great marketing words, “Free smoothie? …on yer bike!”. By cycling on a bike, we can make yummy smoothies and have a lovely workout! ? Friendly to the environment, and to your health. Definitely worth every effort and the taste of our victorious smoothie drink was sensational!!

Interactive zone – “You are what you eat!” Cliché but true! What we eat has an influence on our mind and our behaviours. I learnt how important it is to balance our bodies with a regular balance ratio of Omega 3 and Omega 6 [and Omega 9, where possible] to improve concentration, memory, energy and behaviours. Think carefully about your diet, is it really what you want it to be? I think I better start eating more Omega 3, 6 and 9!
On a random note, I picked up a fascination on how real creativity is like for these people. Can you imagine what bicycle tyres can be recycled into? Rubber to make other products or new tyres? Well, believe it or not, bicycle tyres are perfect to make very unique dog collars and belts too! [Just remember to be careful with your fingers when making the holes if you do try!].

Remember, food is a vital source to our health and living in this world. I realised creativity can never be limited after this event. Volunteering has its unbelievable rich source in discovering new experiences and outstanding different way of viewing and thinking of various aspects in our country, our world. Respect, love and don’t waste food! Donate, promote and enhance your health and wellbeing of those around you and in needing too. Help us promote FareShare North West and our campaign for some fun, exciting adventures by starting to volunteer today!

Make volunteering a part of your life! Make your FARE SHARE!!
FareShare North West!

Jenny

FareShare Blog: Zip Slide Challenge - Fundraising roundup

2011-06-24T14:36:00.000+01:00

With just over 3 weeks to go, let's see how the competition’s hotting up...

Seb Serayet
FareShare NW Project Manager

Within just one week, both Norman Watson and our very own Seb Serayet have made an impression on our leader boards, raising £70 and £75 respectively. That's just over half the £125 target we have set for them. Well done guys!

Charging way ahead however, raising an impressive £135, we have the delightful Dellen Ibbotson. We hear she will be wearing a fruit suit, what type of fruit we don't know, but what we do know is that she has done one heck of a job smashing our £125 target within 10 days! She has since raised her target to £150. Her fans sound super supportive. Hopefully she will be able to keep up the momentum (and maybe let is in on what type of fruit she will be before she zips?).

According to our google like algorithm (it's amazing what you can do with half a dozen free range chimps with type writers) we can work out approximately how many meals we can provide from these three donations...

Norman - 1 person will be fed for 7 weeks or 7 people will be fed for 3 weeks
Seb - 1 person will be fed for 5 and a half months or 7 people fed for 3 weeks, plus a person fed for a week
Dellen - 1 person will be fed for over a year

We may like to monkey around from time to time but seriously, these three participants have shown that it's possible to make a massive impact within a very short amount of time. These, along with all our other donations are what allows FareShare to support those in need in and around Manchester.

STOP PRESS!!

Our dedicated volunteer coordinator Nicola Milner has stormed out of the blocks, raising £70 in just one day! Go Nicola!!

For more info on the Zip Slide Challenge click HERE

Luke

EMERGE Recycling

Fare Share Blog- Zip Slide Challenge. Team Eighth Day

2011-06-23T16:05:00.000+01:00

FareShare Blog- Team Eighth Day

“Well it’s a bit of craic, isn’t it?!” - Brenda

Chatting to the Eighth Day Team – Brenda, Amanda and Camilo – the enthusiasm of the group is amazing. It’s fantastic to see them getting behind FareShare North West and it’s Zip Slide Challenge on the 16^th of July.

The trio are well into the swing of fundraising – asking customers to

sponsor them, getting support from the Eighth Day co-op itself

and even asking the distributors to the shop and café.

FareShare is obviously a charity close to the hearts and minds of Team Eighth Day. Amanda added, “with the recession and everything, we should be raising awareness of the need to save and stop wasting food that’s really needed elsewhere”

“I’ve been up the viewing tower at the Imperial War Museum, it’s fairly scary but jumping off it should be awesome!” It’s obvious from what Camilo says is that nerves are on display but the team are well up for the challenge.

“We need to be supporting similar, like-minded organisations”, Brenda. FareShare North West are fundraising to stop food poverty in and around Manchester through our food redistribution programme.

To find out more and get details about how to support the fundraiser visit http://bit.ly/khQ0zn

EMERGE Recycling

FareShare Blog: Mustard Tree’s Friends and Neighbours BBQ

2011-06-21T13:55:00.000+01:00

Hooray!! After a tentative few hours of drizzle and cloud the sun shone through over the little yard in Ancoats where Mustard Tree’s BBQ was in full swing - celebrating the charity’s friends and neighbours.

I caught up with the Communications Officer Lydia Chan for a chat.

As Lydia explains,

“being involved with FareShare really helps us. The cost of food is so high, if we had to get all the food ourselves we simply couldn’t- there wouldn’t be a barbeque!”

BBQ in full sing - complete with steel drums.

And it’s not just the quantity but the quality that plays such as role, “the meat is such good quality, I wish you had more!” FareShare deliver once a week to Mustard Tree with, “a great variety of stuff like the fruit juice, cereal, meat; lots of different foods.”

Watching the event it was great to see so many people enjoying the food and the company of those around them. But is there room for improvement?

“More things like milk would mean that along with the cereals we get from FareShare we could have a breakfast club for our clients. But it just costs too much for us to do it on our own.”

Despite the limitations, here’s hoping for more fantastic community events and barbecues and FareShare's continued involvement with such as great Manchester charity!!

EMERGE Recycling

Job Opportunities at EMERGE June 2011

2011-06-17T15:55:00.000+01:00

EMERGE is a fast growing and dynamic Manchester-based social enterprise and charity that exists to promote the practice of the 3Rs of waste reduction.

We currently have 2 employment opportunities available:

1. Sales and Marketing Consultant - Scale £16k for 35 hour week

We require a hard working and driven individual who has proven experience and a high level of success in business-to-business sales. They will play a role in strategic sales decision-making, alongside direct sales activity.

2. FareShare Operations Supervisor - Scale £15k for 35 hour week

An experienced, competent person is required to ensure high levels of compliance and team performance in the FareShare North West depot and food redistribution operation based on New Smithfield Market in East Manchester.

Further info:

•    Location: Based at EMERGE (includes out of office work, and may include occasional evenings).
•    Contract: Post subject to 6-month probation period
•    Application process: Contact office@emergemanchester.co.uk
or 0161 223 8200 and request an application pack by e-mail / post from Shaheen.
•    Application deadlines: see application pack/letter also for info on interviews

EMERGE Recycling

FareShare Zip Slide Challenge - Are You Brave Enough?

2011-06-10T11:29:00.000+01:00

On Saturday the 16th of July 2011, EMERGE has organised an exhilerating 250m zip slide across the Manchester Ship Canal, launched from the top of the 'Air Shard' 30 metres above the ground at the Imperial War Museum North.

Our question to you is, "Are you brave enough to take on the challenge"? If so, we need your help to fundraise for FareShare Northwest, EMERGE's regional food redistribution programme.

We need as many people as possible to sign up and commit to raising £150 to ensure the future of the FareShare Northwest programme.

To find out all the details and sign up please click here to be taken to the information page.

EMERGE Recycling

Can The iPhone Help You Reduce Waste? Yes It Can!

2011-06-07T10:57:00.000+01:00

As we know councils are pulling out all the stops now when it comes to waste reduction.

For example the waste disposal authority have funded a number of community groups to facilitate them in spreading the word about waste. As it happens I helped out the Monton group with some speed stuffing of recycling leaflets in bags last Friday as part of this initiative.

The latest news is that Recycle for Greater Manchester (R4GM) has turned to technology to help them with the war on waste. That's right, R4GM has hired an ecommerce company from Sale to create an Iphone app to help the good people of Greater Manchester find their nearest HWRC, bike re-use schemes and how to reduce junk mail, food waste and packaging.

This is a marvelous idea. I have been on numerous waste reduction campaigns where leaflets were used (see first paragraph) and if this can be reduced all the better.

I see that the app has already received a 5* review from Vizzzzz who claims it is a useful app - nice work Vizzzzz, hopefully that will encourage more people to download it!

I would be really interested to download the app.... but I have an Android phone - I wonder if they will do an Android version?

Download it > you can download it here

If you download it please let us know what you think of it in the comments - I'm dying to know!

Take care,

Joe

Social Media Manager

EMERGE Recycling

Guest Blog - The Good Green Life

2011-05-26T13:40:00.000+01:00

Hello Readers!,

From studying a degree in Sustainable Development for four years, I’ve increasingly become aware of how I live my life and how my ‘habits’ have accumulated to the deprivation of what society and consumerism consistently has on this beautiful world. Therefore, I have decided that I don’t want to continue this way anymore and I want to live a life that is more self-sufficient and sustainable.

My blog is a diary account of how it is possible to live a much easier life that is stress free and less dependent on the rat race. I intend on trying anything new but my main aim is that it does need to economically viable, ethically sound and kind to the environment. I will experience failures, achieve success and I am willing to listen to any advice.

Sharing my diary will hopefully show people how it is possible for everyone to live a much exciting life in tune with this planets natural eco system without sacrificing the wonderful luxuries this world has to offer.

To follow my progress, keep an eye on my blog: The Good Green Life

Terri.

Residents' food waste can be disposed of in green bins, Trafford council says | Manchester Evening News - menmedia.co.uk

2011-05-20T12:07:00.000+01:00

Residents' food waste can be disposed of in green bins, Trafford council says | Manchester Evening News - menmedia.co.uk

Some good news for the people of Trafford, you're about to be able to recycle food waste from next week!

EMERGE Recycling

Cardiff Considering Anaerobic Digestion

2011-05-20T08:58:00.000+01:00

Some goods news for Welsh recyclers, it looks like Cardiff Council are giving very serious consideration to the installation of a new Anaerobic digestion facility. This move could see 50,000 tonnes of waste diverted from their landfill stream, where previously it had been transported to Gloucester for landfill disposal.

It's always great to hear positive news like this and we just want to wish our neighbours the best of luck in getting this new facility up and running!

EMERGE Recycling

Panorama - E-Waste (Track My Trash)

2011-05-17T09:59:00.000+01:00

There was a really great programme on Panorama last night, it covered the dubious practices of the unlicensed WEEE waste sector. The Environment Agency tracked TV sets they see where they ended up. In come cases they got as far as Africa where they were dumped and scavenged by children.

This kind of practice is absolutely abhorrant and it's good to see the Environment Agency taking steps to make sure people are aware of what can happen to WEEE waste that is not treated correctly.

I highly recommend you watch the programme and see why it's important to work with licensed waste contractors for your WEEE waste.

EMERGE Recycling

England's Recycling Rates Increase!

2011-05-11T14:39:00.001+01:00

Great news all around, I've just read a report that indicates that England's recycling rates have grown to 40.3% of all household waste. This is really good news as it shows year on year progression and growth since 2007!

(09/10 - 40.1%, 08/09 - 39.7%, 07/08 - 38.8%)

We'd like to offer our thanks to everyone who is working so hard spreading the word about sustainability and recycling. Not only are we recycling more in England but we're also producing less waste, last year the total weight of household waste fell by 200,000 tonnes in England.

