Sunday, June 26, 2005

Week 6 - Organic Boxes

Order your fruit and vegetables through an organic box scheme.

After last week's attempt at the farmers' market and in the local shops I thought that perhaps I could save myself some time and just get my seasonal fruit and veg delivered direct to my house.

Most box schemes deliver locally produced, organic fruit and veg that is in season. Some even have recipe suggestions, to help you deal with the odd Jerusalem artichoke.

The Soil Association can help you find a local company. You will have to register to use their directory but it is free.

Click here for my attempt.

Click here for links and further information.

Sunday, June 19, 2005

Week 5 - Buying fruit and veg

Fruit and vegetable shopping - buy local and fair trade and go organic

This is a tricky one. How do you chose between the fair trade banana that is flown from the Caribbean and the pesticide covered British asparagus?

According to Friends of the Earth it is better to buy local and organic. This week I am going to try and do all my fruit and veg shopping by this maxim. It will be interesting to see how much my grocery bill goes up by and whether there is any difference in the taste of the food.

I think it's enough to tackle just fruit and veg this week. I will get to grips with the issues of other types of foods (and their packaging) and general shopping in other weeks.

Click here for my attempt.

Click here for links & further information.


Sunday, June 12, 2005

Week 4 - Recycling

Dispose of redundant items responsibly

Rather a vague title I know but I'm talking about disposing of paint, old mobiles, old computers and the like.

I'm having a clear out at my place and it's amazing how many pots of old paint, mobile phone chargers and old printers I've accumulated. Apart from ebay, there are any number of places that will take your tat.

Click here for my attempt.

Click here for further information



Sunday, June 05, 2005

Week 3 - Recycling

Get a kerbside recycling box (only from certain councils)

Kerbside recycling is getting increasingly popular with councils as they are pressured to meet government targets. Defra says that "30 per cent is the national recycling target for 2010, and an achievable medium-term goal for all local authorities, supporting delivery of Landfill Directive targets to divert biodegradable municipal waste from landfill."

Click here for my attempt.

Click here for recycling links and information.

Click here for where to buy goods to help you recycle!

Sunday, May 29, 2005

Week 2 - Water saving

Get a water butt.

With the recent warnings about a hose pipe ban this summer, this seems like a good idea. Hopefully it's not going to be too late for your garden for this to work this summer.

Click here for links to buy.

Click here for further information on water saving.

Click here for my attempt.



Sunday, May 22, 2005

Week 1 - Lighting

Change all the light bulbs in the house for energy saving bulbs (also known as Compact Fluorescent Lights). This will save money in the long run and means that you use less electricity and so have less of an impact on the environment.

Click here for my attempt.
Click here for further information.
Click here for where to buy.

Saturday, January 01, 2005

Week 6 - My attempt

Starting at the Soil Association directory I tried to find out who my local box scheme delivery companies are. I selected my area but wasn't really blown away by the options. The ones suggested all seemed a little limited and rather expensive. I decided to widen the search and came across Abel & Cole. Their full service is only available in London, the Home Counties and parts of South England, although they do some box deliveries nationwide.

Most delivery schemes give you a choice of boxes. You can have vegetables only, fruit only or a bit of a mix. It's worth having a look around at your schemes as the prices and options seem to vary hugely. It's also worth checking in with your local health food/organic shop as they may be able to recommend a scheme for the area.

I'm so used to having the luxury of choice in the supermarket that it is quite hard to join a scheme where you don't necessarily know what you're getting. Hence my choice of Abel and Cole. They show you what is likely to be in your box each week and you can specify types of fruit and veg that you don't like. They also have a little questionnaire to help you decide which box is for you. I am part of a two person household (dog does not count) and so was recommended a small mixed box or a small deluxe box.

A small mixed box can contain apples, aubergine, broccoli, cherry tomatoes, potatoes, pears, white onions and oranges. I don't know how many of each thing they provide but I will take a guess at 3 apples, pears, onions and oranges and a bag of potatoes. The entire box costs £9.80 with no delivery charge.

I want to do a price comparison though with my local supermarket, Sainsburys. I will look at their organic stuff online and compare prices.

