Bottle tops!

At last there's something useful to do with your plastic bottle top collection. Local artist Karen Simpson has put out the call for bottle tops, which she will magically transform into a deck chair! Karen has an impressive track record of making silk purses out of sow's ears through her Shore is a load of rubbish initiative, and has displayed her work across Kent.

Have a look at her Shore is a Load of Rubbish website to see the deckchair taking shape, and see the FlotsamWeave website for more of her work.

Recycling bags

The unutterable shambles drags on. Canterbury City Council's ham-fisted penny-pinching, masquerading as waste reduction and cost saving, has proved such a failure that even they have had to accept it. I expect they'll say 'you said, we listened'. They never say 'we screwed up, we're sorry'.

Once upon a time, we had adequate numbers of adequate recycling bags, and could get more from the Council offices if we ran out. The Council decided that some 40% of the bags being distributed for recycling were not being used for recycling. Their solution was to distribute fewer bags and make us register if we needed more. Coincidentally, and to worsen the situation, these bags provided under the new regime were of inferior quality - the initial batches were simply not fit for purpose.

Not surprisingly it all went wrong, in entirely predictable ways. The bags split, so people double-bagged their rubbish, and got through their small supply of bags at twice the rate. Registering for more bags was not a smooth or convenient process for many. People resorted to using carrier bags, or just putting their recycling rubbish in the landfill bins. The Council said we could BUY more recycling bags from the supermarkets. Bloody cheek.

The Council repeatedly told us what a great idea it was and how swimmingly well it was going, how the wrinkles would be ironed out, and it was all for the best in the long run. But now, at very long last, the penny seems to have dropped. The Executive meeting on Valentine's Day now has an extra, urgent item to consider regarding the provision of recycling bags. The preamble says "the service would benefit from an increase in sacks offered. This has followed customer feedback which has been critical of the number and quality offered" - a lot of under-statement in a small space, if you ask me.

Can cash will boost the pier

Campaigners have come up with a canny way to raise cash for Herne Bay pier. Trustees hoping to see the pier revamped and rebuilt have set up special bins to recycle cans and could earn up to £600 per tonne of other peoples' rubbish.

The bins have been positioned at the entrance to the pier, with more to come throughout the town, and the scheme was officially launched on Monday by members of the Herne Bay Pier Trust. Spokesman Andy Newell said:

"It could raise a lot of money for us and it's good for the town as well. It will improve the environment and keep the town clear of cans. It should also save room in recycling sacks because people will only need to put paper, card and plastic in if they bring their cans to us."

Mr Newell and other supporters are hoping to get town pubs, cafes, restaurants and supermarkets involved. He thanked council officials, including David Williamson from Serco and town manager Chris West, for their support, adding:

"They have been instrumental in getting this concept off the ground."

The group is still hoping to attract more members to lobby for improvements at the pier. The sports centre is due to be demolished next year and officials will then consult on what should replace it. A public meeting to update supporters on progress at the pier will take place at 7.30pm on Monday, November 15 at the cafe on the pier.

This is Kent 29th Oct 2010

Pier fund-raising

HB Times 28th Oct 2010