Thoughts from the Kerbside - The Big Wheelie Bin Blog

Food waste - I'm hungry to recycle!

Thu, 26 Aug 2010 13:27:09 GMT

The LAWR news desk seems to have been inundated with stories of different food waste related initiatives lately.

Litter - it's bugging me!

Wed, 21 Jul 2010 14:21:24 GMT

Launching a new advertising campaign this week, Keep Britain Tidy has revealed that the cost of keeping the country's streets clean has soared to a preposterous £858 million a year. The extent of Britain's litter problem is clearly massive but can it be reversed?

From glass factories to Futuresource

Thu, 1 Jul 2010 10:01:44 GMT

As a recent addition to the LAWR team, I thought I should probably introduce myself. I joined as online editor in May and have been frantically writing news stories for lawr.co.uk ever since. I'm still finding my feet in the industry, so please bear with me!

Talking rubbish (literally)

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 12:10:41 GMT

I haven't blogged for a while, apologies for that. But I have been out and about, meeting the movers and shakers in our industry, experts who know far more about the intricacies of waste and resource management than me.

Landfills - a nuclear option?

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 10:23:33 GMT

I must admit I was somewhat floored yesterday when I heard there were plans to dump radioactive waste in landsite sites. Highly toxic news!

Party politics - is blue the new red?

Wed, 7 Oct 2009 15:31:01 GMT

Ahh, the Tory conference. I was looking forward to this one. It's nice to have a bit of straight-talking from Shadow Chancellor George Osborne on how debt-ridden Britain will have to pay its way back into the black. Something that is woefully missing from Alistair Darling's battered little red suitcase.

The stink around food waste

Wed, 23 Sep 2009 14:11:13 GMT

Food waste seems to be flavour of the month when it comes to recycling ... or maybe not. There is still a lot of concern and reluctance among councils to undertake food waste collection trials, despite the financial incentives being offered from WRAP.

Spellbound? Hardly ...

Wed, 2 Sep 2009 11:36:27 GMT

Councils and wheelie bins took another thumping today, this time from hypnotist and self-improvement guru Paul McKenna who was talking on LBC radio this morning.

Bagging a bright idea

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 16:01:26 GMT

It's a shame the leading supermarkets have just missed out on hitting their voluntary targets to cut single-use carrier bags by 2%. The target was 50% and they collectively achieved a 48% reduction - still a figure not to be sniffed at.

Don't fall asleep over safety

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 23:25:10 GMT

As news broke today of a man who fell asleep in a wheelie bin in Brighton and was subsequently crushed to death, the issue of safety comes yet again to the fore to haunt this industry.

Gloves off for the kerbside debate

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 12:59:46 GMT

Although I have commented in the magazine about WRAP's statement which advocates source-segregated collections over co-mingled, I feel I must venture further thoughts on this topic for our online readers.

A foxy tale

Fri, 22 May 2009 11:29:32 GMT

I like foxes. I regularly hear them screeching at night, whether in play or fight, and occasionally see them at dusk out scavenging for food - more often than not right by the wheelie bins. I mean, they're not daft.

Life's not a beach

Wed, 8 Apr 2009 11:36:28 GMT

The amount of litter found on our British beaches has reached an all-time high. This makes a holiday to the seaside this summer all the more poignant.

Robert Peston: He's the business

Thu, 2 Apr 2009 10:20:30 GMT

Robert Peston is my favourite journalist. His description this morning of the world's press being crammed battery-hen style onto a bus for hours while waiting to pass security into the G20 summit talks was class.

Camping it up at G20

Tue, 31 Mar 2009 12:36:31 GMT

I was sent a press invite yesterday to attend the G20 Climate Camp planning meeting, as they build their mobile wind turbines and apply their eco-warrior face paint for tomorrow's protest in London.

Bravehearts required to keep Britain tidy

Thu, 19 Mar 2009 14:34:04 GMT

If you're a local authority enforcement officer, with responsibility for keeping our streets clean, just how far would you go to lay down the law?

Revenge of the Bin Men

Tue, 3 Mar 2009 09:17:31 GMT

The one thing this industry has oodles of is character. Just take last night's showing of 'Revenge of the Bin Men' on Channel 4.

Three reasons why they should recycle Jose Mourinho

Tue, 17 Feb 2009 15:16:49 GMT

My nearest and dearest know that I'm a diehard Chelsea fan. And no, my support for the club didn't suddenly burst onto the scene when a certain wealthy russian came along.

The perennial problem of the Christmas tree

Wed, 21 Jan 2009 09:56:42 GMT

Today, leaving my house for work, I walked past a Christmas tree someone had left out on the kerbside for collection. I thought "You'll be lucky".

Don't let the paper tigers get you down

Fri, 9 Jan 2009 14:38:16 GMT

Never a dull moment in this job. It's only the first week back in the office after the Christmas break - not even enough time to recover from my winter flu bug - and already the gossip is flying around on the waste grapevine concerning matters of household recycling.