Let's stick at it, redouble our efforts and we'll get there eventually! :)

Alex.

EMERGE Recycling

Vacancy - FareShare Volunteer Fundraising and Marketing Team

2011-05-10T14:06:00.000+01:00

FareShare North West is your local community food network, since 2008 we have diverted enough surplus “in date” food to provide over 1.5 million meals to over 55 community groups who support the vulnerable in our region.

Role Title: Fundraising and Marketing Assistants
Responsible to: EMERGE Education and Community Officer and FareShare Operations Manager.

We are starting a volunteer fundraising and marketing team whose role purposes are:
• To raise the awareness of FareShare North West
• To find new beneficiaries we can support
• To find more food manufacturers who can supply us with food which otherwise would have gone to landfill
• To develop and see through fundraising initiatives
• To be able to represent FareShare at events
• To develop and improve our website
• To add content to our website and blog as well as Twitter and Facebook.
• To design marketing materials
• To carry out administration duties.

Skills/experience required:
We are looking to create a large team of volunteers with different skills to work on a range of projects so please get in touch if you are interested in or have experience in any part of the above role. We are especially interested in recruiting volunteers between the ages of 16-25 years old.

One of the projects the team will undertake is to promote a fundraising event on Saturday 16th July 2011 where we are asking people to raise money for FareShare by launching themselves off the 30m high Imperial War Museum North, by zip slide, offering a thrilling 250m slide over the Manchester Ship Canal.

Expenses: We can reimburse reasonable expenses (up to £4 a day for travel and £3 for lunch).
Times of volunteering: Flexible. Minimum commitment of 8 hours but we hope volunteers will help on an ongoing basis.
Location: Based at EMERGE/FareShare Depot, New Smithfield Market, Openshaw.
Start Date: May 2011
Contact: Nicola Milner - 0161 223 8200 or via email.

EMERGE Recycling

Axe for weekly black bin collections in Manchester to save £12m | Manchester Evening News - menmedia.co.uk

2011-05-10T11:22:00.000+01:00

Axe for weekly black bin collections in Manchester to save £12m | Manchester Evening News - menmedia.co.uk

Greetings,

Another bit of interesting topical news for our Manchester readers, with effect from early July general waste collections will be moving to fortnightly across Manchester.

Apparently this will save the City Council £12m in landfill taxes, but hopefully this won't also be detrimental to the environment of Manchester in the form of increased levels of fly-tipping.

EMERGE Recycling

Tyre Recycling? Here's Some Top Tips!

2011-05-10T10:27:00.000+01:00

I've just read a really interesting blog post on recycling tires and some of they great uses they get put to. Read the article here.

At EMERGE we're always keen to look at other recycling treatments and outlets so we can help provide a wider range of recycling collection solutions for our customers in Manchester.

If anyone knows of any regional recycling outlets for tyres, we'd love to hear more about them!

EMERGE Recycling

Recycling Q+A - Part 1.

2011-05-04T13:54:00.000+01:00

Hi everyone,

I was just wondering if there was anything you would like to know about the world of recycling and waste? Whether it's legislation, what actually happens to certain types of waste or why you can't recycle some things.

We'd love to help you guys get a better understanding of waste and sustainability, so if you have any questions drop them in the comments box below and we'll get right back to you!!

Alex.

EMERGE Recycling

Royal Wedding, Waste Disaster?

2011-04-27T10:06:00.000+01:00

With the raft of coverage in the news recently you could be forgiven for getting somewhat tired of the relentless coverage of the pending Royal Wedding!

I was pleased though to see that the event organisers have thought ahead about the inevitable problem of waste and come up with a system to cover the route they will travel. The Westminster Council has put on 15 exra sweeping vehicles as well as 40 extra staff to help ease the burden of over 140 tonnes of additional waste.

I do wonder though whether any of the waste will be recycled? No mention of that in the report from the Daily Mirror. It can be very tricky to maintain a seperate recycling system at large scale public events, we experience it at every event we manage waste for. It does seem a shame though if all 140 tonnes of the waste produced will be sent straight to landfill.

Not much of a legacy for your wedding day is it?

Alex.

EMERGE Recycling

EMERGE Alert!

2011-04-14T14:30:00.000+01:00

Just a quick note to let you know that EMERGE is going to be promoting our Zero Waste campaign in the Arndale Centre as part of the centre's 'Think Green' event. We will be around all day on Friday 15th and Saturday 16th in Exchange Court which is located near Next and Starbucks in the Manchester Arndale Centre.

Look forward to seeing you down there!

EMERGE Recycling

Recycling Fines Get The Boot.

2011-04-11T10:30:00.000+01:00

Greetings,

I was happy to read that as of today City Councils will no longer be allowed to fine households for making mistakes with their recycling. It always struck me as very unfair that when genuine mistakes are made by individuals using complex and varied recycling systems in earnest they should be fined. Surely it is better to encourage people to recycle for the benefit of everyone rather than threatening them for not being 100% correct in their use of the system. Especially when the fines in question could be up to £1000! We last discussed this issue in December and you clearly felt the same way as us.

In every recycling system you have to accept that there is going to be a certain level of contamination in your waste streams. At EMERGE we collect from around 1000 premises across Greater Manchester and largely we receive very clean waste from everyone we work with, this is acheived through communication and education. When someone does mix wastes we explain to them the 'Why' of source seperation and also provide signage which helps to educate people about their waste systems.

I hope that a new 'Carrot' initiative is the direction for domestic recycling services, rather than the old 'Stick' fines. If enough people are enthused about the benefits and rewards of recycling then you shouldn't need to worry about fining households as they will already be producing clean recyclates for treatment.

Optimistic? Perhaps, but I'd rather try to engage people through discussing the issues than threaten them with fines in order to acheive lower contaminant levels.

Alex.

EMERGE Recycling

EMERGE Relaunches!

2011-04-06T15:32:00.000+01:00

EMERGE was proud to announce a re-launch of our recycling and waste management services for businesses in Greater Manchester. Having reviewed our services and undertaken market research to clarify client requirements, the East Manchester based social enterprise can confidently offer a suitably wide menu of competitively priced options to meet the needs of the majority – from big to small, simple or complex. EMERGE can also provide collections of residual (general) or food waste as well as offering a wide range of bins to suit any customer.

“Added value” help to meeting Corporate Social Responsibility objectives is also available through EMERGE’s latest educational initiative: Zero Waste Champions. The aim is to recruit visionary individuals from all walks of life including businesses, who seek to lead sustainable lifestyles and help others do the same.

Our official re-launch took place on 25th March during Climate Week alongside an EMERGE Group exhibition showcasing all our work and shining the spotlight on the need to save our resources.
Examples of EMERGE’s re-branded vehicles were unveiled on Albert Square by Cllr. Jim Battle Deputy Leader Manchester City Council, John Walker, Chairman Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) and Peter Davys National Councillor for the FSB North West who is also MD of Orrest Business Solutions. It was all thanks to Peter that the EMERGE fleet was transformed, due to his connections with HMG Paints. Stephen Crossman and Paddy Dyson represented HMG.

EMERGE Recycling

Climate Week - What's On?

2011-03-21T12:54:00.000Z

Greetings,

EMERGE will be at Brazennose House West this week hosting a series of events for Climate Week.

Tuesday is Fareshare day. There is an opportunity to get involved in a cookery demo on Tuesday lunchtime and there will be a chance to find out all about Fareshares activities at 4pm.

We will be offering companies free taster sessions of our Zero Waste consultancy on Wednesday and Thursday.

Friday will see us 'relaunch' EMERGE. Come and join us for some lunch and to find out about the great work the REAL skills team have been doing with volunteers and educating young people about the 3Rs. The unveiling of the vehicles will take place on Albert Square, the other activities will be at Brazennose St.

Here's the schedule:

Monday 21st:
Exhibition 11am - 6.30pm

Tuesday 22nd: Fareshare Day
Drop In 10.30am - 6.30pm
Love Food Hate Waste Cookery demo 12 - 2pm
Presentations and cocktails 4 - 6pm

Wednesday 23rd:
Exhibition 11am - 6.30pm
Zero waste taster session: lunchtime, early evening (flexible)

Thursday 24th:
Exhibition 11am - 6.30pm
Zero waste taster session: lunchtime, early evening (flexible)

Friday 25th: Re-launch
Vehicle unveiling (Albert Sq) 11am - 12pm
Lunch 12 - 2pm
REAL Skills education and volunteering celebration 2 - 4pm

Onwards & upwards!

Joe

ecofocused.com

EMERGE - Climate Week Events

2011-03-16T16:01:00.000Z

NEWSFLASH: EMERGE is running a series of events to celibrate Climate Week, these will include an exhibition, a day to promote our FareShare depot and a relaunch of our range of recycling services. For a breakdown of the events please Click Here.

EMERGE - Volunteers/Models Wanted

2011-03-10T13:48:00.000Z

EMERGE 3Rs will be running a series of events during Climate Week from 21-25 March and WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT!

From 21-25 March EMERGE 3Rs will be exhibiting our services and inspiring people about the good practice we have been developing on Zero Waste and wider sustainability issues. We need 2-3 volunteers every day to assist with the exhibition and help visitors.

On Tuesday 22 March there will be cookery demonstrations as part of the Love Food Hate Waste campaign and an awareness session about FareShare, a charity which redistributes 'surplus' food to disadvantaged people. We will be teaming up with TRAID, an environmental charity who recycle textiles to fund International Development, to hold a fashion show. We are looking for 12 female volunteers to model the clothing range.

On Friday 25th March there be a celebration event and relaunch of EMERGE’s Services including our new Zero Waste Champions for Greater Manchester project. We need volunteers to help ensure the event goes smoothly.

You must be available for one day or more during Climate Week from 21-25 March. You must be interested in the work of EMERGE 3Rs and be comfortable and confident about talking to members of the public. If you have an interest or experience in event management you could help us organise the event over the coming weeks.

The events will take place at Brazennose House West, Brazennose Street, Manchester, M2 5EP.

Please contact Nicola for further information if you are able to volunteer for us on 0161 223 8200/volunteering@emergemanchester.co.uk

Recycle for Manchester on Facebook

2011-03-09T23:17:00.000Z

Greetings,

It came to my attention yesterday that Recycle for Greater Manchester have a Facebook Page.

I have had a few things to say on my personal blog about social media in the waste industry but here I am just saying this is good!

I am not suggesting you 'Like' the Page or otherwise, I am merely pointing out the fact that it exists on the well known social network because until yesterday I was unaware of that fact.

For the sake of disclosure I will tell you I have not yet liked the Page. If they had a vid of Dave Spikey in Phoenix Nights on the Page I think I would have liked it by now!

Onwards & upwards!

