Calling all food that's being wasted in Manchester!

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Fareshare Northwest

Fareshare is an awesome national charity which takes good food which is destined for the bin and instead gives it to those most in need in the community.

I recently got an opportunity to interview the manager of Fareshare Northwest, Sebastian, who took a few minutes out to give me an inside look at the workings of Fareshare Northwest. You can view the video here:

Feeding the Hungry

Fareshare have a group of committed volunteers who work tirelessly to get food to those who need it most in and around Manchester. In these hard times when many are feeling the squeeze due to government cutbacks the food Fareshare distributes offers people a chance to get a warm meal.

The Volunteers

Fareshare also benefits the volunteers who can gain skills, including recognised qualifications, and confidence through their work.

What do you want to see?

I hope to be bringing you more vids from Fareshare. If there is anything you would like to know or see please let me know and I will endeavour to film it when I am down there.

Does your company have any food waste?

If you work for a company who has food going to waste that could be redistributed by Fareshare please give Seb a call, I know he would love to hear from you! (0161 223 8200)

Joe

PS. If you think I am rushing Seb a couple of times don’t worry, I know him :) Also, my camera work is a bit dodgy at some points, I promise it will be better for the next one!!

Manchester as a Low Carbon Economic Area. 3 Experts Give Their Views at LCEA Event

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Greater Manchester LCEA event – Feb 2011

I have been meaning to write this post since I went to the event and now I have the presentations through to help me!

I am really excited about the concept of LCEAs (Low Carbon Economic Areas) especially after this event with such knowlegable speakers.

The event was all about how best to encourage people how to adopt energy saving measures in their homes.

Here’s What I Learned:

Pres 1: Greater Manchester – Low Carbon Economic Area

Tim Barwood (Energy Saving Trust)

Manchester’s goal as a LCEA is to be a world leader in low carbon by 2015.

There are 6 areas to work on:

1. Residential retrofit

2. Non- residential retrofit

3. New Developments

4. Heat & Power Distribution

5. Living Laboratory

6. Skills & Employment

Work Package 1. Domestic Retrofit (Topic of the day)

The target for this scheme is to reduce CO2 emissions in the domestic sector in Manchester by 26% by 2015. This is to be accomplished by ‘basic energy efficiency measures’, ‘eco-upgrades’ and giving every home a Smart Meter. In depth behaviour change advice will also be offered across Manchester – this will be critical in the success of the programme.

Work has begun on behaviour change campaigns for basic energy efficiency measures – meet Mr Toast:

On the ‘eco-upgrades’ front Manchester have received £5M for Social Housing Retrofit Projects from the ERDF (Europe) and there was talk of a ‘Green Deal’ where Mancunians could receive £6,500 per household for domestic retrofit.

Pres 2. Effective Behaviour Change

Dr Sabine Pahl (Plymouth University)

People find it hard to grasp the fact that climate change is happening:

Its better to give local scenarios such as local flooding, using vivid images of the likely effects of climate change on people eg. blistering of the skin after intense UV exposure and making the impacts immediate eg. picture of the amount of CO2 produced by a school in 1 year.

Source: Tatebe, Shaw & Sheppard, 2010

Source: Pahl & Bauer, in revision

CO2 global warming demo

http://carbonquilt.org/gallery/images

Did you know? ‘Brown appliances’ eg. Games consoles, TVs etc. use more energy than lighting, refrigeration, cooking and wet appliances!

Adding heat controls and Smart Metres doesn’t automatically reduce energy use.

Making the invisible Visible

‘Making the invisible visible’ has been shown to affect behaviour in some studies.

For example using thermal imaging both outside and inside the home.

Control groups and evaluation are essential to measure success. Set specific target outcomes, identify target groups, evaluate outcomes.

Pres 3. Retrofit and Behaviour Change

Prof. Erik Bichard (Salford University)

There is a high degree of acceptance that Climate Change is a personal responsibility, yet the motivation to reduce energy consumption is weak.

Possible solutions: legislation, grants/ subsidies, education and awareness, incentivisation.

Behaviour change is central to public policy and changing the contect is likely to have success!

