How do you charge your mobile phone?

Ofcom report some interesting findings in their UK Communications Market Review 2008.

The report tells us that :

"Although nearly three-quarters of consumers (72%) say that they care about the environment and take it into account in their personal lives, only 39% say that they compare environmentally-friendly aspects when purchasing communications devices."

The report suggest this may be because less than a third of consumers think it is easy to compare energy use of different devices. Ofcom say that Energy Saving Labels are an important way of trying to improve customer knowledge about efficiency, but 50% of consumers say they are not aware of energy labels.

The report says that " only 30% are aware of the obligation for retailers to take back and recycle old equipment free of charge when purchasing a new device under the Waste Electronic and Electrical Equipment Directive, and only 7% appear to have taken advantage of this."

Source: Ofcom (2008), UK Communications Market Review 2008: Interactive Key Points available at: http://comment.ofcom.org.uk/cmr08/

Their findings also show that many consumers use unnecessary power by charging their mobile phones up overnight, not switching off broadband wireless routers when they are not in use, and not switching off Television set-top boxes.

I try to charge my mobile phone in the car using energy produced as a by-product. My children tell me they no longer charge up their phones overnight since they realised how much energy this wastes. However, my first New Year's Resolution for 2009 must be to turn off my router. Next on my hit list will be the Sky Box. Problem is I don't understand how it works – how many of us say that though, and it is no excuse. So 2009 will be the year in which I find out exactly when the Sky Box needs to be on and when it doesn't. It is not going to rule my life anymore – I will pull that plug.

Have a look at this:

Ofcom UK CMR 2008 Charts

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: ofcom uk)

Stocking Fillers

 

I was thinking about Stocking Fillers this Christmas.

It is fun to open lots of little Christmas presents in our Christmas Stockings. Like me, you are probably being bombarded with emails about cheap stuff you can buy your loved ones this Christmas.

I am going to think about one thing when I buy my stocking fillers this year: where will the stocking fillers end up?

If it is something that will provide 5 minutes of fun and can then be passed on and on and on, then I guess that's ok. But is anyone going to want it? Is it really just going to end up in landfill by the end of March? Perhaps it will go via the Charity Shop in an attempt to appease your conscience – but landfill is landfill, rubbish is rubbish.

Have a look at The Story of Stuff!

I think these would make good stocking fillers though: http://www.recycline.com/toothbrush.html

 

 

 

All Wrapped Up

I'm sure lots of people have been out buying Christmas cards and wrapping paper this week.

I like the range at Oxfam.

What I like about it most is that it is made from recycled materials and can be recycled again after use. The clear label tells me the wrapping paper I chose was made from 100% recycled paper. It also asks "When you have finished with this wrap please recycle it."

The Christmas cards told me they were printed on 50% recycled paper and FSC sourced wood pulp. What is more, the packaging is scant but robust with no plastic wrap.

Perfect!

 

Litter

It costs nothing to take your litter home.

Freecycle It

Freecycle is a great way to turn your rubbish into someone else's treasure. Found at www.Freecycle.co.uk this Internet based group has local branches so that people can give away unwanted items in their local area. In the past year I have parted with off-cuts of lead flashing, a big box of outgrown art materials, some large plant pots, a spare kettle, some black paint, a rickety pasting table and an old Dyson that I had stopped using because it was too heavy for me.

I have also parted with a television which although it worked some of the time, it didn't always turn on straight away. No-one in my household had the skills to fix it but someone locally who didn't have a television, gratefully picked it up from me. He thought he might be able to fix it, but even if he didn't he felt it would be better than nothing. We had been using it for over a year in the same state. Why would someone want to take on something that doesn't work?

Well, firstly, some people have the skills to fix things. Some people love trying to fix things even if they don't succeed. Some people just don't like the "I can't afford it at the moment, so I'll buy it on credit" culture.

The first television I owned was given to me by a work colleague who was getting a better one. This television also cut out at odd times. We used to joke that it would wait until the most dramatic moments to switch off, but we still used it for three years and then gave it away to someone else.

So before you bin anything at all, it is worth considering whether someone else may be able to make use of it. I have seen requests for old carpet for allotments, broken electrical items for spare parts, and amazing array of weird wants for fancy dress parties or theatre groups. There really doesn't seem to be anything that can't be re-homed this way. (Oh, except naughty children!)

Last night’s curry

I used to be one of many who felt the need to plan every meal for my family. I thought that in doing this I would make sure I only bought the food I needed, so saving money and saving waste. But I have come to realise that I can take an extra step.

Even though I planned meals, tried to only buy what I felt we needed in the quantities we needed it, I still found that I would end up wasting a shameful amount of what I bought. It is all very well carefully storing your leftovers in the fridge or freezer, but what is the point if we are just going to throw it away a few days, a few months, a year later?

I now plan into my week at least two 'unplanned' days. These unplanned days are the times when we will eat up leftovers, use up something from the freezer or get creative with anything that needs using up before it goes out of date.

The Lovefoodhatewaste website tells us that if we all stop wasting food that could have been eaten, the CO2 impact would be the equivalent of taking 1 in 5 cars off the road. I like the sound of that. I also like the fact that in times like these, when everyone is saying their food bills have rocketed, it is a great way to save money too.

The humble sandwich

I was on a course today and arrived early in order to help someone with a computer problem. In return for my help he offered to buy me lunch. It felt rude to refuse and besides, even I will admit , it is not very hip to eat last night's leftover tea served out of an old ice cream tub in public. So I accepted the invitation and we went to Marks and Spencer for sandwiches (this was a working lunch).

I noticed that all the sandwiches were packaged in cardboard with a cellulose window made from 100% natural plant material.

Having eaten our sandwiches I folded my sandwich packet flat put it in my bag and suppressed the blush when my colleague commented on my 'strange' behaviour. I explained that I would take the packaging home to compost it.

Composts need a combination of green material, such as kitchen waste and brown material such as paper and cardboard so the sandwich package makes a good contribution to my compost heap or my wormery.

Before putting the packing in my compost caddy I read the recycling information and noticed the website link www.recyle-PlanA.com which gives lots of useful tips about recycling and composting, including how to set up your own office recycling scheme.