South East Forum For Sustainability

Archive for the ‘Make a Difference’ Category

SEFS is delighted to announce the publication of it’s new leaflet Small Choices Big Difference.

The leaflet aims to helps residents of the South East make small changes to their lifestyle which will not only save them money and help people lead healthier lifestyles but will also reduce the regions demand for the worlds resources.

Click here to download the Small Choices Big Difference flyer and visit the Make a Difference section of this website for more details on how to make these changes. This section will be updated in July so please check  back for more information.

Bulbs are coming up, green shoots are starting to show in the garden despite the continuing cold temperatures. If you’re starting to think about your spring planting. Have a thought for your growing medium. 46% of compost sold in garden centres still contains peat from the UK, Ireland and the Baltic states.  Peat extraction is responsible not only for the destruction of unique habitats but also releases large amounts of CO2.

There are many commercially available alternatives peat and in an aim to reduce the peat content of compost the government is proposing it is phased out. As part of this move they are providing help and advice to gardeners on what to use instead:

Peat compost: The alternatives

 *Peat is not necessary to grow most plants. A Which? survey this year found that alternative composts performed better than peat for growing potatoes and flowers in pots.

 *Alternatives include bark, green compost, wood waste, wood fibre and coir. Defra acknowledges peat is best for some “very specialist uses and plants”, such as carnivorous plants native to peat bogs and some ericaceous plants native to moorlands, but advises gardeners to use peat-free compost for all main garden uses. Further advice at can be found on:  www.direct.gov.uk/buyingcompost

Over the last 5 years the transport choices of inhabitants in three english towns have been under intense scrutiny. In 2004 Peterborough, Darlington and Worchester were chosen to be Transport Demonstration Towns. The aim of the TDTs was to develop ways of changing people’s mode of travel persuading them out of the car and on to public transport, bicycle and foot.

5 years later as a result of implementing things like work place, school and personal travel planning, promoting public tansport, walking and cycling and running travel awareness campaign, all three towns have reduced car trips by between 7-9%. Cycling trips have increased by between 26-30% and walking trips by 10-13%. 

In addition to reducing the number of cars on the road, there have been both actual and percieved benefits in relation to economic growth, carbon dioxide emissions, air quality, health, equality of opportunity and general quality of live. The schemes have also delivered value for money.

As a result consultants analysing the success of the TDTs  have concluded – in the recent report Effects of Smarter Choice Programes in Sustainable Transport Towns  ”that the experience in the three Sustainable Travel Towns (and elsewhere) is now sufficient to justify widespread development and delivery of town-based Smarter Choice Programmes. There would also be great merit in piloting of new initiatives, to apply the principles of travel behaviour change to medium and long-distance journeys and to travel in rural areas, and to focus more intensively on travel for work.’

Following on from this the Government has just published it’s Active Travel Strategy which aims to put walking and cycling at the heart of local transport and  health strategies over the next decade.

Both these documents will prove while your Local Transport Plan is being developed to see where your council is in the LTP3 process read the more detailed article here.

If you are signed up for 10:10 then you’ll know that January tips for cutting CO2 are all about lighting. If you’ve not signed up to to cut your carbon 10% by 2010 then here are a few tips on saving energy (and money) through changing your light bulbs and how you use them.

1. There are low-energy bulbs that work with dimmer switches
2. Yes, you can replace your halogen spotlights
3. Modern low-energy bulbs give off lots of lovely, flicker-free light
4. Handsome globe-shaped eco-bulbs are available
5. You can save more than £50 per bulb replaced#

There is some more advice in the lighting section of the 10:10 website.

There’ll be a new theme next week when we move into February so watch out.

I happened to overhear some people the other day talking about the price of Christmas Trees.  I was stunned that a 5ft or so tree (without roots) was going for £40 at the flower stall near where I live. Later I went past my local homewares shop and they were renting out trees (ok maybe  not quite such big ones for a snip at  between £20-£30 (they deliver them and collect after Christmas. The trees are then replanted and available for next  years rental.

If you’re lucky enough to live in Brighton you can rent your Christmas tree from Gill’s Home and Garden Shop on Western Road . Alternatively you can hire them from the Christmas Tree Man . These one’s don’t come cheap  but then neither do the precut ones and they’ll be for chipping after New Year.

If you have already bought a Christmas Tree and aren’t planting it out in the garden for next year. Don’t forget that most councils now have Christmas Tree collection points. So check your local council website for details of their tree recycling arrangements.

So those last minute Christmas presents.  Most charities are struggling for cash this year, including many SEFS members so save on all that shopping and wrapping and just join or donate to your family and friends favourite charities.  Websites for most SEFS members can be found via the links  page on this website. I’m sure you’re cash would be gratefully received and UK taxpayers can of course claim tax relief on charitable donations.

Alternativley why not learn a new craft or trade next year. SEFS member Commonwork run interesting workshops on everything from bread making to green wood work. Or you could learn about Permaculture, fruit tree management or green architecture with Brighton Permaculture Trust. Many rural centres run courses like this so check out your local area or plan a UK holiday around a course futher afield.

Finally if you have to buy presents then check out these suppliers of ethical and environmentally friendly products Ecocentric, Nigels Eco Store, or the Ecologist Ethical Christmas Guide

Finally think about Waste

To cut down on food waste (and the impact of your Christmas eating) plan your meals ahead to avoid waste, think about experitmenting with a vegetarian feast at some point over the holidays and make sure you’ve space in your compost bin for all those potato and carrot peelings.