Recent studies which found that ‘We are all responsible’ is now the top answer for UK residents when asked what they think about climate change. However the vast majority (75%) can’t see how they can make a difference.

Reasons for inaction include: ‘I won’t if you won’t’ attitude , people feel the UK is only a tiny part of the problem, people think the government should fix it, people think the problem is overstated..

Surveys have shown that on average households would be willing to invest £500 in domestic climate change measures.

Recommendations for behaviour change (flooding): Better and more innovative communication around flooding, make it easier for people to know what to buy and how to obtain and fit flood protection, community champions, celebrity campaign (credible celebrity), let everyone know the state is not going to protect against flooding.

Rewards (Incentives):

Survey results – which low carbon rewards would be best?

1. Vouchers for fruit and veg

2. Free meals at restaurants

3. Entertainment tickets

4. Leisure and health centres

5. Free bus travel

The 3,000 green groups including the 250 Transition town groups are important! Interaction with peers can help overcome objections.

Are the people you are communicating with pioneers, prospectors or settlers?

Summary: Better education, better awareness (of risks), innovative incentives and active and inclusive community groups are key!

Final thoughts:

This was a great seminar. Behaviour change is key.

Do you have any suggestions for how to change peoples behaviour in relation to action on climate change? Please leave a comment.

Thanks for reading!

Joe

PS. I would again like to Credit: Tim Barwood, Dr Sabine Pahl and Prof Erik Bichard, essentially this is a summary of their presentations!

CIWM NGG Group North West, Site Visit – Gowy Landfill and Composting Facility

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NGG North West Site Visit

CIWM organised a site visit for the New Generation Group in the North West today and I was lucky enough to have replied early and got a place (ten on the reserve list).

Daydreaming on the M6

I unfortunately was daydreaming a bit on the motorway and missed the exit for the M56. When I realised I was on the way to Stoke instead of Chester I turned around at the next exit but I got caught in traffic and was 20 mins late…

Arrival

When I arrived the group were being given the run down on the site by the Site Manager. The Site Manager told only biodegradable waste (not hazardous) is processed at the site, they have consent to operate until 2016/2017 and there are 2 cells left for use.

He told us about wildlife on the site and I was surprised to find out they have Barn Owl runs, 3 kinds of woodpecker, Merlins, Buzzards and seagulls on the site. The seagulls can be a problem apparently and they use Falcons to control numbers. Apparently gas cannons can be effective but they scare the living daylights out of the horses in the adjacent stables when used.

Pest Control: 2 Falcons up near the active site.

Weighbridge

First stop on the tour was the weighbridge and the first thing we learned was that it is too small for some of the articulated vehicles! Apparently the drivers have to get out to sign off their loads at the cabin. To fix the problem would cost £20k in all so they have learned to live with it.

We then met Ken in the weighbridge office and were told the ins and outs of the weighing and recording system. The weighbridge is calibrated by an independent external company, trading standards perform annual checks and records are sent from the machine directly through to head office in Doncaster.

Restored Landfill

The restored landfill looks like this:

The landfill here goes to a depth of 6m below ground level and beneath that is 1m of clay. Once the landfill was full it was covered with 2m of pete an a sward was planted along with trees (eg silver birch) to restore the site.

Nowadays landfills are more likely to be restored to open heathland, as is now the preferred policy at this site. This is down to the fact that trees drain more water from the ground and need more maintenance eg. coppicing.

Stroll up the Landfill

Next we headed up to the top of the landfill for the main event. Strangely there were lots of chunks of foam on the road up there… along with lots of mud! As we walked up we could see the seagulls swarming around the waste:

A View From the Top

A CAT ‘crushing machine’ spends all day every day chopping and shredding refuse and pummelling it into the ground at the top of the landfill. Articulated vehicles and other waste trucks come up to the top, dump their load then the CAT smashes it up and pounds it for a bit, then the birds eat some.

The idea behind the chopping and shredding is to make sure the land form is stable and settles evenly. This means they can fit more in the landfill and also means more landfill gas is harvested. They tap the landfill gas and use it to power engines at the site, which are currently running at 5MW.