Joe

ecofocused.com

Vacancy: Customer Services Administrator

2011-03-04T12:26:00.000Z

Organisation:	EMERGE 3Rs
Salary:	£11,500 - £14,000 dependent upon experience
Reference:	CSAFeb11
Location:	Manchester
Hours:	Full Time
Position type:	Paid
Contract:	Permanent
Closing date:	Tue 15 March 11
Website:	www.emergemanchester.co.uk
Contact name:	Shaheen Khan
Contact telephone:	0161 223 8200
Contact email:	shaheen@emergemanchester.co.uk

This key administrative role within EMERGE’s Business Services team will act as the single point of contact to our 800+ waste management customers and their enquires, provide logistical support to operational personnel and promote EMERGE’s range of products and services.

The post holder will be responsible for the swift resolution of customer queries, processing of orders from quotation through to confirmation and collection of materials, and the maintenance of accurate account information within databases.

We seek a resourceful and adaptable individual with excellent communication and organisational skills, the ability to develop and maintain good customer relationships and proven experience delivering customer service to a high level.

Application deadline: 4pm on Tuesday 15th March 2011, interviews will take place on Friday 18th March 2011. This position is permanent subject to a six month probation period.

To request an application pack by email/post contact Shaheen Khan.

EMERGE Recycling

Vacancy: Zero Waste Education & Community Involvement Manager

2011-02-15T12:55:00.000Z

This key managerial role will enable EMERGE to broaden its reach and impact promoting the company and the principles of Zero Waste within schools and the wider community; a dynamic operator is needed who can develop and maximise the team’s abilities to deliver high quality education, training, volunteering and community involvement services in Greater Manchester and the surrounding area. The post holder will undertake effective development, tendering and marketing strategies making EMERGE’S community involvement work sustainable by successfully launching new services in the marketplace and winning new business.

We seek a highly self-motivated individual with excellent communication and project development skills, the ability to work successfully with partner organisations and a proven experience of delivering education/training/community involvement activities.

Payscale: £20,966 (4 days)

Application deadline: 10am on 8th March 2011.

Interviews will take place on 9th and 11th March 2011.

Applicant must be available to start as soon as possible, ideally week beginning 14th March 2011 inc handover.

This will be a 6-month fixed term contract pending further funding being secured.

Contact shaheen@emergemanchester.co.uk or 0161 223 8200 for an application pack by e-mail/post.

EMERGE Recycling

Height of Barriers to increase at HWRCs in Manchester

2011-02-14T23:03:00.000Z

Greetings,

I learned from this article on Monday that the height for the barriers at Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs) in Manchester is to be raised from 6,1" to 6,6".

This is to encourage those with people carriers to visit HWRCs and hence to improve recycling rates further.

I have actually spent the past couple of weeks on HWRCs around Manchester taking surveys. I think it's great that we encourage as many people to visit HWRCs as possible. We don't want people dumping old radios and furniture in household bins because their car won't fit under the barrier at the local HWRC.

My concern would be that this may encourage more traders to visit and illegally dump trade waste at HWRCs. From what I have observed over the past couple of weeks this is already a problem at a number of site in Greater Manchester and can be hard for the men on site to prevent - even if there is a 'meet and greet'.

For more on my surveying activities please feel free to visit my blog => ecofocused.com

... and of course feel free to comment.

Onwards & upwards!

Joe.

How To: Green Valentines

2011-02-14T10:48:00.000Z

Councillor Neil Swannick, Chairman of the Greater Manchester Waste Disposal Authority (GMWDA) has put together five hints for ensuring an environmentally friendly Valentine’s Day.

Try thinking of something original to do on Valentine’s Day. A picnic in the park (or on the living room floor if the February weather is a bit nippy) with your other half’s favourite nibbles.
If you buy flowers look for those that are locally grown. Often flowers can be flown thousands of miles before they are given as a gift, and will not last very long.
Get creative with your gifts. If your other half has been meaning to have photographs printed for a while, do it for them and put them into a nice photo album or frame.
Buy cards made from recycled paper and make sure that they are recycled afterwards.
For something a bit different, name a star after your loved one or dedicate a tree to them and help the Woodland Trust restore the UK’s native woodland heritage.

EMERGE Recycling

Million Bottle Temple - Thailand

2011-02-08T12:33:00.000Z

A great spot from Lucy Danger, our CEO. Beautiful use of recycled materials for construction materials. I wish we had something spectacular like this in Manchester!

EMERGE Recycling

Monthly Recycling Collections for Bolton?

2011-02-08T08:35:00.000Z

It seems that the latest series of Government cuts are going to be hitting homes in Bolton shortly. In a new cost-saving measure the local Council is proposing to cut the recycling waste collection frequency for households in Bolton from fortnightly to once per month.

Whilst I'm sure we can all appreciate the need to reduce costs in this current economic climate I don't think this measure is going to do anything to help Bolton to improve their overall levels of recycling. Surely in mid-summer people are going to elect to put some of their waste into the general waste bins rather than recycle it to reduce the chance of overflow and odors developing.

Another concern is that currently the materials collected for recycling provide an income to Bolton Council rather than a cost, which would be incurred through landfill tax if the materials start to slip into general waste. With this in mind I hope that Bolton Council decide to retain their current fortnightly collection structure, otherwise they will struggle to improve upon their current 29% recycling rate.

We'd love to hear the thoughts of Bolton residents on this proposal.

Source: Telegraph.

EMERGE Recycling

UK Achieves 40% Recycling Rates.

2011-02-03T15:22:00.000Z

Greetings,

I just read a fantastic report published by Defra, which shows that the UK's recycling rates are now pushing past 40%! this is obviously fantastic news as it shows the progress we are making as a nation towards our environmental and sustainability targets.

For an indepth review of the report, take a look at this article by letsrecycle.com which breaks it down in great detail.

It's certainly one step in the right direction!

EMERGE Recycling

What a Waste of Resources - Nimrod Aircrafts Scrapped

2011-01-27T01:20:00.000Z

Greetings,

Dismantling of nine multimillion pound Nimrod aircraft is underway at BAE in Stockport I learned from the BBC yesterday.

Having cost the taxpayer £4Bn !!!!! and having taken 1800 people 10 years to design and build the aircraft will never fly and are now being taken apart and scrapped.

The aircraft were due to be handed over to the RAF and go into service next year but in a bid to save £2Bn over the next 10 years the project was cancelled in the spending review last October.

I am not a fan of planes in general, they produce far too much pollution and should be phased out asap in my opinion.

However, the sight of these great feats of modern engineering being reduced to scrap before even being allowed to leave the runway is truly very sad. What a terrible, terrible waste of resources. I truly feel very sorry for the men and women who have worked on that project.

Onwards & upwards!

Joe

My blog: ecofocused.com

6 Community Groups Get Funding for Waste Reduction in Manchester - Including EMERGE!

2011-01-18T23:30:00.000Z

Greetings,

We had the news through before Christmas that we had been successful but it looks as though the official press release is now out so we can jump for joy and tell everyone!

Please click the title link as Inside the M60 have done a great job of covering the story.

It's our aim to create a network of community 3Rs champions throughout Greater Manchester. Further details of EMERGE's project to follow.

Onwards & upwards!

Joe

My blog => ecofocused.com

Recycling and Landfill Tax Tables

2011-01-12T23:33:00.000Z

Greetings,

Pt1. Oh Manchester is wonderful, but we are still not as wonderful as we could be at recycling according to the latest study by the GMB Union.

We are a lot less wonderful than Leicestershire, Devon, and Lichfield. Staffs Moorlands who top the recycling table are streets ahead of us. Hackney and the Isles of Scilly are better at recycling than we are. In fact, according to the study 353 councils are better at recycling than Manchester. Only 3 are worse.

This is according to the study which ranks councils in England on reuse, recycling and composting for 2009/10.

Now, I don't know about you but for me this makes for embarrasing reading.

Pt. 2 What makes for interesting reading are the figures... £££.

If England had done no recycling whatsoever in 2010 the bill would have been £1.1 Bn in landfill tax (which is £48 per tonne as set out in the Landfill Directive by the EU) to dispose of that 'waste'. (Just think what we're paying already!)

Looking at Manchester, if all our recycling would have gone to landfill it would have cost the taxpayer £7M plus (£7,325,370).

Manchester's recycling rate was measured at 18.8%, whilst the best performing councils were over 60%. If we performed as well as them we could save £14,000,000+ per year - just in landfill tax!!

You could argue that the demographics are different in the top performing areas and the rural areas do better but surely we can do better than 18.8%. Here's an idea - maybe the Council can incentivise recycling, get people engaged on their website . Oh, looks like they beat me to it....

Onwards & upwards!

Joe

Ecofocused.com

Manchester to lead Electric Car revolution?

2011-01-04T13:11:00.000Z

It looks like Manchester is going to again be at the forefront of environmental techonology in the UK. £7m plans are in place to built a network of 300 charging points for electric vehicles, allowing them to be topped up with a 100 mile range from a single charge.

Transport Secretary Phillip Hammond seemed very pleased as he declared that we can now all have "all the convenience of the car, without the carbon". Now call me sceptical but I'm pretty sure that the electricity to drive these vehicles has to be produced from somewhere and until the network of nuclear stations the government has proposed is in place, we're still going to be putting this extra power demand through coal-fired power stations. (Source: MEN)

Cutting edge? Yes. Carbon free? Not yet.

EMERGE Recycling

COP 16 - Climate COP Out?

2010-12-13T13:10:00.000Z

Over the past two weeks all of the world has had it's eyes fixed upon the delegates of the COP16 Climate Change Conference in Cancun, Mexico.

After the disappointment of the talks in Copenhagen at COP15 it was hoped that this time around there would be real commitment by the world's leaders to legally binding targets on carbon reduction.

Sadly for everyone at COP16, this was not the case. After two weeks of talks we are left with yet another toothless deal which is not legally binding. On the plus side we will see the creation of a UN managed climate fund, however none of the participants at COP16 have made any monetary commitments to it!

There's a really good article on the Guardian website that I recommend you read which outlines in more detail the final outcomes.

It looks like we have a long way to go yet before we will see genuine desire from political leaders to reduce global emissions.

Alex.

EMERGE Recycling

Vegetable Oil Recycling in Wiltshire

2010-12-10T15:48:00.000Z

Greetings,

Vegetable oil recycling has been introduced at 10 household waste recycling centres in Wiltshire after a 3 month trial. The oil will be collected and refined to be used as a fuel for generating electricity.

An added bonus of the scheme is that less oil will be poured down drains causing blockages and costing £15m to clean up nationally.

This service is part of the local authorities campaign to reduce food waste.

Food waste is a huge problem and the good work of love food hate waste to reduce food waste and collection schemes like this are helping people to solve the food waste problem.

Onwards & upwards!

Joe

Ecofocused.com

FareShare North West Open Day

2010-12-09T13:38:00.000Z

Since Starting FareShare North West in 2008 together we have redistributed over 500 tonnes of food saved from bin/landfill, equalling 1.19 million meals for the vulnerable in our region.

Our open days are run to encourage existing members to come and see the warehouse and find out where the food comes from, who it goes to and why FareShare North West do the work that they do. Non-members are also welcome to come along and visit the warehouse and hopefully become members.

There will be opportunities to meet the volunteers at FareShare North West and have a look at the work they do, and hopefully encourage more people to come and volunteer. There is also a food demonstration, showing people the healthy meals you can make with the food donated by FareShare North West.

