Internaltional - Compost Awareness Week 2006

Compost Awareness Week 2006 is an annual showcase for composting in the UK. Organised by the Composting Association, it aims to raise the profile of compost and composting amongst the public and the media. This years the compost week is between the 7th to the 13th of May, 2006.

The initiative came to England from Canada six years ago and is an international education initiative to showcase the production of compost and demonstrate its uses. During the week, all kinds of organisations involved with compost - from manufacturers to local authorities and retailers - are encouraged to get involved and hold events to promote the use and benefits of compost in their local area.

Hackney and many other boroughs in London and UK wide are raising the benefits of composting through various events and workshops. Above an image of the poster which will be around Hackney soon.

This is a graphic extracted from WRAPs compost website (pdf file)



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Hackney Real Nappy Network

They just released their 1st newsletter. This group of mums are really setting an example in London! Click the image


They got together thanks to the efforts of Nappy Ever After, Hackney Council (Recycling) and above all Hackney mums on 22 June 2005. The same day Hackney launched their £51 subsidy to help cut the cost of purchasing real nappies.

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UK- Real Nappy Week approaching

Why use real nappies?

Around 3% of waste in the UK comes from disposable nappies. This is equivalent to the weight of nearly 70,000 double decker buses each year. Real cotton nappies are easy to use, soft on the skin and don’t contain absorbent gels. Real nappies are cheaper. You could save around £500 per baby if your wash your own nappies. Hackney Council and its neighbouring boroughs (Camden, Islington, Enfield , Waltham Forest , Haringey & Barnet ) offers a £54 subsidy for you to start using real nappies, whether you choose a nappy laundry service or to home launder them. Fully funded by the North London Waste Authority.

Laundry Services operating in North London:
• Nappy Ever After
• Number One for Nappies

This is the leaflet our team produced for the events in Hackney Real Nappy Week, come along!





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USA - San Francisco group resists new purchases

The power of the internet harvest the potential of the Compactors from the group The Compact set up in San Francisco.

The question is What would happen if you gave up shopping for a year? The Guardian reports that a group in San Francisco, calling themselves the Compactors, have agreed not to buy anything new (apart from items related to food, health and work) for the whole of 2006. It's not even as easy as it sounds.

What about underwear? (All other clothing must be bought second-hand, but underwear has been exempted.) Is the carbon footprint of a bought can of beans greater or smaller than making them yourself at home?

The Yahoo group set up by the Compactors has become an interesting documentation of the questions that beset many consumers, but it also offers helpful suggestions (and has a links page that illustrates just how hard many people are thinking about these things - for example, every month San Francisco holds the Really Really Free market where everything is swapped). There are ways of crocheting bath rugs out of plastic bags, recipes for making paper, eulogies about growing your own food and spats about whether religion plays a part in this mindset. This is very similar to the Give or Take events taking place around Europe and in London, Hackney.

The Compact has several aims (more or less prioritized below):

We are a group of individuals committed to a 12-month flight from the consumer grid (calendar year 2006).

To go beyond recycling in trying to counteract the negative global environmental and socioeconomic impacts of disposable consumer culture and to support local businesses, farms, etc. -- a step that, we hope, inherits the revolutionary impulse of the Mayflower Compact.
To reduce clutter and waste in our homes (as in trash Compact-er).
To simplify our lives (as in Calm-pact)

Their blog, click here
Their Yahoo Group, click here


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