There are 100 vehicle movements per day at the site and there can be problems because they often finish their rounds and turn up at the same time. The average payload is around 4.5 tonnes and sometimes vehicles need to be towed part way to the top.

Artic being towed to the top (not enough traction on its own)

Composting Facility

Next we were shown the green waste composting facility. The site manager cracked me up when he told us what comes in with the green waste. According to him people think if it gets used in the garden it is green waste. That includes: lawnmowers, garden chairs, tennis balls, golf balls, golf clubs and more.. along with all the organic waste.

The waste is treated for 14 days prior to it arriving at the site and some of the contaminants are removed. When the green waste arrives at the site it is composted in a windrow (large pile of compost) at 80-85C for 3 months. The pile is turned every 3 days at first and a total of 8 times in the 3 months.

The machine above is screening the treated compost. The rejects come out of the front and the screened compost is piled up for selling.

Compost left, rejects right

The site manager told us some local authorities don’t challenge residents about what they are throwing in with their green waste and this leads to increased contamination.

Back to Main Office and Reception

After that it was back to the main office and reception to hand over our PPE and have a quick group photo. I tried to exchange emails with some of the group before everyone left so we can stay in touch and someone suggested we go out to dinner some time, cool!

Any thoughts? Please leave a comment.

Joe

HWRCs in North Manchester – a Review

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This is a review of HWRCs in North Manchester based on my observations from 6 HWRCs I have visited over the past 2 weeks.

I have written an individual report on each one so please feel free to check out the other posts and comment if interested.

Household Waste Recycling Centre Manchester

(Hurstwood Ct, Bolton)

I visited:

Hurstwood Court, Oldham

Drinkwater Park, Prestwich

Peel Lane, Heywood

Chandos St, Shaw

Arkwright Street, Oldham

Union Rd, Bolton

(… and also Bury and Bolton Town Centres)

The context was that I was taking surveys at the sites.  It has been reported in local press that 4 of the sites I visited are being reviewed with a view to closing them.

Observations and Conclusions

Well Run Sites

My first observation would be that I think Viridor are making a great job of running the HWRCs in North (Greater) Manchester. All the containers, skips and cages were clearly labelled so it was obvious where the public should place/pour/throw their items. The men were all friendly and helpful to the public and the feedback about the site workers from the public was excellent – even though it wasn’t on the survey! The men seemed dilligent in keeping the sites tidy and ensuring things ran smoothly.

Household Waste Recycling Centre Manchester

(Union Rd, Bolton)

Problems with Trade Waste

A big problem at some of the sites was traders using the HWRC to illeagally dump trade waste.

The men I spoke to about it were keen to prevent traders from using the sites. They did have some success in turning traders away however as far as I could tell a significant number still got through and offloaded their trade waste. The men told me traders would use tactics such as bagging all their waste up in black bags to conceal what they were tipping, they would bring a bit of domestic waste eg. toy box and say it was all domestic waste. If the trader was determined to offload their trade waste there was very little the men could do at some sites. At the bigger sites there is more checking on the way into the site as they have greater manpower.

I read yesterday that GMWDA are set to increase the barrier height at the entrance from 6’1″ to 6’6″.  I think this will only worsen the problems of traders visiting the HWRCs.

I think the men on the sites need to be given more powers to stop traders visiting HWRCs. Wheter this be more powers to stop them entering sites, to search vehicles of suspected tradespeople, handing out fines or banning some vehicles from the HWRC altogether. The aim should be to have zero tolerance of tradespeople on the HWRCs. They are depositing business waste and should do so at the correct rate. If something needs to be done about the charging for trade waste to encourage them to use the correct disposal routes then that should be done (carrot and stick).

Household Waste Recycling Centre Oldham

(Arkwright St, Oldham)

Charge for Using HWRCs?

From what I have seen over the past 2 weeks I think people should be charged for using HWRCs. I think they should be charged on what they throw away by material type and weight. I don’t think it is fair that some people who take care not to throw things out will pay as much to their local authority in waste disposal costs as people who give absolutely no regard to what they throw out and the amount of it.