FareShare North West have had some major successes over the last year, i.e. in November, 26 pallets of food were donated by BEFA and successfully redistributed. FareShare supplies over 50 beneficiary groups in the region, e.g homeless shelters, day centres for the elderly and refugee support centres, in our 2 year plan we hope to double that amount of beneficiaries.

Our first open event was a resounding success, despite the snow and we will be holding another open day on 21st January 2011, 11am- 2pm. To RSVP just call 0161 223 8200.

Lindsay.

EMERGE Recycling

Volunteering Placement Starting Soon (10 weeks)

2010-12-07T14:23:00.000Z

Greetings,

Volunteering placement starting soon at FareShare North West (which is operated by EMERGE in case you didn't know).

We are offering a structured programme with training including food hygiene, health and safety awareness, manual handling and emergency first aid. There will also be role specific training in warehousing. If you want to apply you must be able to commit to two days a week between 10 January and 11 March 2011.

The funders have laid down strict criteria so if you are interested take a quick look to see whether you are eligible:

Applicants must be:
• 19 years old or over
• Out of work
• Live in a City of Manchester ward

And must fit into at least one of the following groups:
• In receipt of Incapacity Benefit, Sickness Disability Benefit or Employment Support
Allowance;
• Lone parents in receipt of Income Support or JSA;
• Members of the BME communities including Refugee and Asylum Seekers;
• Over 50 who wish to return to work;
• Carers who wish to return to work;
• Have no qualifications

If you want to find out more come and join us for a cup of coffee and a chat at FareShare on Tuesday 14 December and 2pm. You will meet the staff and other volunteers, get more information about the placement and have the chance to fill out an application form.

If you know of anyone else who may be interest please let them know.

Onwards & upwards!

Joe

Ecofocused.com

Recycling: Carrot vs Stick

2010-12-03T10:13:00.000Z

Whilst looking over the metro I came across this article:

My thoughts are that people should most certainly be rewarded or praised for their successes rather than punished for not recycling. Surely it’s more important to encourage people to recycle rather than tell them they could face a hefty fine if they don’t do it properly, I believe it is unfair to have people fearing they have done something wrong when actually, recycling should be an enjoyable experience and people should be able to feel happy that they are giving something back to their community.

I don’t believe that anyone wants to feel pressured into recycling, more and more people recycle every day because they can and want to, not because they feel they have to. I don’t think recycling should become compulsory, because anyone should be able to do things when and if they want to, and there should not be anyone out there to tell people what they can and cannot do, and punish them with a huge fine.

What do you think?

Lindsay

EMERGE Recycling

170 green jobs created at Siemens, Withington

2010-11-29T11:43:00.000Z

Greetings,

Fantastic news that 170 hi tech green jobs are being created at Siemens, Manchester. Last week on 25th November Manchester City Council approved an application from German electronics multinational Siemens to build a 2 storey, 2,679 sq mtr office and lab on their Princess Road site.

The building will be used to develop technologies for the booming offshore wind industry and will provide a testing and assembly hub for electronic devices for distribution throughout Europe.

It is great that Manchester will have such a hub built here. It demonstrates we have a wealth of skilled people who can perform such key roles in the offshore wind industry. Lets hope Manchester and the UK can capitalise further on the offshore wind and renewables opportunities in future.

Onwards & upwards!

Joe

www.joewhiteblog.wordpress.com

Snowed in during a global heat wave?

2010-11-26T12:11:00.000Z

Greetings,

I can remember earlier this year during what was, I think, the worst winter for 30 years being out walking the streets of Merseyside in Arctic Conditions. I was going door to door on behalf of Sefton Council with a trusty team of recycling promoters, encouraging the good people of Sefton to participate in the new food waste recycling scheme.

Boy, it was freezing. The cold temperatures caused some of my team mates to remark 'global warming - what a load of old cobblers, I can hardly feel my toes!' or something along those lines. I remember a similar sentiment from others at the time.

With the cold weather at the minute and snow in Scotland and the borders I can just hear some people saying now 'It's freezing - global warming was all made up, turn up the heating'.

To those people and my team mates from earlier in the year I would like to make a few brief but clear points:

1. Climate is not the same as weather. Weather is what conditions of the atmosphere are over a short period of time, and climate is how the atmosphere "behaves" over relatively long periods of time.

2. The surface area of the Earth occupied by the UK is tiny (compared with the whole planet!) hence conditions here are not reflective of the whole planet

3. 2000-2010 will be clearly the hottest decade on record

4. 2010 will be the hottest or second hottest year on record

Yes, it is not good news, some people have even taken the step of going back into denial with the Uni of East Anglia scandal, disinformation, and the complete failure at Copenhagen.

So if you tell me global warming is made up because you can't feel your toes please tell me you're joking, then we can go and sit in a cafe and have a hot chocolate.

Onwards & upwards!

Joe

If you like this please visit my blog:

Ecofocused.com

Merseyside School set to benefit £900 from US scheme RecycleBank

2010-11-25T14:40:00.000Z

Greetings,

A school in Runcorn, Westfield Primary School, is set to benefit from the RecycleBank scheme to the tune of £900. They are planning to build a sustainable willow dome outdoor classroom and coppice area with the funds.

The local council operates the RecycleBank scheme which encourages residents to recycle through financial rewards for kerbside recycling.

RecycleBank run a schools scheme which means the rewards can be collected and spent by the school. As such Westfield Primary are collecting for the equipment and encouraging local residents to donate their points.

The scheme is an American initiative which has come to the UK and was taken up by Halton council last year. It may soon be taken up by at least one council in London.

If the scheme leads to greater uptake of recycling and also brings benefits to schools then we are all for the take up of such initiatives by local councils. We must not forget the importance of waste reduction along the way though!

Onwards & upwards!

Joe

Ecofocused.com

Cheshire MBT Plant Given Go Ahead

2010-11-23T13:51:00.000Z

Greetings,

Cheshire West and Chester council announced on Friday they were giving the go ahead for a 200,000 tonne a year mechanical biological treatment plant at Lostock Gralam in Cheshire.

Viridor, who propose to build the plant, have scaled back the size of the planned facility from 250,000 to 200,000 tonnes a year after the initial proposal was rejected in June.

The plant will be used to treat waste from Cheshire East and Cheshire West and Chester councils. Once in operation, the plant will produce 130,000 tonnes-a-year of solid recovered fuel (SRF) which is planned to be sent to the incinerator at INEOS Chlor, Runcorn.

The value of the contract is expected to be around £850 million for 25 years.

We think much more could be done to improve recycling rates and reducing waste before we build these hugely expensive waste treatment facilities which create hardly any long term jobs.

Austria and Germany recycled 69% and 65% respectively in 2008, with the UK lagging behind at 35%.

There has already been an example recently where a local council broke its contract by not providing enough waste to an EFW plant. (We're they recycling too well?).

Let's take a look at this case: The waste will be turned into a waste fuel in 1 process at great expense. The waste fuel will then be taken to Runcorn to be burned in an incinerator, at further expense, and this is now cheaper than landfill!

Surely its time we reduced our waste. Reduce, reuse, recycle.

Onwards & upwards!

Joe

Ecofocused.com

3Rs Christmas Gifts

2010-11-19T15:59:00.000Z

Greetings,

Thinking of ‘going green’ this Christmas? – read on.

Here are some gift ideas I came up with:

3Rs Gift Ideas

1. Give an Experience
2. Charity Gifts
3. Subscription to Spotify
4. Make Something Yourself
5. Use Freecycle
6. Reuse – Ebay/Charity Shop/Car Boot Sale
7. Plant a Tree

1. Give an Experience

Give someone an experience this Christmas and they will have a story about how they went bungee jumping, were a keeper at a zoo, or had afternoon tea at Windsor Castle for years to come.

However be careful when selecting your experience – they can be carbon intensive!

Golf lessons: http://tiny.cc/wb5vz
Bungee jump: http://tiny.cc/5wh5c
Spa treatment: http://tiny.cc/gdn4b
Ghosthunting: http://tiny.cc/71xmg

2. Charity Gifts
Adopt a wild animal, save some trees from destruction, help some less fortunate people. Charity gifts are a great way to share some festive spirit this Christmas.

If you donate to a worthy cause your money will go to charity and you will also receive something to give on Christmas Day eg. a card, cuddly toy, certificate.

Adopt an Animal: http://tiny.cc/k7w0m
Save Trees: http://tiny.cc/p0f3t , http://tiny.cc/aof9b
Energy Saving Stove: http://tiny.cc/i3qw9

3. Subscription to Spotify

‘Spotify is a music streaming service offering streaming of selected music from a range of major and independent record labels’ Wikipedia

7 million people are now using Spotify and its not even available outside Europe. Developed by a team in Sweden this music streaming service has been taking Europe by storm since 2008. With 10 million tracks available at the touch of a button and from major record labels including Sony, EMI, Warner Music Group and Universal its not hard to see why.

Where Spotify is available anyone with a PC can access all the 10 million tracks for free. The trouble is you have to put up with those annoying banner and audio ads.

For £4.99 a month you can give the gift of ad free unlimited music to a music loving recipient.

The only trouble is once your subscription expires they might well be hooked….

Spotify: http://tiny.cc/ayz29

4. Make Something Yourself

If you like crafts you could use your skills to make a present, and save money and the environment at the same time. Here are a few examples:

Picture book: http://tiny.cc/4xr9n
Plastic bag crouchet: http://tiny.cc/tz1u9, http://tiny.cc/i9g42

If you live in Manchester, UK there are craft workshops which teach you how to make ‘Junk mail jewelry’, ‘Reuse button bags’ and more: http://tiny.cc/yp2b903b1r

5. Use Freecycle

Freecycle is a ‘grassoots movement of people who are giving and getting stuff for free in their own towns.’

It is free to sign up and there are 494 groups in the UK alone. Once you sign up you can post on the site offering your unwanted items or requesting items.

Tip: Make sure to send a convincing message to request items as there may be competition. Eg. make them laugh and be flexible

http://www.freecycle.org/

6. Reuse – Ebay/ Charity shops/ Car boot sale

Ebay – you can use the ebay auctions or buy it now but make sure the item is used/ unwanted/ refurbished as a lot of stores on eBay sell new stuff. http://www.ebay.co.uk/

Charity shops – If you have an eye for a bargain why not try picking up a gift at a charity shop? You never know you might stumble across a great find. Try not to go with anything specific in mind and you might just find something great!

Tips:
If you go to a wealthy area you can often pick up the best bargains
Seek out smaller charities
Check out the accessories
Have a chat with the staff to see when items come in. They might offer to find and hold items for you.

Car Boot Sale – If you are prepared to get up at the crack of dawn on a Sunday morning and get there early you may just grab a bargain. http://www.carbootsales.org

7. Plant a tree
Planting trees to sequester carbon from fossil fuels is not a sustainable solution for global warming and can be used to justify carbon pollution eg. Offsetting long distance flights.

That said planting trees to create or restore a forest can benefit wild animals which live there and can also add biomass to the forest which reduces CO2 in the atmosphere.