Apples - 700g = £1.99. (This is the smallest quantity you can buy, they aren't sold loose online.)
Aubergine - 99p but not organic.
Broccoli - £3.56 per unit (wow, that's a lot!)
Cherry Tomatoes - £1.08
Potatoes - £1.69 (cheapest)
Pears - £1.99 (not loose)
White Onions - £1.29 (3 onions)
Oranges - £1.59 (4 oranges)

The total for Sainsburys comes to £14.18. Even taking into account that you might be getting more apples, pears and potatoes than in your box that's still over £4 more and the aubergine wasn't organic (although that's just bad luck probably).

Who would have thought that a fruit and vegetable box would be cheaper? And they deliver for free!

I'm converted.

Click here for links and further information.

Week 5 - My attempt

Not to sound like an old woman, but does anyone else think that apples and pears don't taste as good as they used to?

I lived in France for a while about a year ago and the difference in the quality of their fruit and vegetables compared to ours is amazing. What is more amazing is that they are only just across the channel.

Perhaps farm subsidies have something to do with this but I also think that they take their food more seriously and, whilst supermarkets are growing in popularity, there are still markets in most towns and villages that sell food which has been produced locally.

I know that since I've come back to the UK I have been eating less fruit and veg and throwing away more. I think that this is because it is not enticing.

I don't really have a great excuse as to why I'm eating tasteless food. There are a number of green grocers near me and, as I'm in north London, a choice of farmers' markets. This week I am leaving Tescos and venturing into the little shops along the high street. (There is an easier option and that is the fruit and veg boxes. I thought I'd cover that another week though. This week I want to see how easy it is for me to do this myself.)

One unappetising thing about the local greengrocers is that they have their produce outside the shop. When the shop faces onto a main road it makes you wonder whether the benefits of the locally produced food may not be outweighed by the coating of petrol fumes? Also, how can you be sure that your local grocer does provide fruit and veg produced in the UK? There's no reason that the stuff can't have been flown in from the Caribbean and it may not be fair trade.

Time to turn to my recently purchased Friends of the Earth book - Save cash and save the planet (I may well not have started this blog if I'd bought this book earlier).

The main points are to buy seasonal, buy local, buy pesticide free food, buy fair and don't buy GM.

With these criteria in mind, I am off to the shops or farmers' market.

Well, in my local shops there is either no labelling or most of the fruit and veg comes from abroad, with the odd "British" label. Much like the supermarkets then.

At the farmers' market it's a different story. For the most part the stalls are run by the actual producers and the fruit and vegetables look and taste delicious. It's not cheap but what a lovely change to eat tomatoes that taste as good as the look and smell.

However, for everyday purchase of my fruit and vegetables it is a bit of a faff (sp?) and the idea was to make changes to my purchasing that didn't hugely inconvenience me. Realistically I'll be more likely to carry on if things are easy. Not particularly self-sacrificing of me but I do know what I'm like. Something about good intentions and the underworld?

So, next week I'm investigating the organic delivery box scheme.

Click here for further information about the criteria and other interesting stuff.

Buying Fruit and Veg - further information

Friends of the Earth give some criteria for buying fruit and veg (and other food). They are that food should be (a) seasonal, (b) local, (c) pesticide free, (d) not GM, (e) fair trade and (f) good for wildlife.

(a) I have absolutely no idea what is in season when. I have found a couple of sites that can help me out but, surprisingly, it wasn't easy. I do think that this flags up the education problem - it's all very well telling us to eat seasonally but most of us are no longer involved with farming and haven't got a clue when we should eat certain things. The lovely Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's site is the best that I've come across and you can click on the seasonality link to get more information.

(b) There are two types of local meant here, I think. One is try and source your produce from a local producer and the other is to buy from your local independent retailer, as opposed to a supermarket. I'm not sure why it is necessarily better to buy from my local greengrocer rather than the supermarket. FoE tells me that it's better to keep the money in the local economy as supermarkets may not even be British owned. I'm not sure how much of a factor that is for me as presumably supermarkets also have to pay local taxes. They do generally seem to be perceived as evil things that are doing their suppliers out of a fair deal. On the other hand, we all continue to use them and they do seem to be pretty responsive to customer pressure.