I saw quite a number of people using the HWRC to dump surplus waste which could not fit in their regular bin and it was commented on by both the public and the men on site that a great deal of what is thrown away at the HWRCs probably works eg. electircals, furniture. To throw away items which work to be sent away to India and China to be dissassembled and broken down is insane in my view at a time when we must be aiming for sustainable consumption.  I think a study should be done on this – I imagine the results would be shocking.

Charging for using the HWRC would make people think twice before disposing of items, especially ones which work. Try Freecycle!

Reuse/ Repair Bay

One way of remedying the problem of throwing valuable items away would be to have a reuse/ repair bay. I spoke with one man who told me about a scheme at the HWRC in Scarborough where there is a bay for items which still work or are in need of minor repairs.

I think it is essential we get these at all HWRCs. I think this measure would keep a massive amount out of landfill and save on shipping the electronics etc. half way across the world to be processed.

The items could be sold at charity shops, raising money for charity and meaning the items got a new lease of life, there would be many wins in doing this.

You may have seen one example (from the Union Rd report) where I saw 2 old leather armchairs left at Union Rd. I spoke with the chargehand and me and him both thought they were Chesterfield and looked a bit like this (click the link =>) Here. That is just the tip of the iceberg.

Household Waste Recycling Centre Oldham

(Chandos St (Beal Hey), Shaw)

Site Closures – My View

Due to the local press reporting about the possible closure of 4 of the sites we were visiting for the survey, people were generally aware that some of the sites may close later in the year.

People were saying things like don’t close the site etc. as if I have any say in the decision. Thanks people, maybe one day.

My comments would be that these sites all seem to be in North (Greater) Manchester which on the face of it to me does not seem fair on the residents of North Manchester compared to the more affluent South (Greater) Manchester.

I would also comment that the large sites which will take up the extra visitors if the smaller local ones are to close already seemed busy.

Take for example Arkwright Street in Oldham. This site was very busy all day on a Tuesday. It is supposedly already much busier than this at weekends. How will they handle the extra capacity if other small sites nearby close eg. Chandos St?

Final Thoughts

I think the modern HWRC in North Manchester is a well run and efficient facility for handling waste and recycling.

I think there needs to be more deterrents for traders and the public dumping there eg. fines and charges respectively.

There needs to be a greater focus on reuse at the sites.

If you have read all the way to here thanks very much – it would be great to hear any comments you may have.

Joe

Chandos Street HWRC, Shaw, pt2

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Keith and myself headed up to Chandos Street HWRC for the last push in the surveying schedule yesterday.

The men were friendly to us again as they have been at all the sites.

The rain started when we got there and worsened as the day went on. Needless to say I did not beat my record of 100 surveys in a session.

It was interesting speaking with the men. They told a similar story to the one being relayed by the men at Arkwright street with regard to traders using the site for trade waste.

There was evidence before my very eyes as several people who looked very much like traders – in vans, werring overalls, pencil behind the ear etc. were turning up and offloading items. I can think of one example where a man turned up with a carfull of stuff with his son, wearing overalls, and offloaded. Included in his waste and recycling were 3 boxes for shower units which pointed to the fact that he had recently fitted 3 shower units.

There were plenty more examples. It really annoyed the men on the site. They caught one bloke putting a large bag of plaster into the rubble skip which is a big no no. They stopped him immediately. Again they told me he is a regular visitor and a trader if I remember correctly.

What got the mens goat was the fact that there is very little they can do to stop traders from using the site. They can politely ask them not to use the site and that’s it. The result of this is that traders have little deterrent for using the HWRC for free rather than doing what they should do and paying to offload waste and recycling at a site designated for trade waste.

This system does not work. The men on site need more power to hand out fines and to be able to prevent traders from using the sites. it is a big problem and something needs to be done about it.

Another thing which annoyed them was the fact that some members of the public are rude to them. They said 90-95% are alright but some people take the view that it is their right to dump what they like where they like at the site for example emptying ashtrays and the like on the floor after which the men have to tidy up.

Show these guys more respect please this small minority. They do a good job and have to work 12 hour shifts in summer!

Conclusions and summary of my findings to follow, more than likely tomorrow.

Take care,

Joe

HWRC surveys – Bury

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Again it was a challenge to get many surveys filled in today.