The Trees for Life project in Caledonia, Scotland is restoring the Caledonian forest. They planted 250,000 trees in 2008-2009.

Trees for life http://www.treesforlife.org.uk
Treetwists: http://www.treetwist.co.uk/

Crafty/ Alternative:

For lovers of rock music: http://tiny.cc/utzarodjxy
(Reuse) jewelry http://www.hairygrowler.co.uk/
Handmade Norfolk Soap www.handmadenorfolksoaps.co.uk
English Wine: Nyetimber Classic Cuvée 2005 http://tiny.cc/iivo1

Thanks for reading.

Joe White

For further inspiration on green living this Christmas and beyond visit my blog:
Ecofocused.com

Marks & Spencer’s Launches Chocolate Packaging- Which Can Dissolve in Water!

2010-10-26T13:14:00.000+01:00

Greetings,

Marks and Spencer’s entire Swiss Chocolate Collection range has new packaging which is not only 100% compostable, but will also disappear completely if placed under a running tap!

The trays are made of plantic, a material made from starch and is ideal for home composting, which M&S first tried in 2007. When they received positive feedback from customers, it was decided that they’d use the material for their Christmas chocolate range and another Christmas favourite, mince pies!

In the new chocolate boxes, the outer layer is made from Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified cardboard, while the mat that sits on top is made from greaseproof paper and is also fully recyclable. The only material not compostable will be the plastic film wrapped around the box. This is made from PP – recyclable but not currently collected in Britain.

Helene Roberts, head of packaging at M&S, said: "This is a fantastic step forwards for food packaging – we know our customers really want to be responsible and using plantic means they can enjoy a delicious box of chocolates without the worry of what to do with the leftover tray – they can just throw it on their compost heap."

Once on the compost heap, the plantic tray will take around three weeks to break down completely. If the tray is put under water it will dissolve in a matter of minutes.

Packaging experts and scientists believe it has the potential to revolutionise the mainstream confectionery packaging market.

So not only is it better for the environment, but also one less thing to feel guilty about when we’ve ate yet another box of chocolates over Christmas!

LL

EMERGE Recycling

Violent Protests Result in Plans for New Dump Being Put on Hold

2010-10-25T11:33:00.000+01:00

Greetings,

Yesterday the Italian government offered to suspend the opening of a new waste dump in an attempt to stop violent protests, which have taken place over the last month.

Vehicles trying to take rubbish into an existing dump have been set on fire, tree trunks have blocked the road and police have had rocks and firecrackers thrown at them.

Police have also confirmed that, close to the where the protests have taken place, small quantities of explosives have been found.

The Prime Minister has promised to release £12.4 million to improve the existing dump, which local residents say gives off a foul smell and claim that it has been used to dump toxic waste.

The residents are wary of agreeing to landfill sites or incinerators. They fear this could attract mobsters from other parts of Italy to come and dump toxic waste.

Plans for a second dump at Terzigno, which is in a national park, we’re announced, scrapped and then reinstated. The latest plan is to suspend the dump and to clean up the new one, using it until it is full. This deal, however, is conditional on an end to the violence.

The mayors of the surrounding towns, who have backed the protests, initially refused to agree to the terms on offer and demanded more stringent guarantees.

Gennaro Langella, mayor of nearby Boscoreale, said he had detected on the government side an "interest in maintaining [their] commitments".

He and the mayors of three other towns went ahead with a peaceful march today that ended at the entrance to the existing dump, where they laid a wreath "in remembrance of the way the Vesuvius [National] Park died".

LL

EMERGE Recycling

Britain's Greenest Cities

2010-10-18T10:30:00.000+01:00

Greetings,

Newcastle has been named as Britain's greenest city for the second year running in a study examining quality of life and environmental awareness. Moves to install electric vehicle charging points and its support of clean technology firms were highlighted by the Sustainable Cities Index.

Britain's Top 10 green cities
• Newcastle
• Leicester
• Brighton
• Bristol
• London
• Leeds
• Coventry
• Plymouth
• Edinburgh
• Sheffield

According to the index, the five top-placed cities have set themselves ambitious targets and have long-term visions of how to improve life for residents by reducing their environmental impact and creating new opportunities in the green economy.

With Manchester coming 13th, a place up from last year, as long as we continue to be motivated and determined to recycle all of our waste, I’m sure that next year we can be in the top 5.

Peter Madden, chief executive of Forum for the Future, which runs the league, said: "Cities are having to count every penny so it's essential that they invest wisely for long-term success.

"Leaders like Newcastle and Leicester are developing plans to run services in smarter ways, tackle challenges like climate change and secure the jobs of the future."

Barry Rowland, chief executive of Newcastle City Council, said: "Sustainability is right at the top of our agenda, and we intend to keep it there."

Come on Manchester, let’s step up our game, and see what rank we can get to next year!

EMERGE Recycling

Head of the EA calling for London's lights to be turned off at night.

2010-09-28T12:50:00.000+01:00

Greetings,

The head of the Environment Agency has criticised London’s biggest businesses for leaving their lights blazing throughout the night.

Lord Smith has joined politicians and environmentalists in calling for London to switch off their lights outside office hours.

Whilst every business in the country is obliged to recycle, large parts of Canary Wharf, the Gherkin building and City Hall are lit up late into the night, using unnecessary energy.

EA Chairman Lord Smith said, “Walk down any street in the City this evening and you could be forgiven for thinking that everything was still open and every office tower still full of people.”

Green London Assembly Member, Darren Johnson, said “We are all being told to save energy and do everything we can, yet whenever people go outside they see building after building with their lights blazing throughout the night… City Hall is a real embarrassment, and I cringe every time I walk past it at night.”

This comes two weeks after residents of rural West Cumbria have reacted in anger at being told that their streetlights would no longer be on all night. They believe that this will aid criminal activity, increase road accidents and jeopardise their safety.

Cath Ferguson, chairman of Broughton Moor parish council, said: “We are more vulnerable in rural areas and the last thing we need in areas like Broughton Moor is to lose the little protection that lighting affords.”

So whilst London’s buildings are lit up during the night for no reason at all, the residents of West Cumbria are worried about leaving their houses after hours for fear of their safety!

LL

EMERGE Recycling

Sainsbury's Taken To Court for Excessive Packaging

2010-09-20T16:00:00.000+01:00

Lincolnshire county council have now dropped this case against Sainsbury's.

Greetings,

Following my last blog regarding the WEEE Directive and packaging regulations, Sainsbury’s are being taken to court for the excessive packaging of a beef joint.

The joint is wrapped in plastic, and then packaged inside a 20cm by 15 cm plastic tray, with a cardboard sleeve wrapped around the tray.

Sainsbury’s are expected in Lincolnshire court on October 13th, with the case being the first time a major supermarket has been prosecuted for failing to stay within acceptable levels of packaging.

This news came on the same day that Sainsbury’s announced they were ditching boxes for their own brand, basic cereals, and instead using “environmentally friendly bags.” The chain believes using bags rather than boxes for these cereals means 165 tonnes of packaging will be kept off Sainsbury's shelves every year.

Kellogg’s, however, disagree with Sainsbury’s and made it clear that they would not be doing the same. A spokesperson for Kellogg’s commented, "We have no plans in the short term to change our packaging… A box and a thin bag are fully recyclable – bags only use more plastic and is much thicker and harder to recycle. You also need a lot more packaging in transit to limit damage."

So while Sainsbury’s are looking to make changes in how they are going to package in future, they may want to look at what’s already on their shelves. This is just another example that businesses really do need to be careful in how and what they recycle, and also what waste they are producing.

For more information about the Packaging Regulations visit Netregs.

LL

EMERGE Recycling

EA Prosecute WEEE Producer

2010-09-13T10:43:00.000+01:00

Greetings,

Aston and Fincher Ltd, a hairdressing supplies wholesaler, last week became the first ever company to be prosecuted for failing to comply with both WEEE and packaging regulations. The Environment Agency discovered this as a result of routine investigations. They were ordered to pay fines, costs and compensation totalling £30,905.11.

It was found that the company had imported a range of electrical items into the UK but had failed to meet the obligations as a producer under the UK WEEE Regulations, which have been in place since 2007. They also found that, from 2001 to 2008, they had committed offences in relation to packaging regulations.

Hannah Wooldridge, an EA officer leading the investigation, commented after the case, “businesses have a responsibility for what happens to their waste and ignorance is no defence.”

Ashton and Fincher’s secretary said that it was not a deliberate intention to evade the regulations, the company had simply not been aware of them.

The WEEE directive is in place to reduce the amount of electrical and electronic equipment being produced and to encourage re-use, recycling and recovery. It aims to improve the environmental performance of businesses that manufacture, supply, use, recycle and recover.

The Packaging Regulations (Essential Requirements) apply to businesses that produce packaged products, design packaging and import or sell packaged goods. Your packaging must be able to be recovered by material recycling, energy recovery, composting or reuse.
You must also have evidence that your packaging complies with the regulations and keep this for at least four years. If these records are requested by the EA, you must supply them within 28 days.
http://www.netregs.gov.uk/netregs/63268.aspx

I’d suggest to any business out there that isn’t 100% sure of what’s required of them, to read all regulations and requirements, it’s better to be safe than sorry!

LL

EMERGE Recycling

Outdoor Clothing Ethics Under Scrutiny

2010-09-08T09:54:00.000+01:00

Greetings,

In a shocking and scathing report, the issue of environmental awareness amongst companies making outdoor and sports clothing is finally being addressed!

Many items of outdoor clothing and equipment are heavily dependent on oil based chemicals, resulting in highly polluting toxic waste.

Another concern raised in the report was of the use of nanotechnology, and the toxicity and environmental impacts of nanomaterials and their potential effects on global economics.

Tim Hunt of Ethical Consumer said, “It would be unfair to single out any one company as being the worst of the lot as they’re all as overwhelmingly poor as each other”

However, a number of companies, out of the sixty investigated, have disputed the report as inaccurate and misleading. Richard Cotter, Berghaus brand president, said the company’s ethical stance was “not accurately reflected in this report” and that they were not given a chance to respond. Also, Richard Collier, Helly Hansen vice-president said “on the occasions where the report does reflect specific Helly Hansen activity, we found the research and analysis to be incomplete and misleading.”

Simon Birch, one of the reports authors, said “from where I’m standing it’s the outdoor industry that needs to start taking its environmental responsibilities more seriously. If a company is happy enough to use a mountain in its latest catalogue to help boost its profits, then it’s about time that the same company started to help protect it – and the rest of the environment too.”

Read the report on outdoor gear and let us know what you think!

Lucille

EMERGE 3Rs

Give Me Tap

2010-09-07T11:41:00.000+01:00

Greetings,

A student at Manchester University has come up with an idea to save on buying expensive bottled water and reduce the number of plastic bottles being discarded.

Edwin Broni-Mensah has set up ‘Give Me Tap,’ a business which lets people refill their water bottles in cafes, restaurants and bars around the Manchester area. 41 outlets have already signed up, and all they need to do, is provide a water source.