Buying locally sourced goods is also not always easy but it is easy to see the benefit. Flying apples from New Zealand just doesn't make sense when we are perfectly able to grow them ourselves. Not only will they not be as tasty, having been treated in some way so that they last the journey but that journey will have contributed to the CO2 in the atmosphere. The most straightforward way that I have come across to buy locally produced fruit and veg is to visit your local Farmers' Market, if you're lucky enough to have one nearby. If that link doesn't list any markets near you then try your local tourist information office.

Alternatively, try one of the organic fruit and veg box schemes. Box schemes don't always give you the choice of what fruit and vegetables you'll be getting but you can be sure that they are locally produced and organic. I do think there's an issue with the fact that they deliver direct to your home and thus add to the traffic congestion and air pollution. However, some companies seem to have set delivery times by location to counter this.

If you can't be bothered to go through the Soil Assocation link then here's a few companies that do box schemes in London and nationwide.

Abel & Cole - full service to London, Home Counties & towns in South & West England. Partial service UK Wide.

Organics 4 U
- UK Wide

Fair Organics - Essex & surrounding area, plus partial service UK wide

A Lot of Organics has an easily accessible list of box schemes nationwide and locally, which saves me some time in copying out websites.

(c) The Soil Association has definitive information on just why it's important to buy organic produce. They also have an organic directory. It is free to use but you have to register. I used this to find my local box scheme.

(d) I have been careful not to buy GM food. Not particularly from any health fears that I may have but more from a concern that it seems to be something that has appeared quite quickly and is being trialed out in the open already. I am rather worried that putting some of these crops into the environment like this will have long-term implications that we just can't be aware of yet. Considering the number of failed introductions around the world (cane toads in Australia, carnivorous snails in Polynesia) it seems to me that we have learnt nothing from previous environmental disasters. It is the lack of caution that worries me.

The Soil Association has information about GM products, as does FoE. For the government stance have a look at this site.

(e) I find fair trade a tricky topic. I absolutely agree that producers in developing countries should be paid a fair price for their produce and that our desire for cheap and exotic food should not result in some people having a poor quality of life. However, there are problems with transporting food from far away places. There doesn't seem to be an agreed answer to this. On the one hand our desire for exotic, cheap food is distorting markets, increasing CO2 emissions and ruining the lives of developing world famers. On the other hand, shouldn't someone buy the goods that Kenya or the Caribbean produce. They have as much of a right to compete in the world economy. Isn't there some benefit to them of having these developed world markets? Have a look at these sites for further information:

Measuring food by the mile

Globalisation's Cruel Smokescreen

I'll update this and republish as I come across further information.

Week 4 - My attempt

I'm having a clear out of my flat. It is amazing how many computer cables, mobile phone chargers, pots of half used paint and general tat that I have acquired.

The local charity shops have benefited from donations of unwanted clothes and non-electrical nik-naks. Let's just hope no one comes looking for that napkin set they gave me as a 21st birthday present.

Unfortunately, the unused paint in my paint pots has solidified and is no use at all to charities such as Community Repaint. However, I can take it to my local household recycling and refuse centre where they will at least dispose of it responsibly. Try your council.

Okay, what is left. It looks like I've got loads of stuff that other people may have a use for. Stuff that sits in your back garden for years may be just what someone else is looking for and may even make you some money. Thank goodness for ebay. Bye-bye big panes of blue glass.

There are some things though that I really can't be bothered to put on ebay, considering the time it would take, the likely cost of postage and the likely sale value. Things such as mobile chargers and computer cables. Luckily the internet has an answer for everything. Although some charity shops won't take electrical equipment, there are any number of groups that are crying out for your goods.

Vodafone were more than happy to take all my mobile bumpf, even the manuals!

Luckily for me, Computer Aid are just around the corner and accept individual donations if you drop them off in person. They need mice and cables.

Alternatively, you can post your old computer to them but it will cost you about £9.

Well that's quite a lot of drawer space cleared. Now I have to stop myself buying more tat to fill them with. My flat is starting to look rather minimalist. Well if it wasn't for the recycling bins and the dog.

