Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Environment Minister Jane Davidson, Wales, Zero Waste
Environment Minister Jane Davidson will announce plans today of how Wales is going to recycle more and aim to produce less waste.
She sets out how the Welsh Assembly Government proposes to tackle waste over the next four decades. Their target is for at least 70% of all waste from Welsh households, the commercial sector and construction to be recycled by 2025. Other targets include a 90% target for recycling, recovery and reuse of non-hazardous waste from construction. They also want Wales to become a “zero waste” nation by 2050 so that products and services are designed so they produce as little or no waste as possible.
Our attitudes have change significantly over the years towards recycling and now 36% of our munciple waste is recycled compared to a shocking 4% in 1996. If we carry on with the same attitude towards recycling and saving the planet, by 2050 we really could all be a zero waste nation like Wales wants to be.
Since 2006 when Asda vowed to make their produce and transport of their items more economical have done just that.
The packaging of their foods which they sell in the shops has much less packaging on them. Instead of an entire cardboard casing it only now has a strip of cardboard. Therefore saving consumers from throwing away a lot more packaging.
This groundbreaking comittment means that by 2010 everything the supermarket disposes of will be recycled, reused or composted instead of being sent to landfill.
Other long-term enivonmental goals have been set out by the company as well, such as they want all their stores to be supplied by 100% renewable energy sources, they wish to sell products that sustain our resources and our environment and to help to restore a balance to the climate systems.
If all this goes to plan hopefully it will encourage other large businesses and people of the community to recycle more and help to save the planet.
Filed under: Uncategorized
The shows that kicked off this week in Spitalfields showcase raw talent from all over the globe.
Fitting with many of the policies of saving the planet by recycling, a major theme of the Alternative Fashion Week is to use original or recycled materials to create something new. Shows will have an emphasis on environmental awareness and ethical sourcing.
This week will certainly live up to its name if the attending designers are anything to go by. There is Andrew Bannister’s STUDIO_805 label, which is described as, “Men & womenswear, uber-masculine style in red and white + gaffer tape” and Laura Booty creates glamorous dresses out of cherished possessions and discarded nick-nacks.
The Fashion Week is different to all other Fashion Weeks as it is open to everyone and is free for the designers to participate.
Alternative Fashion Week has established an international reputation and grabs worldwide press coverage during the shows. Every year the numbers get bigger for young designers applying to get their creations seen.
This is fashion on the edge. It is creating real opportunities in a time where no one is particularly positive about the future.
Alternative Fashion Week can provide the stepping stone between graduate shows and the mainstream industry.
Filed under: Uncategorized
Drivers to get a £2000 incentive to trade in their old cars for new models to help kick start the UK motor industry.
The aptly named ‘bangers for cash’ enables many people to get double what their car would sell for if they put it on the market.
Anyone with a car or van that was registered before July 1999 will be valid for the scheme. The government hoping that this will encourage motorists to scrap their cars which emit huge amounts of C02 and buy new, more economical fuel cars.
Many cars nowadays are built abroad in places such as Germany and Japan, so it will have little effect on British jobs, other than those employed to scrap the cars.
Although this scheme seems a good idea on the surface, in the current climate people are sacrificing luxuries such as cars. Not deciding which model to buy next.
As many other things that have been bought about in the past few weeks by the government this will cost taxpayers a huge sum of money with the prospect of not bringing a great deal to the British industry.
This scheme will last until March next year, enabling 300,000 consumers to benefit from the discount.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Alistair Darling, Budget 2009, Cutting Carbon Emissions
Budget 2009 not only claims to save us all from recession but also save the planet.
Darling has announced funding will reach highs of £435m in order to help homes cut their carbon emissions.
It will provide energy efficient improvements for homes, businesses and public buildings, such as wind turbines and solar panels as he believes that saving energy is the easiest and cheapest way of cutting our carbon footprint.
In order for this project to take off, Offshore power generation will be of top priority for the government. Specifically wind farm projects attracting funding of over £525m over the next two years.
Although many of this was missed by listeners of the budget announced at lunchtime today (22nd April), as thoughts were highly focused on how Labour plans to get us out of recession. Not how they plan to save the world.