For ideas on cutting down on general Christmas waste check out Waste Online for ideas and make sure you know when your council is collecting your recycling over the christmsa period.

Have a great and fabulously green time!

Brighton & Hove is currently threatend with a bin strike. But this needn’t be a bad thing. Strikes or changes to collections can be a great opportunity for communities to pool their resources and stop looking at waste as a problem.

By working collectively we can significantly reduce the amount that ends up in our bins. If we don’t act of course it will become a smelly, hazardous eyesore but by taking a few small steps we can make great strides in minimising the problem. There are many things that can be done to reduce/reuse/recycle and compost but – here’s a few suggestions:

 1) Take the waste challenge and slim your bin, look at what you throw away each day or week and challenge your household to see how small you can make that waste pile. (see the slim your bin page for examples of how to monitor your waste)

2) Reduce
a. Packaging – avoid goods that are over packaged and return unwanted packaging to the store.
b. Food – avoid food waste by planning your meals in advance, check what’s in the cupboard and fridge before you shop make a list and only buy what you need.
c. Buy a water filter and a water bottle or flask instead of bottled water and ask for your takeaway coffee to be put in your own container.
d. Cut down on junk mail by joining the Mailing Preference Service
e. Read the paper online.

3) Reuse
a. Joinyour local Freecycle, Freegle or the Green Cycle Sussex network and exchange what you don’t want any more for something you do.
b. Repair old clothing or give it away to charity (or if it’s unfit to use take it to the your nearest Household Waste Recycling Centre and put it for textile recycling).
c. Use leftover food for another meal.
d. Use old carrier bags again (and again)
e. Buy second hand clothes/books/furniture
f. Try using reusable nappies

4) Recycle
a. Wash and squash all your recyclable materials (cans, plastic bottles etc) so they take up less space while council collections aren’t taking place (and so they don’t go smelly).
b. Store your recyclables in a dry place
c. If you’re in Brighton get together with some neighbours and subscribe to Magpie’s Opt-in recycling scheme  Tel: 01273 684425 Email: optin@ magpie.coop

5) Compost
a. If you still have food waste left over after following the reducing tips then minimise what goes into the bin by composting. Small gardens can usually accommodate at least a wormery, while larger gardens are suitable for compost bins or food waste digesters.
b. If you don’t have a garden, team up with someone who does and share their compost bin.
c.  Tips and guidelines for composting can be found on the Recycle Now website

Visit the Act on CO2 website:  for more help and suggestions on how to reduce/re-use/recycle and compost

It would be great to get into the habit of doing this now and teaming up with our neighbours and communities then when changes or strikes happen they will be less of a problem.

SEFS is committed to helping the South East change it’s habits to ensure we create a more sustainable region that uses less of the planet’s resources. To this end, we’re continuing our focus of 5 key areas where we can all make a difference; food, transport, waste, energy and water.

This month we recommend you take a look at the Eat Seasonably website. Eating seasonal food can help reduce the cost of your groceries. It is also easier on the environment to produce. The website has lots of tips and advice on what is in season, as well as how to cook and grow stuff.

Septembers delicacies include courgettes and runner beans. You can also check out the Greener Transport section of this website and take the kids (and some empty plastic boxes) on a healthy walk or cycle to hunt down sweet blackberries in the hedgerows.

The Sandwich Box Wars

Ok so maybe not something that comes to mind when thinking of reasons for international disputes. But looking a little more locally, the last SEFS meeting started with a rather competitive discussion about how right on we were with our sandwich boxes (amongst those of us that had brought our own lunch that is).

I think we were all in agreement that bringing our own lunches had help us save money and possibly even helped us eat in season locally produced, maybe even organic food into the bargain (local and in season are great ways of supporting the local economy and helping to reduce our ecological footprint, cutting down on the meat and diary helps too).

But we’d also come with a variety of of sandwich containers one was a battered old tuppaware box still going strong, with the help of an elastic band despite the general disintegration of the lid. Another was a washed out plastic  bag  from a previous purchase. Yet another was tub which had previously contained a takeaway.

Hopefully not only were we helping with the food part of the ecological footprint but also the waste one. Repairing and reusing before you consider recycling can help you slim your footprint. If of course you compost those fruit and veg leftovers from your lunch this can help reduce it even more.

… and why is it a problem.

Ecological Footprint is a way of measuring how much of the worlds’ resources, individuals, organisations, regions and countries need to maintain their lifestyles.

If we take the UK as an example if everyone on the planet lived in the same way as we do in this country we’d need 3.5 planets to survive.

This is where it all gets a bit tricky as we’ve only just got the one!

So what’s being done about it, well for starters people, communities, organisations and even countries are starting to measure their ecological footprint. (You can do yours at http://footprint.wwf.org.uk). Once they know what their footprint is they are starting to look at how to reduce it.

The South East Region’s Ecological footprint is around 3.5 planets. Looking at the data the key areas we need to address to reduce this are:

Energy Use
Transport
Food
Water
Waste

We can all play our part in helping the South East to reduce it’s footprint. Over the coming weeks we’ll  be looking at the different themes and what is being done and what else we need to do to move us towards One Planet Living.

We can all help reduce the region’s Eclogical Footprint (and move to One Planet Living) by changing our travelling arrangements.

According to DEFRA research a combination of smart driving, a shift to walking and cycling for shorter journeys and choosing public transport for medium and longer journeys could produce a CO2 saving of around 750kg/per household/per annum (kg/hh/pa).

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