Countryside Jobs Service       CJS Weekly: Special Edition Supplements. 22/5/06 - Recycling , Energy and Sustainability.     Jobs Training Advertising CJS Stuff Information

 

 Recycling, Energy and Sustainability Supplement

 People in rural areas have a greater impact on the environment than those that live in the city, a recent study found.

 Yet there are many ways businesses in the countryside can cut their energy use and waste, and do their bit to slow climate change. In many cases, becoming more environmentally friendly can also mean greater efficiency, which will be reflected in cash savings both at home and at work.

 An obvious energy saving is to switch electrical equipment off when not in use. At work, this includes computers, printers, scanners and photocopiers. When left on over evenings and weekends, this costs the average office £6,000 every year – if only for financial reasons, it is worth pressing the off button every night. 

Screensavers are also big offenders, using more power than when the computer is being used – better to turn your computer off, even when having lunch or in a meeting. 

By simply changing standard light bulbs for energy saving ones, the average householder or office manager could slash their energy bills. It also means changing the bulbs less often, as low-energy bulbs last longer. They are subsidised with your taxes, so you should take advantage of this opportunity!

 People living and working in the countryside should be even more aware of environmental issues than their cousins in the cities – after all, they have a closer connection to nature, and see environmental destruction firsthand.

 For more ideas on saving energy and money, call the Centre for Alternative Technology’s free information service on 0845 3308373, email info@cat.org.uk. Or why not turn your whole business green, and ask about CAT’s consultancy service? Call 01654 705991 for more information.

The Earthship design principles of thermal mass, solar passive design, rainwater and autonomous sewage systems, and renewable energy utilisation create a self-sustaining space, capable of heating and cooling itself, meeting its own water and power requirements, treating its own sewage and provides the opportunity to grow food all year round.

Waste and resource reduction

The main building materials used are car tyres and aluminium cans, which reduces waste in landfill. The use of the excavated earth on site is also reused to ram the tyres and thus intercepts it from landfill. This high use of recycled materials ultimately reduces the depletion of natural resources, and recycled products such as timber are used where possible for the other building materials. Supplying all its own water requirements through a rainwater catch system, the building puts no demands on water resources and the use of a grey water system to flush toilets reduces water requirements further.

Reduction of pollution

As well as preventing waste pollution by physically reusing car tyres, the Earthship demonstrates how carbon dioxide emissions can be reduced through functioning without fossil fuel derived energy. Heating and lighting are provided through the principles of thermal mass, solar passive gain and by generating energy from wind, and solar power.  The in-built sewage system also demonstrates how sewage output into the external environment can be prevented and eliminate pollution potential to water bodies and coasts.

The ethos behind the concept is to provide low cost housing that has minimal running costs, which takes care of people and the environment.

Sustainable Communities Initiatives (SCI) is a registered charity, working towards building zero waste zero energy communities. They completed the UK’s first Earthship, the Earthship Fife Visitor Centre, which provides guided tours and information, as well as selling merchandise such as the Earthship Toolkit.

With the success of Earthship Fife under their belt SCI is now working towards creating a Zero Waste and Zero Energy (ZWAZE) Self Build Earthship Development of 12 Earthship homes. As a low impact affordable housing model ZWAZE has the potential to regenerate communities looking for a sustainable and self-empowering way of life.

SCI invites you to: ● Come on a tour of the Earthship and bring your friends; ● Buy a Toolkit if you have building/project questions; ● Join SCI for an annual fee of £10 and be placed on our mailing list, supporting our valuable work towards a zero waste zero energy future

Sustainable Communities Initiatives, Kinghorn Loch, Kinghorn, Fife  KY3 9YG

Tel 01592 891884  inquiry@sci-scotland.org.uk    www.sci-scotland.org.uk

The Wild Waste Show team takes the big blue bus to primary schools and community groups daily, providing inspiring workshops for children on how they can reduce, reuse and recycle their rubbish.  With waste and recycling high on the local agenda, the bus is able to reach thousands of young Oxfordshire residents to encourage them to be the recycling champions of today and of the future.  In addition to the primary school visits by the Wild Waste Bus, the Trust is recruiting for a new outreach officer who will provide waste education and advice to secondary schools.