Edwin Broni-Mensah said: “Give Me Tap helps people reduce their carbon footprint and the waste from discarded plastic bottles, save money, and even helps shop owners too by increasing footfall into their premises. We are making water easily accessible to anyone, anywhere, any time both at home and abroad. Our message is sustainability – stay hydrated, reduce waste and save money.”

Of the 13 billion plastic bottles consumed annually in the UK, only 10% are recycled with the rest going to landfills, so spending just £7 on a Give Me Tap bottle not only saves money, but also the environment! Also, 70% of profits made will fund independent water projects around the world, so what are you waiting for? Buy your bottle now and find out where to get your free refills from!

Lucille

EMERGE 3Rs

Our New Blog

2010-08-27T15:23:00.000+01:00

Hello everybody,

I’m Lucille, I work at Emerge as Sales and Marketing Administrator …

You might have noticed that our blog has changed?

We have redesigned it and it will no longer be just Lucy’s blog, although she will still be contributing, all of the staff will now have the chance to update you with any recycling news and events and keep you informed about what’s going on down here at New Smithfield Market.

Did anyone catch the Great British Waste Menu on Wednesday night? It was a really interesting programme focusing on Britain’s food waste crisis. Four top chef’s use discarded food to create a banquet for 60 VIPs, with ingredients including scraps from bins. Don’t worry if you missed it, you can watch it on BBC iplayer and let us know what you think!

Enjoy the bank holiday!

Lucille.

Emerge 3Rs

Food Diary Challenge

2010-07-22T10:06:00.000+01:00

Greetings,

Recently, I came across a great way to monitor and reduce food waste in the home! It’s called the ‘Food Diary Challenge!’ It’s a two week diary in which you record what food you buy, what you use and what you throw away! In this way you identify where you are wasting food and why this is…
For example, buy one get one free deals could be a problem: do you actually use all the food, or are you just tempted by the bargain?

Taking part and completing the Diary Challenge is a great way to spot where you can reduce the amount of food waste in your home, plus you can also find top tips on how to use your leftovers for other meal ideas…
Gemma Thompson, a Manchester resident, recorded this tip after completing the challenge… “If you have any stale bread, grate it and freeze it, as the crumbs can be used as breadcrumbs.” Alternatively, you can cut the bread into chunks and fry them up to use as croutons, easy!

Once you have completed the challenge, you can see where and how you can prevent food waste… You can also pick up some handy tips and lovely recipes so why not give it a try? Click the following link and start your 2 week Food Diary Challenge now!

Good Luck

Lucy.

EMERGE 3Rs

Food Glorious Food... What Next?

2010-06-15T13:59:00.000+01:00

Greetings,

A massive thank you to everyone who got involved in our Question Time event on Food & Sustainability at Manchester University last night - great team work by staff and volunteers, fantastic Chair and panel, passionate audience co-mingled with the flowing of delicious wine... It was great to have some of the leading minds from the food sector thrashing out some of really complex issues surrounding food and sustainability and though we didn't change the world (yet) it has hopefully kicked off a wider discussion with a slightly broader audience.

The Panel was headed by Mark Shayler ex-Asda Environmental Manager now runs consultancy firm Eco 3 with Pat Foreman, CEO of Foods NW, Chris Shearlock from the Co-operative, Julie Bagnoli proprietor of Isinglass Restaurant and a proponent of the Slow Food Movement; Debbie Ellen an independent researcher and advocate of relocalising food production, Stefan Stainsby of WRAP's Love Food Hate Waste campaign. All the panellists and Chair made excellent contributions to the discussions, which didn’t really focus on waste so much as the wider ‘sustainability’ agenda, around the central issue of ‘how to make the UK/NW/Manchester more sustainable in relation to food?’ Having said that, figures from FareShare national were quoted by their spokesman, David Mellor, who claims an incredible 2.6 million tonnes of food are wasted in the supply chain annually (WRAP data) and hence FareShare’s focus now on working increasingly with the manufacturing sector - bring it on! Stefan Stainsby from the panel, WRAP’s Love Food Hate Waste (LFHW) representative, also reminded us that we consumers are the worst culprits in that we throw away nearly a third of what we purchase and hence the LFHW campaign’s focus on encouraging householders to only cook what they need, use leftovers and don’t buy too much in the first place!

Having listened carefully to the debate it seems self-evident that the more we can do to become self sufficient - learn how to grow, prepare and eat our own veg, rely less on oil-based and chemical products including meat and adapt our eating habits to seasonal, indigenous produce, the more ‘sustainable’ we can be in the purest sense. How achievable this is for everyone, requires further analysis, planning and training. Chris Shearlock challenged the idea that local, organic veg is less carbon-intensive than veg brought in from other countries, (though I suspect it’s a very technical argument requiring assessing each product on it on own impacts). Part of the debate focused around the connected issues of consumer demand (“producers respond to the wants of consumers”) versus the power/monopoly/brand values of producers, not least supermarkets (Why are producers constantly price-squeezed and not paid a fair price for produce? How much choice does the public really need? Why can’t refills be more commonly sold? And so on). Interestingly, Chris also maintained that transport and packaging impacts are a smaller proportion of the overall impact than is commonly thought - oil-based argicultural products and and water required in the growing process increasingly cost more…

This all led me to thinking: how would we go on if oil dried up and supermarkets were no more? Is it realistic and feasible for the population of Greater Manchester to feed itself? “A vegan diet can meet calorie and protein needs from just 300 square metres using mainly potatoes. A more varied diet with plenty of fruit and vegetables, grains and legumes would take about 700 square metres” (Wiki.answers.com). Greater Manchester spans around 493 square miles or 1,276 km2 and has an estimated population of 2,562,200 in 2008 (Wikipedia). So, even if everyone became vegan overnight, we would require 768,660,000 square metres of land to produce enough food to live on – i.e. 769 square km – 60% of our land would need to be growing food! This doesn’t take into account how much land is actually developed/available right now for growing anything on, window boxes, roof tops etc… Wow! It really would be a revolution… Not to mention bloody hard work!

Dunno about any of you, but I reckon: count your blessings, tighten your belt, sign up to ‘Meat Free Mondays’ (at very least, if not dairy free – go on see if you can do it!) – resolve yourself to enjoying to learn to cook lovely meals from scratch – get food aware and encourage others to do the same. After all, if we can all learn to live a little more lightly on our wonderful planet there’ll be a little bit more of it for our grandkids to enjoy! Sermon over (it is Sunday as I write!)

And if anyone fancies working with EMERGE to help us to deliver more food awareness work, please contact me in the first instance: 0161 223 8200 or lucy@emergemanchester.co.uk also check out the following links - recommended by Debbie Ellen:

Food For Life Partnership and Food and Climate Research Network Nb. ‘The world on a plate: reducing the food chain's role in greenhouse gas emissions’ - a report to start you off.

Huge thanks to Mareen Winter who was a stunning organiser throughout and pulled off this event almost singlehandedly. Also to Mcr Uni for the venue and our friends at Taurus Bar (Canal Street) for lending us the glasses! I hope that everyone enjoyed the event as much as I did and left with a sense of hope that the food industry is committed to making changes and thinking more about the sustainability agenda and what they can be doing to make a difference.

Onwards & upwards!Lucy.

EMERGE 3Rs

Summer Soup Surplus

2010-06-07T13:04:00.000+01:00

Greetings,

This summer has seen a surplus of soup in Manchester – mountains of minestrone, cream of tomato, chicken and even green Thai soups.

According to FareShare, the food distribution charity based at New Smithfield Market, they have never had so much soup in stock, both tinned and fresh.

But they are having no problem in finding suitable kitchens to cook them, with over 40 community group members – feeding hundreds of homeless and low-income people – all benefitting in recent weeks.

This summer soup glut is a mystery and is just one of the issues likely to be aired on June 10th from 6-8pm at an awareness-raising event, hosted by EMERGE, the Manchester based social enterprise charity.

Entitled ‘Question Time on Food and Sustainability Issues’ the event will be run akin to the BBC’s Question Time format at University Place, Oxford Road, the University of Manchester.

The panel will be made up of a range of food “experts” headed by Mark Shayler, a former environment manager for Asda, who now runs consultancy Eco3, who will act as David Dimbleby in the role of chair. Pat Foreman, CEO of Food Northwest will be on the panel and Julie Bagnoli, a Business Link NW food sector advisor and proprietor of Isinglass restaurant.

Chris Shearlock, Environmental Manager at the Co-operative, Stefan Stainsby from WRAP’s Love Food Hate Waste campaign and Debbie Ellen, a Manchester based food researcher and grower, are also on the panel.

Tickets can be ordered online or bought on the evening of the event at the University Place though reservations in advance are preferred to avoid disappointment. Before the Question Time session, which starts at 6.00pm, there will be a drinks reception from 4.30pm to which all participants and Press are invited.

The event aims to raise awareness about the complexity of sustainable food supply chains & it promises to be a fascinating evening. We’re hoping for a real debate involving diverse and knowledgeable interventions from both the panel and the audience. People from different industries and backgrounds tend to have different views on, for instance, sourcing food locally or reducing packaging waste. This makes finding a solution for the issue much more challenging.

Please come and engage in what promises to be a thought provoking debate!

Lucy.

EMERGE 3Rs

Zero Waste Week - Progress Update

2010-06-01T14:37:00.000+01:00

Greetings,

Things are really taking off in our Zero Waste Week schools recycling programme, we have 13 schools signed up for the competition. We're 4 weeks into the scheme now and we're pleased to report that all of the schools involved are showing a marked reduction the the amount of waste produced. To see how the schools are getting on, take a look at our league table.

For more useful tips on how you can minimise your waste have a look at the Zero Waste Week pages on our website

Onwards & upwards!

Lucy.

EMERGE 3Rs

Green Voters, What To Do?

2010-05-05T14:33:00.000+01:00

Greetings,

For those still puzzling over who to vote for today, there was a really interesting article in yesterday's Guardian outlining what Green Voters should consider when deciding who to vote for: Click Here.

I'm very interested to hear what other voters are thinking about doing in today's election, feel free to comment below.

Onwards & upwards!

Lucy.

EMERGE 3Rs

EMERGE Launches Zero Waste Week

2010-04-29T15:01:00.000+01:00

Greetings,

EMERGE is proud to launch Zero Waste Week, a competition to get schools in Manchester to slim their bins. All Manchester schools are being invited to enter in an effort to reduce their waste and the carbon emissions associated with it.

Register for Zero Waste Week by 7th May for the chance to win prizes for pupils, classes and staff. Click here to register.

Zero Waste Week will take place 28th June – 2nd with a run up of six weeks. Each week tackling a different theme.

Each theme has top tips on reducing your waste and free KS2 and KS3 assembly and lesson resources to download.

10th – 14th May Week 6 – General Waste and Why Recycle
17th – 21st May Week 5 – Paper and Cardboard Waste
24th – 28th May Week 4 – Metal Waste
7th – 11th June Week 3 – Compost and Food Waste
14th – 18th June Week 2 – Home and Staff Waste
21st – 25th June Week 1 – Plastic Waste
28th June – 2nd July Zero Waste Week

All waste, including recycling, will be measured at the beginning of the six week countdown and again during Zero Waste Week. The aim is that each school reduces the amount of waste it is producing per person.

