Rant

Some People are Too Stupid to Recycle

Picture the scene:  a small communal galley kitchen in a building full of serviced offices.

There are two bins - One clearly labelled "Recyclable", the other clearly labelled "Non Recyclable". In addition there is an extra sign over the "Recyclable" bin reiterating that it is for "recyclable" stuff and in BIG CAPS it further clarifies that "NO FOOD ITEMS" are to go in the recyclable bin.

Now, if that's not clear enough there is also a little sign above the area with a list of all the things that safe to be considered recyclable and those that are not.

Easy, right?

Plastic Spoons

My wife found this on facebook this morning. Doesn't this just hit the mark? Here's a transcript of the image text:

 [Image of spoon]

It's pretty amazing that our society has reached a point where the effort necessary to

  • Extract oil from the ground
  • Ship it to a refinery
  • Turn it into plastic
  • Shape it appropriately
  • Truck it to a store
  • Buy it, and bring it home

...is considered to be less effort than what it takes to just wash the spoon when you're done with it.

McDonalds Litter

{EAV_BLOG_VER:d8d8317f40d9f024}I had an opportunity to chat with one of our local street cleaners the other day and he was saying that our local McDonald's was the worst offender in terms of the sheer amount of litter he had to pick up. One day during the week he completely filled 10 large refuse sacks full of just McDonalds trash.

Why Are There No Reverse Vending Machines in Farnborough?

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I was walking home from the local shops last night when I spied between the wood and wire panels of a fence, a load of beer cans stuffed inbetween. Then, a few minutes later, as I was walking through the woodland at the end of my road, I saw more beer cans littered around. As per usual, it's often Fosters cans that you see littering the place.

(Royal) Junk Mail

I just flicked the TV on before going to work and caught a story on BBC1's "Breakfast" news show highlighting the fact that we will all be getting more junk mail in the UK.

Apparently Royal Mail's management have agreed to pay conditions with the postal workers' union just so long as Britain's postmen start shoving more junk through our letter boxes.

Whether You Believe in Climate Change or Not

I've just been reading the article Stolen e-mails embolden climate change skeptics regarding the Climategate affair where scientists at the University of East Anglia's Climate Research Unit had their emails hacked. Now I'm all for "leaks" of information that may be of public interest but that "thousands of e-mails and other documents made over the course of 13 years" are available is a considerable breach.

Junk Mail

I was only away for 9 days and I came home to find a ton of junk mail on my doormat.

Apart from a couple of magazine subscriptions, the usual bills and letters (including welcome mail from Ecotricity and Triodos Bank) the majority of what I received was junk.

So, apart from just 11 legitimate pieces of mail the rest was:

Greenwash Day not Green Britain Day

Friends, Britons, countrymen... lend me your ears.

Today, Friday 10th July 2009, is supposedly Green Britain Day. The concept has been thought up by French nuclear energy giants EDF.

However, as has been said , this whole concept is a complete sham because:

Eco Faciscm

You drive your car less, you cycle more, recycle more, use less packaging, re-use your grocery bags, use low-powered bulbs, switch to wind-powered electricity and remember to switch everything off when you go to bed or leave the house.

Bad News on Heathrow

Ministers will apparently give the go-ahead for the controversial third runway at London's Heathrow Airport later today according to the BBC.

Despite open opposition from around 50 of the Government's own MPs, opposition MPs, environmental groups, concerned citizens and residents of the houses in the path of the runway, the announcement will be made today under the provision that the expansion is within strict environmental parameters.

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