Annie Cousins, Wild Waste Show Manager at the Northmoor Trust, highlights the importance of waste education for young people, ‘Children want to make a difference to the environment, and the Wild Waste Show inspires them to stop and think about the huge effects of simply throwing rubbish away in the dustbin.  Children also know how to get what they want! They use this pester power in a positive way - many parents have told us that their children have encouraged them to get involved with recycling and composting at home after taking part in the Wild Waste Show.  We work closely with our supporters from the County and District Councils to make sure we get the most up-to-date local recycling information out to children and their families.’

The Wild Waste Show is just one of the Northmoor Trust’s exciting education initiatives.  From September, school groups and members of the public will be able to experience a trip in time at Project Timescape, the new visitor centre in Little Wittenham.  The centre will bring the landscape alive, exploring the relationship between people and the land and illustrate the conservation work of the Trust.  For more about the work of the Northmoor Trust, visit the website at www.northmoortrust.co.uk.

  The problem with waste: What is waste and why does it matter?

Waste or rubbish is what people throw away because they no longer need it or want it. Almost everything we do creates waste and as a society we are currently producing more waste than ever before. We do this at home and at work. The fact that we produce waste, and get rid of it, matters for the following reasons

when something is thrown away we lose the natural resources, the energy and the time which have been used to make the product. The vast majority of resources that we use in manufacturing products and providing services cannot be replaced. The use of these resources cannot go on indefinitely - we would run out.

The process of using up the earth's natural resources to make products which we then throw away, sometimes a very short time later, is not "sustainable" - in other words, it cannot continue indefinitely.

The way in which we consume materials will affect whether we have a sustainable society that leaves resources available for future generations to use. As consumers and producers, we are central to the concept of sustainability. We need to think about how we can use fewer resources, how we can make products last for longer  and how we can do better things with our so-called "waste" than throw it away. We need to see "waste" as a "resource".

The best way of managing our waste is not to produce it in the first place - waste prevention. After that we can think about reducing the amount of waste we do produce. Then there may be an option to reuse the material.

● reduce ● reuse  ● recover (recycle, compost, recover energy)  ● disposal

This hierarchy is a guide and provides a simple rule of thumb guide to the relative environmental benefits of different options.

What happens to it: What happens to the rubbish we produce?

Waste from our homes is generally collected by our local authorities through regular waste collection, or by special collections for recycling. In addition, householders may make special trips to their civic amenity (CA) site, or organise a bulky waste collection in order to dispose of particular items.

Landfill: At the most basic level landfilling involved placing waste in a hole in the ground and covering it with soil. Today, the engineering of a modern landfill is a complex process.

Household waste recycling: Recyclate from recycling collections are frequently sent to a materials recycling facility (MRF).  The activities at these plants are specific to the material being processed – pulping and shredding of paper, granulation of plastics, melting of metals and glass to name but a few.
Many goods produced with recycled content will end up in the shops as ordinary household products, such as bin bags, stationery, furniture, or even filling for duvets and pillows.
Composting: The biodegradable component of municipal waste that will break down includes kitchen and garden waste, paper, card and more. Composting allows this material to break down and results in the formation of compost that can be used as fertilizer.  Although compost can be made at home, councils are increasingly developing centralised composting schemes for residents’ garden waste to tackle this large and problematic part of the waste stream.
Incineration: Incineration is the burning of waste. Incineration may be carried out with or without energy recovery. The energy released from burning the rubbish is often used to generate electricity.