At the end, all participating schools will receive a certificate showing their reduction of waste and what this looks like terms of CO2 emissions.

“This challenge provides an exciting opportunity for all staff and pupils to show that even small changes can make a difference and that anyone, whether adult or child, can do their bit in tackling climate change by living more sustainably.”
Denise Lambert, Education and Community Involvement Manager, EMERGE.

There are various categories for the prizes, including, the least waste produced per head, the school which has reduced its waste the most, the individual pupil and member of staff who has most taken the challenge to heart.

EMERGE would like to extend a big thank you to The Bridgewater Hall, Challenge for Change, Viridor, Neptune Innovations and Bike Right, which have all contributed to the various prizes that will be available to the schools that take part.

Zero Waste Week has been created to compliment Manchester’s Climate Change Action Plan to highlight the connection between waste and carbon emissions. Slimming your bin means cutting your carbon.

EMERGE 3Rs

Environmental Advocates For Election

2010-04-16T10:56:00.001+01:00

Greetings,

A quick follow up on my previous post about a local waste boss in Manchester making a stand against spurious landfill claims.

For those who are interested in making a balanced decision taking into account the environment as well as economic and social agendas when it comes to election day, check out today's article on the letsrecycle.com website which begins to outline who is standing where and what their stance is on the environment and green issues. More digging will be required no doubt to work out what your local candidates are saying...

Don't be afraid to ask those difficult questions when deciding which box to tick, part of the job is being publicly accountable after all. And if we don't engage and vote at all, how can we demand more from those who will ultimately gain the power?

Onwards & upwards!

Lucy.

EMERGE 3Rs

Only in Japan!

2010-04-12T15:31:00.000+01:00

Greetings,

This is probably old news to some of you, but I was very impressed at the logic and effiecient thinking behind this rather fun Japanese innovation (only to be eaten on very special occasions due to the prohibitive price as you might expect): The Square Melon!

This really appeals to me for several reasons; firstly the fruit is not genetically modified or changed in any way, secondly because the fruit can now be packed more efficiently you can transport more of them on fewer lorrys, hence they can have a significant impact on the carbon footprint of your fruit salad!

I think this kind of innovation is not only a bit of fun but could genuinely make a big difference if all melons were grown in this way (or in smaller boxes to bring the price down perhaps).

Whatever next? Straight Bananas?

Onwards & upwards!

Lucy.

EMERGE 3Rs

Twitter Goes Green

2010-03-29T13:46:00.000+01:00

Greetings,

It's fantastic to see how much support there is on Twitter for recycling and sustainability. I think it's an invaluable tool to spread the word about environmental issues and to co-ordinate with businesses and charities of a similar mindset.

EMERGE has been busy tweeting and it has already shown its worth by driving traffic to our main website, putting us in touch with a range of environmental groups and helping to raise our awareness of environmental issues in Manchester.

Here's 5 enviro-tweeps that I recommend you investigate:

@Recycle_This - Lovely blog all about recycling odds and sods.

@Ecosaveology - Another superb eco blog, loads of interesting updates.

@Carbonoutreach - Erica Grigg talks green.

@Windpoweruk - Tipi Man with a wealth of sustainability tips.

@EMERGErecycling - Well, I am biased! ;)

You can of course also follow me @lucydanger if you'd like to! If you fancy digging through a more extensive list, have a look at this page on Mashable.

Onwards & upwards!

Lucy.

EMERGE 3Rs

Fareshare, Britain's 'Most Admired Charity'.

2010-03-24T14:33:00.000Z

Greetings,

Some very exciting news not least for us humble franchisees: Fareshare has won the 'Most Admired Charity' Award for 2010!

It's really great to be involved with such a necessary, popular scheme. Our very own Manchester depot distributed over 200 tonnes of food to worthy benificiares across the Greater Manchester area since we set it up in partnership with FareShare National 18 months ago. FareShare Manchester has already supported nearly 70 beneficiary organisations who provide meals to the needy, those on low incomes, the homeless and in food poverty.

As a result of our work in the North West we have generated a great deal of positive publicity with help from partners like Foods North West. We're now beginning to raise awareness of the issues around in-date food surplus, much of which is currently wasted. We're also working to raise the profile of sustainability issues and support the healthy eating agenda in relation to food. For more info contact Paul Beswick on 0161 223 8200.

Hearty congratulations go to Tony Lowe and everyone involved in the FareShare charity.

Onwards & upwards!

Lucy.

EMERGE 3Rs

Climate vs. Weather

2010-02-25T11:58:00.000Z

Greetings,

It has always been something of a bugbear of mine that whenever I talk about climate change there is always one sceptic who will say something along the lines of "Climate change, that's a load of rubbish, look at all this snow/sun/etc" completely missing the point that there is in fact a difference between Climate and Weather!

I very much enjoyed reading this article on the times website which nicely surmises the difference between the two. It also explains why it is paramount that we heed the advice of climate change scientists and disregard the opinions of journalists and the media who have neglected to commit the time to even understand the difference between the two, or the scale of the challenge we are currently facing.

Onwards & upwards!

Lucy.

EMERGE 3Rs

Congratulations EMERGE Drivers!

2010-02-23T14:37:00.000Z

Greetings,

Big Congratulations are in order to our recycling operations crew at EMERGE for achieving their NVQ Level 2 certification in Environmental Conservation and Community Recycling! We've posted the full story on the EMERGE website but I thought it was worth taking this opportunity to say how proud I am of the hard work our collections crew do day in day out, helping businesses and schools in Manchester and the surrounding area to recycle their waste.

A further good news story is that Vicki Leng, Secondary School Leader within our Environmental Education Team and a passionate veg grower has helped our sister subsidiary, EMERGE Food, to secure £10k from Manchester City Council's Carbon Innovation Fund to establish a "grow your own" demonstration and learning garden on site here at New Smithfield Market in the heart of East Manchester.

Supported by the Council's Markets Dept, this innovative new project will work to connect local residents with local growers, teach 'grow your own' skills to inspire people to grow veg in their backyards/windowsills/communal areas and will generally link to our rapidly developing food awareness and healthy eating activities. Congratulations Vicki!

If you'd like to get more involved or want to contribute to our activities in some way, please contact Denise at EMERGE.

Onwards and upwards!

Lucy.

EMERGE 3Rs

MRF Strikes Again

2010-02-23T10:50:00.000Z

Greetings,

I was disappointed to read yet another report of the shocking levels of wastage generate by Materials Reclamation Facilities ('MRF's). It seems that Merseyside Waste Disposal Authority have released figures showing that at one of their facilities up to one tonne in every seven sent for reprocessing is then sent onto landfill.

Just another example of the potential for enormous inefficiencies in these facilities, as I had outlined in my previous blog post: MRF - Mechanical Recovery Fallacy.. Meanwhile, despite their set up and running costs, MRFs and their associated technologies continue to be cited as a marvellous invention in doing the work of separating our wasted resources...

At risk of sounding like a Luddite, how many people are currently out of work? And what about the lost opportunities to reiterate the resource efficiency message with the people who take the time to segregate materials for reprocessing?

Onwards & upwards!

Lucy

EMERGE Recycling

Climate Change: Don't Believe The Hype!

2010-02-10T14:48:00.000Z

Greetings,

I came across an article on the Independent's website the other day which nicely surmises what I've been feeling recently about the 'climate change' debate. A lot of sceptics felt vindicated by the climategate scandal and there were implications that in some way the incident disproves all of the science which points towards anthropogenic global warming.

Whilst I agree with the sceptics that the alleged misconduct of the minority of climate scientists involved does damage the credibility of the science, I don't believe that it gives anyone carte blanche to completely ignore the evidence their studies have produced.

As the world's leading scientists work on the 5th assessment report for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change I think we have to listen very carefully to their findings. Hopefully when the government's independent inquiry reveals their findings in March, we can put this controversy to bed and focus once more on the science of climate change and the actions we need to take to reduce it and mitigate against its impacts.

Onwards & upwards!

Lucy.

EMERGE 3Rs

Vacancies at EMERGE

2010-02-01T14:28:00.000Z

EMERGE - East Manchester based Charitable Enterprise Seeking:

Customer Services Administrator

A resourceful hard working individual with experience delivering customer service at a high level to assist in delivery of recycling services to business customers; £12–14k/35 hr pw.

P/T Sales Ledger & Credit Control Clerk

Experienced, mature person required to support excellent customer services as key member of EMERGE’s small finance team. Proven communication skills essential inc ability and experience in securing payment from customers upto 21hrs/£13.8-15.5k pro rata, 9.30-3, Mon-Thur, negotiable.

P/T Finance Manager

Experienced individual to support strategic management of the Group’s finances, producing monthly management accounts & related performance information. Will oversee & develop financial systems inc the work of small finance team. Negotiable terms, e.g. 7-14 hrs paid to max £30 p/hr.

FOR INFO: To request an application pack, contact us via either: recruitment@emergemanchester.co.uk or Tel: 0161 223 8200

DEADLINE for applications 8th Feb 5pm.
NO AGENCIES NEED APPLY!

EMERGE 3Rs

MRF = Mechanical Recovery Fallacy?

2010-01-28T09:16:00.000Z

Greetings,

Following on from my previous post about a local manchester waste boss making a stand against deceptive waste management companies, I thought I should probably do something to explain what the real issue is and why we are so incensed about it.

There is quite a comprehensive article on Wikipedia which explains in detail what an MRF is and how it operates. In effective it is a facility which uses mechanical procedures to sort co-mingled recyclates into single waste streams, which in principal is a good thing as it allows for co-mingled (i.e. unsorted) waste to be collected which simplifies waste collection for the waste producer. However the problem is that it is an inherently inefficient system, as not all of the material collected can be sorted by the MRF correctly and there is still a considerable amount of material which has to be sent to landfill due to issues like cross-contamination (to produce high quality secondary materials the recyclate needs to be as clean as possible).

It is due to these operational inefficiencies that WRAP published a report in July last year advocating segregated kerbside collections as the most efficient method of domestic recyclate collection.

The main issue with using a MRF for recycling business waste is that you have no guarantee that the waste you send to be recycled actually will be. As far as I am concerned, if you don't know for definite that your company's waste is being recycled, you may as well be sending it directly to landfill! The very valid concern raised in my previous post is that whilst MRF-end recycling services provide an 'easier ' experience for waste producing businesses and their employees, the reality is that from a responsible, environmental and duty of care perspective you have no idea what is actually going to happen to your waste.

If we can all get used to recognising the value (and in some cases, toxicity) in everyday resources by establishing simple segregation systems in our home and work places and then using them consistently, not only will we be behaving more responsibly, but we can show the way, encouraging others to do the same and contributing to a 'virtuous circle' in turn helping our economy and the environment. Winner!

Onwards & upwards!

Lucy.

EMERGE 3Rs

Manchester Waste Boss Makes A Stand

2010-01-25T13:47:00.000Z

Greetings,

I was really pleased to see a fellow local waste boss, Marcus Farmer is taking a stand against spurious claims made by waste contractors, many of whom are telling businesses that their waste is being recycled when in fact the majority of it is sent to landfill.