Click here for further information and links about recycling.

Recycling - Links and further information

Kerbside boxes - many councils now have these schemes as the government puts pressure on them to meet EU targets. If you live in a block or on an estate then it is more than likely that there are recycling facilities on site. Contact your council if not.

It seems to me that the EU is reassuringly serious about what happens to our waste materials. Although it's not always clear whether the UK government is equally serious. It is pretty sad that we beat only Greece and Portugal in the recycling stakes. The UK future targets are 25% by 2005 (we currently only recycle 17% of our waste), 30% by 2010 and 33% by 2015.

Here's an example of the process and here's some information on what happens to the rubbish that our homes and offices produce.

Friends of the Earth (again) have a great deal of information on recycling, from briefing notes, to press releases to plain old advice. In fact, looking around the FoE website, I rather wish I'd stopped there first. Have a look at this page for a comprehensive list of links to recycling information.

Of course, it's not just households that contribute to landfill. In fact, many people think that companies should be made more responsbile for the packaging that they produce. The EU, and thus the UK government, has set targets for companies to accept responsibility for recycling their packaging. Waste prevention is being pushed alongside recycling.

It's also not just everyday household waste that should be recycled. Your old mobiles, computers, printer cartridges, clothes, books etc. can all be recycled or reused. Have a look at the links below or the FoE website above.

Envocare is a great website which "was conceived, and will continue to be developed, as a central source of data on friendly environmental matters." This will save me some time I imagine. They have a great deal of information and links to where you can get your computers and printer cartridges recycled. Have a look around the whole site for all kinds of data and hints.

Even though Envocare does have a pretty comprehensive list there are some other sites about computer and general recycling, that I came across before this one, and it seems a shame to waste the research time.

Oxfam

Waste Online has a list of computer recyclers that cover specific areas of the country.

Waste Care and Shred Fast are very much business to business organisations, but perhaps your company is looking to get rid of a load of IT equipment.

UKIT Recycling
is a firm based in Shropshire but covers the entire country. An interesting claim I spotted on their site was their 0% landfill commitment.

Computer Aid donate computers to African schools. They have certain specifications for equipment but are also in great need of keyboards, mice and cables.

Finally, Green Choices has a fantastic list of links which are sorted by the product to be recycled, including Christmas trees and paint. It also has some scary information, such as the fact that the average household produces a tonne of rubbish every year.

As I come across more sites and information I will update and republish this post.

Recycling - Where to Buy

I know, it seems strange to be listing where to buy new things when talking about recycling. However, there are some handy bits of kit to make recycling easier. Hopefully you can even recycle the new things as well.

Home Recycling UK have everything you could ever need to help with your recycling and are recommended by good old FoE. Recycle Now also have all types of bins and crushers as well as listing goods that are made of recycled materials.

Can crushers are very handy things for saving space in your recycling bin. Some sites claim they're sadistic fun too. I think they need to get out more.

Kelkoo
I want one of those
Paramount Zone
Gadget Stuff
Alternative Gifts

Week 3 - My attempt

Well, to be honest, I already have a kerbside box. I did have to call up recently and get a new one though, as the old one was "borrowed". Islington Council was remarkably efficient and it arrived in a couple of days.

They have also started to take plastic and cardboard now, rather than just the glass bottles and newspapers they collected previously. I'm not entirely sure that it all goes to be recycled, I suspect that it ends up as landfill. I suspect this because when I called up to see if they had found my passport in my recycling box the chap on the other end of the phone laughed and said "you must be joking, it'll be in landfill by now". Still, I can say that I've kept my end of the bargain and Islington Council does deny that the contents of our recycling boxes go to landfill. I will just have to believe them.

The only tricky bit about recycling is that my kitchen isn't quite big enough for the number of bins that this now seems to require. We are also shortly going to be receiving a compost bin and there will be collections each week of kitchen scraps. I need a utility room!

I have noticed a significant reduction in the amount of rubbish I put out for the binmen though. It's nice to have such a visible sign of one's do-gooding. One can feel smugly virtuous when looking at the neighbour's overflowing rubbish. Of course, it would be nicer if they got a box too.