Additional technologies: Research and development of new technologies to deal with the waste we produce are constantly developing. Among the techniques are alternatives to incineration such as pyrolysis and gasification and also anaerobic digestion, mechanical biological treatment and more.                    From www.WasteWatch.org.uk
 

Waste is a problem for the United Kingdom, as it is for most other European countries, and it’s becoming a bigger challenge as time progresses. The UK produces just under 30 million tonnes of household waste every year, over 70% of which ends up as landfill.  The amount of waste that this one country produces is growing at somewhere between 1% and 2% a year. 

With this in mind, WRAP (the Waste & Resources Action Programme) was created by Government five years ago to champion and promote resource efficiency in the UK.  Its focus is on creating stable and efficient markets for recycled materials and products, while also removing any barriers to greater waste minimisation, re-use and recycling.

WRAP is backed by substantial Government funding from Defra and the devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.   The organisation is currently running programmes covering materials as diverse as tyres, batteries, plasterboard and glass.  Working with local government (responsible for the vast majority of domestic waste collection in the UK) as well as industry and voluntary groups, WRAP is also behind the UK’s consumer–facing “recycle now” campaign.  Launched some two years ago with a new more modern and consumer-friendly recycling logo, the campaign – through widespread advertising and high-profile celebrity endorsement – has significantly raised public awareness of the need to minimise waste in the home.

Sustainability is currently one of the buzz words in the environmental sector but what does it mean?

The dictionary defines something as sustainable when it is "capable of being sustained" or "capable of being continued with minimal long-term effects on the environment".  So how does this affect us?

Our lives impact on the environment in many ways. All the choices we make day-to-day, whether to drive or walk to the shops, whether to buy free range or cheap factory-farmed eggs or whether we can be bothered to switch the television off at the plug each night; all these decisions add up. Here's a little information and a few suggestions.

Waste: Chuck it in the bin and forget about it. That about sums up our traditional attitude to rubbish. But not any more. The recycling rate in England and Wales is up to 12% and everyone agrees recycling makes much more sense than sticking our rubbish in landfill - it saves resources, energy and creates more jobs.

But we're producing 3% more waste from our homes each year. This means we're using natural resources at a faster rate than ever and putting more strain on the environment's capacity to deal with our waste products.

● Did you know 80% of the contents of your bin can be recycled?  ● The UK produces more than 434 million tonnes of waste every year. This rate of rubbish generation would fill the Albert Hall in London in less than 2 hours.  Every year UK households throw away the equivalent of 3 ½ million double-decker buses (almost 30 million tonnes), a queue of which would stretch from London to Sydney and back. On average, each person in the UK, throws away seven times their body weight (about 500kg) in rubbish every year. ● Every year, an estimated 17½ billion plastic bags are given away by supermarkets. This is equivalent to over 290 bags for every person in the UK. 17½ billion seconds ago it was the year 1449. ● In 2001 UK households produced the equivalent weight of 245 jumbo jets per week in packaging waste. Every year each person produces 4 times as much packaging waste as their luggage allowance on a jumbo jet.

Energy: Through a combination of reducing the amount of energy we use, using energy efficiently, and using more renewable forms of energy, like wind and solar power, we'll be able to protect the environment for future generations.

Did you know: TVs, videos and other electronic equipment on stand-by accounts for 1% of domestic energy use.   Approximate UK wastage every year: Stereos left on standby waste £290m worth of energy & 1.6m tonnes of CO₂ ; VCRs left on standby waste £175m worth of energy & 960,000 tonnes of CO₂ ; TVs left on standby waste £88m worth of energy & 480,000 tonnes of CO₂ ; Mobile phone chargers unnecessarily left on charge waste £47m worth of energy & 250,000 tonnes of CO₂ ; Computer monitors - £41m worth of energy & 220,000 tonnes of CO₂

Transport: Noise, smelly fumes, frustrating traffic jams, road works and stress - just your average car journey. But there is more at stake than uncomfortable travelling: transport is responsible for 25% of the UK's greenhouse gas emissions; small particles emitted by vehicles using petrol or diesel are linked to asthma, and nitrogen oxides cause respiratory diseases and can produce smog at ground level.

