I really liked the simple message from a WWF email (thanks Jenny) – “If there is one thing we all have to do it is to avoid waste”.
| A MESSAGE FROM SIR DAVID |
| We know that sometimes it can feel hopeless when we think of the challenges we face to save our planet. But together, we have real power. Have you ever wondered what’s the one thing you can do to help? Sir David Attenborough has the answer: we need to stop waste in our everyday lives. WWF – HOW TO REDUCE WASTE |
Food Waste:We are looking into whether we can make sure any leftover food from Coop is used, via their Food Share scheme – https://www.coop.co.uk/environment/food-shareAlso the Olio food sharing app now has a scheme where you distribute leftover food from shops and put it up on Olio for others to collect from you, this may be something we could encourage smaller food outlets to do themselves or people could help – https://olioex.com/get-involved/volunteer/food-waste-heroes/Many others are actively trying to reduce food waste – “The Real Junk Food Project” (https://trjfp.com/) are doing a great job in diverting waste food from manufacturers to those who need food and even on Skye people are making sure that real waste food becomes the compost for next year’s food, rather than extra CO2 (https://www.keepscotlandbeautiful.org/media/1557293/broadford-community-woodland-green-growers-ccf-final-report.pdf page 7).
Safe Disposal of Batteries:A recent article pointed out that batteries are a potential hazard if place with normal waste, as they contain considerable energy and so can start fires:
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/oct/26/zombie-batteries-causing-hundreds-of-waste-fires-experts-warnI have a tub which I put waste batteries in and then when I remember or it is full I take it to the Recycling Centre in Stokesley and tip it into the battery skip. Even rechargeable batteries don’t last forever, but if you are still using non-rechargeable batteries, then you can also buy a special tub which have a simple battery tester built in to make sure you don’t throw away batteries that still work.
Wasting Energy:The energy group has just sent around a very useful list of ways to save energy, I have copied it below, nice and practical for a range of different budgets.
Repairing Socks:Pete Smith finds his socks need a little healing in these times, but I’ll let Pete tell you” If you delight in wearing heat saver socks in winter but are disappointed at the speed with which the heel goes through then try this simple remedy. Cut the toe portion off a shot heat saver sock and sew it on to the heel of the sock you are trying to repair. Use the remains of the cut up sock as a cat snood just prior to ejecting the cat into the frost before you go to bed. “
Please let me know of anything waste related or that we could do to reduce waste.
Climate Action Stokesley and Villages 