Perhaps I will order another one. Then I will have fulfilled my weekly task.

Click here for further information.

Water Butts - Where to buy

Try contacting your local council to discover whether they have any links with water butt suppliers to provide cheap equipment to their residents.

Gone Gardening

Blackwall
Greenfingers.com
Even Greener
Oak Barrel

As well as B&Q, Homebase and other DIY places.

Week 2 - Water saving: My attempt

I remember receiving some information from Islington Council about water butts for the garden. There's a company that works in partnership with the council to provide cut price containers for residents. Call 0800 316 4454 to see if there are any arrangements in your area.

The butts provided by the council are rather ugly, large green plastic things and would take up a great deal of room in my little garden.

Looking around the internet I found some helpful sites. The BBC site says "you can collect and store rainwater in any watertight receptacle as it falls." I have now found a perfect use for the zinc rubbish bin that has been sitting in the back garden since I moved here several years ago. All I need to do is put some wire mesh on the top, to stop debris, fit a tap into the bottom of the bin (a trip to the DIY shop again) and put the bin on a raised base so that I can place my watering can under the tap.

Easy-peasy.

If i'm being really clever I can also buy a rainwater diverter and attach my water butt to one of the gutters.

For anyone who doesn't have a spare bin in their back garden click here for places you can buy water butts.

Click here for further information.


Water Saving - Links & Further Information

Alan Titchmarsh has some helpful hints on water saving in the garden. This Environment Agency site also has further information on conserving water at home. The RSPB also has tips on saving water in the garden, as well as a list of drought tolerant plants (and mainly native species at that).

Thames Water has a great deal of information on saving water, as well as links to yet more web sites with information on saving water. It also has a game you can play with Splash Gordon as well as some little quizzes for the kids.

In fact, most of the water companies have information on how you can save water in your home. Have a look at the website of your provider.

Click here for things that your school can do.

For reasons why we should be saving water, have a look at this site:

Friends of the Earth


And for some facts and figures on water usage, see below.

The amount of water used in:

Taking a bath - 80 litres
Taking a shower - 5 litres/per minute
Using a washing machine - 80 litres
Flushing the toilet - 9 litres
Watering the garden - 1000 litres/per hour (wow!)
Using a dish washer - 35 litres

The amount of water used to produce a:

Small car - 450,000 litres
Bicycle - 130 litres
Litre of petrol - 70 litres
Drinks can -305 litres
Tonne of paper - 54,000 litres

TO BE CONTINUED & REPUBLISHED

Links & Other Blogs

Links


Other Blogs

Lighting - Links & Further information

I have seen claims that you can cut energy wastage by over 75% (about £7 a year for an average energy bill or about £65 over the bulb's lifetime) by using Compact Fluorescent Lightbulbs. Of course, this depends how much you spent on the original bulb. Sixty-five pounds might be over-ambitious if you paid £35 for the bulb in the first place.

This website has a graph showing you how much money you save by using CFLs.

The Energy Saving Trust is an organisation that it looks like I'll be referring to a great deal. This is the lighting specific link: http://www.est.org.uk/myhome/efficientproducts/lighting/

Here are some offers for energy saving lightbulbs:

London Energy
Powergen - They will give four free energy saving lightbulbs to people on any qualifying benefits

Also, some councils offer to swap your normal lightbulbs for energy saving ones, whilst others will give away lightbulbs to certain groups of people and still others will sell them to you at a reduced rate. It could be worth calling up your council.

Whilst looking into this further, I did find other sites raising the issue of the direct environmental impact of these bulbs. Some of them contain a high level of mercury which causes concern when it comes to the disposal of the bulbs. To ensure that you're buying a truly environmentally friendly product have a look for the European Eco-label.

Week 1 - Lighting: My attempt

I did say that there would be some things that people had done already. Looking around my flat, all the normal bulbs are already energy saving - I got free bulbs when I changed my electricity supplier.

Energy savers are generally expensive creatures, don't always give off enough light and break too easily for what they cost. So, rather than just changing all the light bulbs for energy saving ones I thought that I'd look into it a little further and see if there weren't some that were less pricey, some that gave off more light and some that fit all those fiddly lights in the kitchen and bathroom.