Traffic makes a huge amount of noise. Although we've all grown used to living with it imagine what a city would be like with quiet vehicles and streets. Facts: ● Road traffic is expected to increase by 50% by 2026; ● In 2001 the total distance travelled by UK vehicles was 474 billion km. That's the equivalent of 40 return trips to the planet Pluto; The average person in the UK drives their car 5,433 miles per year, takes the bus for 207 miles per year and uses the train for 325 miles per year; ● One return flight from London to New York will generate the same amount of CO₂ as driving a family car for 4 months; ● In the UK, an average car produces approximately 3.3 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year.

Food and shopping:  It's easy to forget that the products we buy have enormous environmental impacts.

It's good to reflect on exactly what you buy (do you really need that mobile upgrade or that four-speed juicing machine?), and how you can use your purchasing power for good.

Water: Everyone uses water and lots of it. Hot weather and over use can place pressure on existing water supplies in vulnerable parts of the country. Due to high population density in parts of the South and East of England there is less water available per person per year than parts of Africa!  In 2003, the average household spent £245 per year on water. Households that had water meters spent only £209 a year.

What can I do to help?

Waste: Reduce, reuse and recycle – see The problem with waste. p3 click here.

Energy:  Choose efficient equipment by checking the Energy Rating Label but don't throw something away because it's not as efficient as a new one often the greatest energy usage is in the manufacture not the running. Turn off appliances when you're not using them rather than leaving them on standby.  Use them correctly eg: run your fridge / freezer at the correct temperature and don't open the door, peer at the contents for ten minutes and then decide on a take-away! 

Transport: Drive smart – it's fuel efficient (which is cheaper too); inflate tyres to the correct pressure, avoid unnecessary weight and projections which cause drag (that's all those little window flags beloved of football fans) and avoid sharp acceleration and braking. Share your journeys, take public transport and best of all walk.

Food and Shopping: Cut the 'food miles' by buying from local suppliers, farmers markets are good for this and you can ask questions about the produce.  Buy food in season, it always tastes better. Try to buy organic &/or free-range meat.  There are lots of logos to help you spot the 'right' food.  The RSPCA Freedom Food means that the animals which produced the food (not just meat but milk, eggs & cheese too) were kept in humane, RSPCA approved & inspected conditions.  The Soil Association mark guarantees the product is organic.  The Little Red Tractor shows that the produce is from the UK.  If you're buying imported goods such as coffee, tea, chocolate, bananas etc look for the Fairtrade logo.

Water: The easiest is to turn off the tap.  Use water butts to collect rainwater for watering the garden, recycle greywater if you can (that's water from the bath and washing up). Use something like a water hippo to reduce the volume in each toilet flush.  Only wash full loads in the washing machine.  Consider asking your water company to install a water meter - they are required to do so where feasible for free. If you don't have a meter your water bill is based on the rateable value of your property and has little to do with the amount of water you actually use.

It all sounds so simple so why don't we do this all the time?  Because it's often easier / quicker to do things in the same way as we always have.  But once you make the effort to make small changes it soon becomes as automatic as the old way.  However, there are limits to what any of us can do. Some people don’t live close to a recycling point and aren’t served by a kerbside scheme. Some people live in the middle of cities where there aren’t any local independent stores. Some journeys that we need to make aren’t served by public transport.   Do as much as you feel you can. Remember, though, that sometimes looking after the environment can save you money. Energy efficiency is the obvious example – taking care to save energy can make a big difference to your utility bills. But it’s still worth checking the eco-friendly products in the shops as prices on many lines have come down in recent years. Sometimes the green option can also be the economic option.

Events Diary   - Short of the skills for sustainable living? Want to know more about how you can help?    What about taking one of these courses?  All are one day unless otherwise detailed.   Details of all these events and much more are available on our website at: countryside-jobs.com/Training/Training_Courses.htm  Unless specified contact details are below.