I tried my luck at Tescos near the centre of Bury and some people who were dropping off their recycling completed surveys.

I spoke with the litter attendant at Tescos who told me they have problems with people fly tipping around the recycling area, especially at weekends.

On the plus side I called in at ASDA and arrived just when they were marking down some items. I managed to get some lovely strawberry yogurts, 2 chocolate tarts, some luxury fishcakes and some cooking backon….. however I forgot to redeem the money for my parking ticket.

Sunday should be better – I am back at Chandos St HWRC. Maybe those expensive chairs will still be there……

Bolton Town Centre

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I was asked to survey people in Bolton town centre today.

I focused on some of the recycling areas at Supermarkets where I thought people would be receptive.

It was totally different to getting people to do surveys at the HWRCs because most people were not there to dispose of waste but were going about their business.

I am up in Bury tomorrow so going to have to adopt a different approach there if I am to get any success!

A point of interest – all the facilities at the supermarkets looked old and not well maintained with several bins overflowing eg. plastic bag recycling.

Something really should be done about them.

I think because most people recycle at home now and fewer people use them they may not be as well maintained as they were a few years back but if you’re going to have them there the least you can do is make them look presentable and empty them as frequently as is necessary.

Joe

Union Road Household Waste Recycling Centre (HWRC)

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I was up in Bolton today at the Union Rd site.

This is one of the 4 smaller sights I am visiting over last week and this week. The site is very neatly laid out and like the other small sites I have been to there were pleanty of people visiting to drop items off whilst I was there.

I got the opportunity to speak with one of the site managers for the area this morning. He told me that people seemed to be clearing out their garages and lofts etc. a bit early this year and it is not normally so busy until a few weeks later normally.

Speaking with him was very interesting. He told me he doesn’t agree with the way the new larger sites are layed out. One of the reasons is that people can be tempted to dumps more items into general waste if they have to walk back because they have missed the correct container. He tells me this can be a problem when it gets busy. He told me the site he thinks is designed the best out of all the sites he is responsible for is set to close under the current plans. I think it is called the Leicester Street Site.

I have noticed that som eof the sites I have been to have very high recycling rates deiplayed for December whilst som ehave comparatively low. For example the Union Rd site today displayed 84% recycling rate for December whilst I have seen the rate be as low as 43% at one site. I didn’t get a clear answer on that, however he said the rate does fluctuate throughout the year and can go down if people are having a big clearout eg. at Christmas.

Points to note today. I saw a man leave 2 good looking leather chairs. I told him they looked good but he still left them. I spoke to the chargehand because I thought they might be valuable and he shared my opinion that they might be Chesterfield chairs. The leather had perished on 1 arm but other than that they were in reasonable condition. They looked a bit like (click here =>) this: , but more comfortable. In case you didn’t click this chair is valued at £960, and there were 2 of them.

The chargehand told me that for all the things you wanted to take home that were dropped off at the tip you would need a container yourself. Just looking at that catologue now I feel terrible that these chairs have been thrown away to rot on a landfill (too big for the incinerator).

The men used to be able to take things of value which were dropped off but times have changed and they face disciplinary action and possible termination for taking items home. The standard fin efor the public is £1000. Madness.

Once I was done at Union Rd, I went back up to Hurstwood Ct. to make my time up for last week and got a few more surveys done up there. I would be interested to go back there at weekends to see what its like when it is really busy and if there are any problems.

Please feel free to comment.

Joe

Beal Hey Household Waste Recycling Centre (HWRC), Chandos Street in Shaw and Arkwright Street, Household Waste Recycling Centre (HWRC), Oldham

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Yesterday I was up in Shaw near Oldham taking more surveys.

It was freezing and I was counting down the clock from after about the first hour.

The men on site made me feel welcome despite appearing initially reluctant for the surveys to be taken. I think this was down to the fact that the men didn’t know I was coming. When I arrive the chargehand said – ‘what’s the point in doing surveys if they’re going to close the site?’

He was refering to news which had appeared over the weekend including on the BBC website which was that a number of sites have been earmarked for closure pending a review. Coincidentally the 4 listed in the BBC article are 4 out of the 6 which I am visiting last week and this week……

The site at Shaw is quite small but there were certainly many people making use of it despite the conditions.