However along with the many other things Alistair Darling has committed us to, we are set to cut our carbon emissions by 34% by 2020.
The Government has recently said that it will subsidise motorists £5000 to encourage us to buy these ‘cars of the future’, all in the name of saving the planet.
Although many of the current models have been said to not work very well by many testers of the vehicles, many supporters of the cars are quick to try to convince us that they will get better. Science editor of The Daily Mail has said in a recent article that “today’s electrical cars are too slow, too costly- and not very green.”
The latest cars to be released on the market are certianly not cheap. The reva g-wizz comes in at £7,995 which is the same price as a Ford Focus and the electric car can only reach a top speed of 51mph. Testers have said that it can go no further than 20miles in cities without having to be recharged again and to recharge the car takes several hours.
Can’t say I’m rushing out to buy one just yet.
When i think about Fairtrade goods, food often comes to mind. Such as Fairtrade chocolate and coffee, not clothing… However popular highstreet retailer Topshop now houses Fairtrade certified concessions.
Many shoppers are becoming more eco-friendly and not only buying Fairtrade food at the supermarket but looking to buy Fairtrade clothing whilst shopping. With high end shops such as Selfridges already housing Fairtrade clothing many of the highstreet shops are following suit, such as Topshop releasing their first line and Marks and Spencers pledging that 5% of their cotton will be Fairtrade by 2012.
Eco-clothing has long been associated with hippies but websites such as peopletree.com have sprung up and changed our perceptions on this notion. People Tree’s concession in Topshop’s biggest store has said to have marked the beginning of a big change in high street fashion and has raised awareness of the suffering of many workers that make a high percentage of the clothes that we buy on a regular basis in our ‘throwaway’ fashion culture.
Buying eco-friendly clothes is not just about saving the planet but also saving many of the lives of people that we take for granted as part of the Western consumer culture.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: British Retail Consortium, Landfill, Plastic bags
Since nearly May last year some supermarkets have been charging customers for using their plastic bags in an attempt to cut down on the huge amount of waste that goes into landfill every year.
UK stores hand out approaching 13 billion of these throwaway bags a year which have a lifespan of just 20minutes before it is thrown away. Most end up in landfill sites where they can take up to 1,000 years to rot away, while others ruin the landscape and harms the wildlife.
The British Retail Consortium, which speaks for the big supermarkets, opposes the charges and claims a voluntary agreement by 13 major stores to issue fewer carriers is having significant effects.
Its Business Environment Director, Jane Milne, said: ‘Retailers have already achieved huge reductions in the use of carrier bags through a range of voluntary schemes appropriate to their customers.’
The Toyota Prius 2010 is set to be the the most economical yet.
Toyota announced Monday that the 2010 gas/hybrid’s combined EPA estimated fuel economy rating is 50 mpg, putting the third generation Prius at the top of the retail vehicle pile.
People may think that having a hybrid car means that you have to sacrifice speed of the vehicle in order to be green but Toyota has explained that in fact you don’t.
“Contrary to conventional wisdom, the larger engine actually helps improve highway mileage. By making more torque, the new engine can run at lower average rpm on the highway. When operating at lower rpm, the new engine uses less fuel. Mileage is especially improved in cold-start conditions and at higher speeds.”
Maybe by 2010 we will all be rushing out to buy these new revolutionary cars.
Filed under: Uncategorized
Apple claims their new MacBook pro is the greenest yet.
Launched on tuesday, it is made from recyclable aluminium and glass this new notebook sets it apart from the rest. Conventional laptops use mercury and arsenic to prevent irregularities on the glass but the LED-backlit display on the MacBook is both mercury and arsenic free. This conserves energy as the display requires 30 percent less power than a regular display.
This notebook is energy star compliant, which means it meets the government standard for energy efficiency. It’s also earned itself EPEAT Gold status, the highest standard for environmental performance in the electronics industry. Also every new MacBook is shipped in packaging that is 41 percent smaller than any previous notebooks.
This notebook is just another revolutionary idea from Apple. From the smallest detail to the biggest engineering breakthough in notebooks, this is the future.
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