 Special Events:

 

Courses run regularly:

 

 

How to Make Biodiesel, 3 days by Low Impact Living Initiative. Start dates: 9 June, 17 November also Make your Own Biodiesel  By CAT again a three day course starting on 24 November

Straw Bale Building , week long (5 days) at CAT, starting 19 June. Also  3 day courses by Low Impact Living Initiative starting on 7 July and 1 September.

Chairmaking courses:  Introduction to Chairmaking, 3 days by Living Wood Courses at Bishops Frome, Worcester. Info: 01531 640005 or abbott@living-wood.co.uk. Start dates: 7 June and 30 August

10/06/2006, Chairmaking, 6 days also by Living Wood Courses. Start dates: 10 June, 5 August and 2 September.

Stool Making, 2 days at and by the Dean Heritage Museum Trust Starting on 5 August.

10 June: Full Permaculture Design Course all run by Designed Visions and last 15 days Course starting on 10 June is at Beccles; starting 12 August at Market Drayton and on 20 January 2007 at Charmouth.

Other courses:

26 May:  Cob Building, 3 days by Low Impact Living Initiative

31 May: Using Environmental Art with Family Groups, Manchester, Environmental Trainers Network

3 JUNE: Introduction to Permaculture Weekend, 2 days at Bridgport by Designed Visions

5 June: Solar Domestic Water Heating, 5 days at & by CAT, repeated on 4 September. Also on 5 June Leading 'Earthwalks' Day, single day run by Buckinghamshire County Council,  at Shortenills Centre nr Amersham. Details from: 01494 872288, shortenills@buckscc.gov.uk

Solar Electric Systems, 3 days at CAT starting 9 June and 6 October.

14 June: Renewable Energy Essentials, 1 day at Newcastle. Run by Centre for Sustainable Energy

17 June: Pole Lathe Turning, At and by Dean Heritage Museum Trust. Introduction to Green Woodwork, 3 days by Living Wood Courses, for details see Chairmaking courses above

23 June: Organic Gardening Weekend (3 days) by CAT

30 June: Solar Water Heating Systems , 3 days by CAT.  Managing Climate Change Response, in Oxford. Run by Continued Professional Development, Oxford University, contact the Department on: 01865 286951, climate@conted.ox.ac.uk, or visit: www.conted.ox.ac.uk/climate

6 JULY: Renewable Energy Essentials, in Inverness by Centre for Sustainable Energy

8 July: Second Sustainable Science Symposium, 2 days at CAT

12 July: Introduction to the Environmental Effects of Windfarms, 1 day IEEM workshop in Powys. To book or for information please contact: 01962 868626, workshops@ieem.net, or see: www.ieem.net

17 July: Alternative Building Methods, week long (5 days) at CAT

18 July: Working with Schools & Communities on Climate & Energy, by Environmental Trainers Network in Manchester

21 July: Self Build Solar Hot Water, Low Impact Living Initiative 3 day course

50% recycling & how to get there, By the Local Government Association in London. Details from:info@lga.gov.uk, www.lga.gov.uk

22 July: Pole Lathe Turning, At & by Dean Heritage Museum Trust

10 AUGUST: Involving Communities in Environmental Projects, Shared Earth Trust

18 August: Green Woodworking  and Rammed Earth Building both Low Impact Living Initiative 3 days

1 SEPTEMBER: Members Conference, 3 days, 4 September: Solar Domestic Water Heating, 5 days and 8 Sept: Cob Building, 3 days - All at CAT

9 September: Introduction to Green Woodwork, 3 days by Living Wood Courses

10 September: Install & Test Domestic Photovoltaic Systems, 6 day course at CAT

12 September: Green Woodwork & Chairs, 6 days by Living Wood Courses. Renewable Energy Essentials, at Portsmouth by Centre for Sustainable Energy