Ever since EMERGE's inception I've been an advocate of ensuring that waste is dealt with not only sustainably but also legally and responsibly. Wherever possible we ensure that our material reprocessors are as close as possible to Manchester, in some instances we have even rejected reprocessors who offer us better deals because of the inherent environmental impact of the longer journeys required to use their facilities.

It saddens me to think that there are operations like EMERGE dedicated to not only encouraging businesses to recycle but also doing their damndest to ensure they are legally compliant and minimising their environmental impact wherever possible who will lose business to 'cowboy' traders that will not dispose of waste in the manner their customers expect.

I'm all in favour of Marcus' stance and his complaint to trading standards for further investigation. For Manchester to achieve all of its goals for sustainability we need to ensure that only the most thorough, integrous, sustainable and legally compliant waste carriers are allowed to operate in our city.

Onwards & upwards!

Lucy.

EMERGE 3Rs

Green To The Death!

2010-01-20T12:21:00.000Z

Greetings,

A slightly morbid topic today, but have you ever wondered what you could to to help reduce the environmental impact of your death? I read this article about an environmental alternative to cremation. According to the article, an average cremation can produce as much as 400Kg of Carbon Dioxide. This so-called green alternative (called Resomation) uses an alkaline hydrolosis system which requires only 10% of the natural gas used in a normal cremation to reduce the human body to a extremely unpleasant sounding 'brown syrup'.

My main concern is that in order for this procedure to work, potassium hydroxide must be used to dissolve the tissue. I've spoken to one of my colleagues at EMERGE, who knows a lot more about chemistry than me and he says that the method used to manufacture Potassium Hydroxide is electrolysis, a hideously inefficient method which not only uses a considerable amount of electricity but also produces a significant amount of unpleasant chemical by-products. So before we even think about the waste outputs of resomation, the process already has a significant environmental footprint from the energy utilised.

After the resomation process has occured, the lovely syrup together with residual potassium hydroxide waste are then simply be poured down the drain according to the process information! Unless we are 100% certain that the potassium hydroxide has been fully neutralised, I'm not clear that we should encourage its disposal direct into our water systems. I can't imagine this is a responsible way to dispose of potentially hazardous chemical waste let alone any heavy metals potentially present from the liquidised body!

I'm all for progressive thinking and technological solutions and funerals are no less problematic than other areas of life - but perhaps there are simpler ways to go about it, for instance cardboard coffins and green burials.

Onwards & upwards!

Lucy.

EMERGE 3Rs

Small Businesses Refuse To Buy Green?

2010-01-12T09:44:00.000Z

Greetings,

I read an article the other day by freshbusinessthinking.com, normally they send me very useful articles about general business practice, written by someone well-informed in the industry.

I was quite suprised when I received this article: Small Businesses Refuse To Go Green from them. The article describes how a study conducted by Enterprise-Rent-A-Car shows that across the UK one in ten SMEs would refuse to use a greener alternative product even if it represented a cheaper, more convenient option for their business!

I've not been able to see the report itself, but part of me thinks actually the way this is reported is a total misrepresentation of the facts, surely if one in ten businesses refuse to consider a green alternative, doesn't that mean that nine in ten do? If so then 90% of businesses across the UK are happy to consider green alternative products, which sounds like good news to me!

Cost is named and shamed as the main reason why some SME's will not consider using green products, which for small businesses is understandable. If the cost of the green alternative is competative however, I cannot comprehend why any SME would not consider green alternatives.

Onwards & upwards!

Lucy.

EMERGE 3Rs

New Year, New Ideas?

2010-01-08T11:18:00.001Z

Greetings,

I read an article on the Times website about a way to run your car on recycled materials, it seems that one entrepreneur has discovered that by blasting waste with highly presurrised steam in a rotating drum it is possible to extract the high-calorific organic materials which can then be reprocessed to produce bioethanol.

It sounds like a good way of treating organic materials, though plastics and metals will still have to be removed from the mix and treated in the normal manner. That said I would prefer people to spend their time and money looking at other ways of powering automobiles, i.e. hydrogen or renewably sourced electricity.

I'm convinced the future lies in encouraging people to waste less, to minimise their individual outputs and think before they buy. That said the more ways we have of treating the waste rather than burying it in a pit, the better!

Onwards & upwards!

Lucy.

EMERGE 3Rs

My New Years Resolution - 10:10

2010-01-01T18:00:00.000Z

Greetings,

Phew! The new year is with us and once again the opportunity for new beginnings... Many of you will be thinking about resolutions and what you want from the year ahead. Whilst there will undoubtedly be a lot of people giving up various evils (cigarettes? cafeine, wine! and so on) I wonder if many people will be thinking about carbon?

I'd sincerely recommend to anyone who wants to commit to making a change in 2010, take a look at the 10:10 campaign website and sign up if you can. The more people who take part in making positive actions as set out by 10:10 the bigger the difference... whilst denial is a problem, defeatism is equally, it's all about creating a bigger, stronger critical mass.

In the spirit of goodwill towards all, peace, prosperity (without damaging our amazing planet!) I've signed up, made the pledge and will be doing my utmost to reduce my emissions by 10% in 2010 (loft re-insulation completed mid December so hopefully that's a good start!).

Happy carbon reducing New Year!

Lucy.

EMERGE 3Rs

COP15 - Last Chance?

2009-12-18T14:45:00.000Z

Greetings,

I thought I should probably post something today as it is the final day of the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen. My previous post hopefully will have given you an idea of what COP15 is trying to acheive. I've been watching some of the news reports and twitter streams to keep up to date but so far things don't look overly positive for a global treaty.

It's really distressing to think that the Kyoto Protocol will finish in 2012, after which there will be no formal framework in place to regulate emissions and control global carbon outputs downwards. Given the potential scale and severity of global warming and the ongoing impacts that unmitigated carbon emissions is having would it be too optimistic to hope that politicians would pull out all the stops and really work together to conclude a meaningful deal? - Especially since it's taken so long to arrange an opportunity for discussions on this scale, it would be a disaster to see the talks fail...

We'll have to wait and see what the rest of the day holds but for the moment there seems to be a dark cloud over Copenhagen.

Onwards & upwards?

Lucy

Prison Work On Waste Schemes vs. NIMBY Rubbish.

2009-12-16T15:12:00.000Z

Greetings,

I came across this rather reactionary article in the MEN about a convict working for a local waste contractor who escaped whilst on work duties.

From a social perspective, personally I think it's a good thing for prisoners to be given meaningful work and contribute something useful. I can appreciate that it's not deemed ideal from the point of view of many members of the public, however I think we need to consider our civic responsibilities and recognise that prisoners who find work are less likely to reoffend when they are released.

The fact that this prisoner was based in a Category D open prison shows that the Prison Service felt he was able to contribute to the community and it seems unfair to denigrate the system and deny prisoners the chance to reintegrate into society simply because of the NIMBYism demonstrated by some of the commmenters on the article.

One similar successful scheme I am aware of is Newport Wastesavers, who have also used "lifers" on their round, and who worked really well/hard. Assuming prisoners stick to the agreed terms, are electronically tagged (providing us all with a guarantee that they can't go far in any case) and are appropriately managed, surely the newport scheme is a good example for all involved parties and has a positive social impact upon the prison populace?

Onwards & upwards!

Lucy.

Five Steps To Green Your Christmas

2009-12-16T11:50:00.000Z

Greetings,

It's getting towards that time of year again, I can't believe it's nearly been a year since I started this blog, time flies when you're having fun!

In the spirit of the season I thought I should put together some suggestions for how to enjoy a fantastic festive break without causing undue harm to the planet and wasting unecessary resources.

So without further ado here are my thoughts, but by all means feel free to post any suggestions you may have in the comments section:

Use newspaper to wrap your gifts, not only does this look interesting & different but by recycling the paper instead of buying more it helps to conserve trees.

If you are going to buy lights, buy LEDs. They can use up to 80% less energy than traditional bulbs. However please note that it is more environmentally sound to use exisiting incandescant bulbs than to buy new LED bulbs because of the energy used in their manufacture.

Plant a tree for xmas and decorate it instead of buying a xmas tree, a live tree can be used for years to come and helps to absorb CO2. Those without the space can consider renting a tree as an alternative.

Source local organic food to reduce carbon footprint and to reduce the amount of harmful pesticides used in the manufacture of your groceries.

Recycle your wrapping paper, it is estimated that 82 sq km of wrapping paper finds its way into bins in the UK on christmas morning.

One more thing I'd suggest everyone to do, whilst not strictly relating to christmas but certainly in the spirit of the season: Join 10:10 as a new years resolution.

Onwards & upwards!

Lucy.

COP15 - An Overview

2009-12-07T12:09:00.000Z

Greetings,

You may or may not know, but the COP15 United Nations Climate Change Conference began in Copenhagen today, as such I thought it would be worth posting what it is about and why COP15 is so important.

The primary aim of the conference is for all participating countries to form a binding global agreement to minimise the negative man-made impacts of climate change after 2012. This agreement is to replace the Kyoto Protocol which was agreed in 1997. Such is the level of commitment to this agreement that the EU member states have even agreed to implement binding legislation based upon the outcomes of the conference.

Regardless of the debates concerning its cause, the impacts of global climate change are real and significant and the scientific community has, despite recent media coverage, largely reached a consensus; the COP15 conference will hopefully make political representatives from across the globe acknowledge the dire circumstances we face and the urgent need to act now to make a difference...

You can keep an eye on the latest developments at COP15 via their twitter feed, but also I'm sure there will be a lot of coverage in the press . Meanwhile you might want to consider joining the 10:10 campaign in order to feel part of making positive change happen towards becoming carbon neutral and more 'resource efficient'!

Onwards & upwards!

Lucy.

Recent Flooding Devastates Cumbria

2009-12-04T13:58:00.001Z

Greetings,

I don't think that there's a single corner of the country that won't have seen by now the distressing plight of the people of cumbria over the last month.

It's a clear indication of the impact of climate change, in 2005 cumbria was devestated by the worst floods in living memory. This disaster was thought to be a 'one in a lifetime' event, something Cumbrians would never experience again in their living memory.

The record breaking levels of rain experienced across cumbria over the last week have certainly shattered that illusion. When 314mm of rain fell in 24 hours on 19/11, the impact was felt not just locally, but nationally and even globally.

The Cumbria Community Foundation has set up the Cumbria Flood Recovery Appeal, a fund to help those that have lost everything to the floods start to rebuild their lives again. If you would like to do something to help the people of Cumbria through this tragedy you can make a donation online to the fund or ring 01900 825760 to contribute.

Anything you can spare will be sure to make a significant difference to the people of Cumbria, significant numbers of whom will be living in shelters this christmas.

Lucy.

The Story Of Cap & Trade

2009-12-02T13:15:00.000Z

Greetings,

I strongly recommend committing ten minutes to watching this video as it lays bare the truths about the real benefits of the proposed 'cap & trade' schemes which are being discussed in Copenhagen:

We need to work towards real solutions rather than turning climate change into another opportunity for traders to make billions with no real benefits to the environment.

Onwards & upwards!

Lucy.

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