In my flat I have 6 lights that take normal bulbs, bayonets or screws. It turns out that the only tricky ones are the three in the kitchen. They go out frequently and so are a fine candidate for energy saving light bulbs. It is advised that to get the most benefit from using energy saving bulbs then you should put them in areas where there is high usage, such as a hallway or kitchen.

I rather failed on finding bulbs that were less pricey. They are just more expensive than normal bulbs. That said, they're not quite as fragile and they do last hundreds of times longer. In the long run I'll be saving money. I will try to bear this in mind when paying £5 plus for a light bulb, rather than 95p. Also, considering how often the bulbs I have in the kitchen blow, it will be worth finding some that last loads longer. Especially if it saves me a trip in the car to Homebase.

I was worried that using the energy savers the light wouldn't be as powerful but nowadays there are also a number of bulbs that give off light equivalent to 100w bulb for only 20w. Of course, I could compromise and live in a slightly darkened room. I'd feel virtuous but I may go blind with the eye strain.

So, given that all the other bulbs in my house are already energy savers, I tracked down the little kitchen bulbs at Lightbulbs Direct. Unfortunately I'm going to have to leave the comfort of my sofa to get these lightbulbs because it's not entirely clear to me which type I have. I'm not going to spend £10 a lightbulb and get it wrong! Damn, that car trip to a big DIY shop beckons.

Click here for links to some other suppliers.

Click here for further information.

Where to buy energy saving bulbs

When shopping look for the European Energy Label. Energy saving bulbs should have an "A" rating.

Megaman UK does the widest selection of light bulbs that I can find. Not only do they have bulbs equivalent to the long fluorescent tubes but they also have energy efficient versions of the pin halogen lights that go in spotlight fittings as well as something other sites have said don't exist, dimmer switch compatible lamps ("dimmerable" - don't like the word though!). They list their stockists, helpfully, as DIY stores, electrical stores and hardware stores, although they do say that named outlets will be appearing soon.

The Lightbulb Company sells a variety of energy bulbs, as does Lightbulbs Direct and Low Energy World. Commercial Lamp Supplies doesn't have as wide a range but it does stock Megaman lights and those twist and lock spotlight bulbs. Sorry, got rather obsessed trying to track those down.

Online comparison places like Kelkoo have a wide selection too.

The Manifesto

Welcome to the Small Environmentalist.

This blog is going to track my attempts to become a better environmentalist.

At the moment I recycle my bottles and newspapers; I have some energy saving lightbulbs; occasionally I buy organic produce; and, when I remember, I look for FSC approved timber.

I have a few excuses for why I don’t do more and this blog is an attempt to address them.

First excuse: I don’t have the time.

Second excuse: it’s all too expensive.

Third excuse (and the real driver): it’s all too depressing, I wouldn’t know where to begin. What difference can one person make anyway?

I think that there are probably other people like me out there. Too busy and confused or too attached to elements of our lifestyle that we’re unwilling to sacrifice.

I have recently been thinking that the excuses are not good enough and that if someone like me doesn’t do anything to make things better then things will continue to get worse.

I’m going to start gathering information so that I can make better choices. I’m going to set myself goals within timeframes! I need lists and graphs that will show me exactly how I’ve contributed and that will encourage me to do more. So:

Every week I will make one change in my life that will minimise my impact on the Earth. At the end of a year I will have made 52 changes to my lifestyle. The big issues will have been broken into small steps.

The small environmentalist can leave a large legacy

I need grand phrases like that.

To get to the mechanics of this blog, every week I will have a new entry of the change I have made and maybe some further information. I will promise to make the entries straight-forward and relatively short - I have to accept my essential laziness and short attention span.

I hope that the people who do find this blog might do this along with me – if only to encourage me to keep it going.

The blog is aimed at people who mean to read the articles and the green books; who don't always know what it is they're doing wrong but who would like to have it simply pointed out to them how they could make a change; who would like to feel that they’re making a real difference and are part of a community all doing the same.

Puppy Plum