15 September Building the Earth, 3 days and 25Sept: Eco Design & Construction, 5 days both at CAT.

26 September: Supporting Schools to deliver Education for Sustainable Development, Shared Earth Trust.

29 September: Sustainability & Spirituality Forum, 3 days; 2 OCTOBER: The Rural Eco Home, 5 days. 6 Oct: Solar Electric Systems, 3 days and Green Sanitation & Organic Waste Management, 5 days all at CAT

9 October: Coppicing & Woodland Crafts, 5 days at Dean Heritage Museum Trust. Timber Frame Self Build, 5 days at CAT

12 October: Renewable Energy Essentials, at Stoke on Trent by Centre for Sustainable Energy

13October: Natural Rendering - Clay Plaster, and Convert your Engine to Vegetable Oil,  both at CAT for 3 days

17 October: Setting up an Allotment Project, and 18 Oct: Community Strategies, Sustainable Communities and the LSP, both  by Environmental Trainers Network in Birmingham

23 October: Educating for Sustainability and 25 Oct: Educating with the Eco Footprint  both 3 days at CAT

26 October: Working with Schools on Sustainable Development Education, Environmental Trainers Network in London

27 October: Sustainable Energy for the Home, 3 days Low Impact Living Initiative.  Hydro Electric Power Systems, 3 days, also 30 Oct: Renewable Heating Systems 5 days both courses at CAT

2 NOVEMBER:  Renewable Energy: Developing a Sustainable Biomass Industry, At Battleby, Run by Sharing Good Practice in association with SNH. For information please contact: 01738 458555, sgp@snh.gov.uk

3 November: Living in Communities, Low Impact Living Initiative, 3 days

9 November: Working with Waste,  at and by Bishops Wood Centre

10 November: Wind & Solar Electricity, Low Impact Living Initiative; Wind Power Systems, at CAT, both courses 3 days

15 November 15/11/2006, Renewable Energy Essentials, Centre for Sustainable Energy in Milton Keynes

20 November: Heating with Wood Fuels, 5 day at CAT

1 DECEMBER: Self Build Solar Hot Water also Build your own Geodesic Dome both Low Impact Living Initiative 3 day courses

4 December: Education For Sustainable Development - New Directions in Environmental Education, 3 day course at Losehill Hall

12 December: Energy Education with Young People, by Environmental Trainers Network in Manchester.

23 JANUARY 2007:The New Era for UK Agriculture, 2 days at Losehill Hall

1 FEBRUARY: Working with Living Willow Workshop with Mick Petts, 2 days  and 6 Feb: Schools & Education for Sustainable Development, both at and by Bishops Wood Centre

 

Contact details:  Unless otherwise stated the Contact Details for the centres are: 

The Bishops Wood Centre, Worcester 01299 250513, courses@bishopswoodcentre.org.uk, www.bishopswoodcentre.org.uk

CAT: Centre for Alternative Energy in Machynlleth, Powys. For more details please call: 01654 705981or email courses@cat.org.uk.  For more details about the centre please visit: www.cat.org.uk

Centre for Sustainable Energy: phone for details: 0117 9299950 or visit the website at: www.cse.org.uk

Dean Heritage Museum           in the Forest of Dean. Ring to book on 01594 822170, email deanmuse@btconnect.com or take a look at the website www.deanheritagemuseum.com

Designed Visions: Call:  01308 867453 or email courses@designedvisions.com for details. For general information: www.designedvisions.com

Environmental Trainers Network The Network can be contacted on 0121 3582155, ETN@btcv.org.uk or have a look at the website www.btcv.org/etn for details

Losehill: To book call Losehill on 01433 620373 or email training.losehill@peakdistrict.gov.uk www.losehill-training.org.uk

Low Impact Living Initiative:  Winslow, Bucks. For details or to book: 01296 714184 or email lili@lowimpact.org

Shared Earth at Denmark Farm. Details from: 01570 493358, set@denmark-farm.freeserve.co.uk

NB: These are not the only courses run by these centres, you'll find details of their other courses on the CJS Events Diary or by contacting the individual centres.

8 pages in this Special Edition Supplement.         Details believed correct but given without prejudice. Ends.