Some people were asking me about the possible closure and the staff were discussing it with the public which was only natural really.

Since I don’t work for the waste authority I havn’t a clue what their plans are.

One bloke was taking an interest in some of the discarded items. He told me in Scarborough they have a scheme at the HWRC where people can bring items which are still of value eg. they still work or are in need of minor repairs. We took a look at a few bikes and other items like a trolley which still seemed to work OK and may have needed minor repairs.

I have been thinking it is actually madness not to have this type of function at all HWRCs based on what I have seen so far.

I saw the clothes get unloaded for the first time in Shaw. Basically the steel container is lifeted up, the bottom drops out and the crane shakes the container around a bit until all the clothes fall out. I suspect this system is a bit tough on some of the clothes…

There were a few spell where the rain became a bit too heavy to do surveys but I still got a fair few done in Shaw.

Arkwright Street

Household Waste Recycling Centre Manchester

Such was the willingness to complete surveys at Arkwright St today that I managed 3 figures – a cool 100 surveys all told.

This was no doubt aided by the fact that there was a constant stream of punters coming through with their waste and recycling.

A surprising thing I have noticed at the sites, particularly the last 3 sites I have been at is the amount of people who stop by on a regular basis to dump excess waste from their bin at home. Refuse collectors won’t take ‘sidewaste’ or waste which is over and above what can fit in the wheelie bin and it seems quite a number of residents have responded by taking this rubbish to the local HWRC.

In my view this completely defeats the point of residents only being allowed 1 bin for household waste.

This furthers my case for charging at HWRCs as a waste reduction measure.

Arkwright street is a very modern site and with the way waste is so quickly and efficiently processed I can’t help thinking of it a bit now like a slaughterhouse. Whoever has designed the system has got the waste disposal down to a fine art with no thought of the moral implications.

Trade waste – the men asked me if I would mind looking out for potential tradesmen to target for surveying and I was happy to oblige. They said it is a constant battle to keep tradesmen out with them trying to put everything in black bags and believing that if they said they said they had wallpaper they woud be let through before everyone started trying the wallpaper trick and it became obvious that half of Oldham was not continually decorating.

There were a number of vans on their today who were suspected of being trades and I have to agree I thought they were. One bloke was looking very shifty when I asked him for his postcode but some would fill in the survey no bother. I don’t think they are very worried about the consequences of their illeagal actions from what I saw. In fact one man openly told me he had brought a number of bags of glass bottles from his club, he didn’t even seem aware that it was illeagal for him to dump them at Arkwright street.

All this will be going into my conclusions next week.

Joe

Drinkwater Park, Bury – Household Waste Recycling Centre (HWRC)

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I have been taking more surveys today up at Drinkwater Park, Bury.

I started at about 10 again. Again I was required to do a site induction but this only took 2mins then I was away surveying people.

It started a little slower than the previous 2 days but soon picked up and all in all I got quite a lot of surveys done (50-60).

I liked the layout at this site and, as happened yesterday some people expressed the fact that they really liked the site.

Household Waste Recycling Centre Bury

The platform is raised so people can throw their items directly into the containers and everything is a short walking distance.

A couple of interesting things happened today. A bloke about 65-70 came and asked if he could buy a gas canister as they cost £30 in the shops however he was told no.

Another bloke who was throwing stuff away had some unused work boots, they looked pretty good from where I was standing. He offered them to one of the men but was told to put them into the clothes and shoes container. There was one lady who was throwing out 3 folders full of artwork. It had been in the house since she moved in 3 years ago and she wanted to dispose of it. Some of it was dated (1974) and looking through there were some really nice scetches, it seemed a shame to throw it out but it all went in the containers with the cardboard and non-recyclables.

I saw 2 Xbox 360s in the small appliances container. I am presuming they were broken but you just don’t know.

The chagehand told me they had the welders in today because someone broke into the site last night to look through the containers. He said it is a regular and ongoing problem.

I carry on at more sites next week where I will come to some conclusions about HWRCs, I am having some ideas.

Joe