Virgin America owner Branson calls time on plastic

Richard Branson has promised customers he will try and cut the use of plastic on board Virgin America flights.

Responding to complaints over Virgin’s use of plastic bottles, Branson writes on his website that he will leave “no stone un-turned” in attempts to cut waste.

“Your thoughts on reducing plastics onboard is one which is shared by the company and many of their teammates as well,” he says.

“At present, the airline has chosen to work with One Water as their onboard bottled water provider.

“One Water helps fund nonprofit clean water projects in under-served regions like Malawi. The actual bottles, made with recycled materials, also do offer a lower carbon footprint.”

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Chevrolet Supports Project to Help Truckers Avoid Idling

Chevrolet is supporting a project to help long-haul truckers avoid idling during rest breaks at truck stops through a technology that maintains a comfortable cabin temperature and powers a TV, laptop or microwave without emitting the carbon dioxide emissions that come from engine idling.

The IdleAir project is one of many innovative carbon-reduction projects across America where Chevrolet is making an impact on local communities, jobs and the environment. The brand is supporting various energy efficiency, renewable energy and conservation initiatives in its goal to prevent up to 8 million metric tons of carbon dioxide from entering the earth's atmosphere. To date, it has secured commitments for nearly 7 million metric tons. 

With Chevrolet's help, IdleAir can further expand availability of its engine-idling alternative. With the service, a driver pulls into an IdleAir space and installs a reusable plastic window adapter that accepts a unit connecting his or her cab to a heating and cooling air vent, TV, power outlets, internet and other conveniences. The truck engine can then be turned off, saving fuel, reducing emissions and keeping power on to the big rig's amenities.

"IdleAir enables drivers to enjoy a better environment inside and outside of the cabin, without the noise, vibration, and exhaust fumes from idling," said IdleAir CEO Ethan Garber. "By expanding access to this option throughout America, communities experience cleaner air, reduced noise pollution, local job creation, and an increased tax base for the local economy."

IdleAir users save a gallon of diesel fuel per truck per hour. Drivers typically rest at night, so IdleAir uses off-peak power and has begun installing solar panels on some of its overhead trusses to provide solar-powered electricity.

"Chevrolet's significant investment is driving innovation and encouraging unique ways for the country to sustain cleaner energy and, ultimately, reduce the effects of climate change," said Mark Kenber, CEO of The Climate Group.

Chevrolet was the largest corporate buyer of voluntary carbon reduction credits in the United States by volume for 2011 as tracked by Forest Trends' Ecosystem Marketplace, a nonprofit source of environmental news and data.

"If we want to leave the world a better place, we need to change the way we do things," said David Tulauskas, GM sustainability director and manager of the Chevrolet carbon-reduction initiative. "Climate change, population growth, urbanization and other issues require our industry to transform itself. We are going beyond our traditional scope of responsibility - building efficient vehicles - into these community-based carbon-reduction projects to help demonstrate our commitment."

Love Food Hate Waste Campaign

Altering our perception to reduce food waste seems like a simple task but it is not. We definitely know that wasting food is a crime to humanity, but majority of us admit that we do it to a certain extent.

The reports are alarming because one third of worlds food generated is wasted. This waste can feed 900 million human beings. What a waste of food! 

In order to tackle this surmountable task we must first learn our subject and its traits. According to Love Food Hate Waste (LFHW) campaign that their are 60 linked causes of Food waste such as lifestyle change, Environment and food knowledge.

We don't have a instant solution for this. Some have different situations and unique solutions to their food waste. Sometimes parents tempt kids by overcooking and workers waste food because of a busy schedule at work. 

Here are some important strategies to reduce waste. We must determine the food waste causes and hoe people reacts to it individually. Slogans with global tone such as  food security, energy and water are too far fetch that it will take a long time to see the improvement for food waste. As the prices of food increase the THINK EAT SAVE campaign can spark instant 


Make sure we know want we want and make it simple.  “buy what you need; eat what you buy”., by targeting easy goals we can make a viral change.the LFHW program has prevented an estimated 1.1 million tonnes of food, worth over £2.5bn, from being wasted by UK households.

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Beautiful Music out of Rubbish

Waste Clearance London-Who say you can't make beautiful things out of rubbish?

Tell it to the people of Cateura and Luis the director of the Asunción City Symphonic Orchestra in the capital city of Paraguay, who created an orchestra of musicians with instruments found in landfill.

Szaran have taught the children of Cateura to play music and repair musical instruments found in trash.

The Recycled Orchestra will be the main theme for the documentary Landfill Harmonics.

Here is a short video of Landfill Harmonics.

Students Recycle Electronics

Hundreds of school pupils from more than a dozen Shropshire schools have recycled over 10.5 tonnes of electrical items, as part of a competition organised by Shropshire Council and Veolia Environmental Services, in partnership with Shrewsbury firm Arbitel Recycling.

Now more schools are being encouraged to take part in the competition which encourages children and staff to bring their broken or unwanted electrical items from home into school for recycling.

The schools are provided with a free skip for a week which is collected by Arbitel Recycling, and the school who recycles the most will win a prize of £500.

The schools are also provided with support materials, so as well as recycling more, they learn about the importance of recycling and keeping waste out of landfill.

Mike Owen, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member responsible for waste management, said: “We are delighted to be working with Veolia and Arbitel to help local schools to recycle their electrical items. Thousands of individual items have been recycled so far, and one school – Hope Primary School – recycled more than two tonnes of electrical items in just one week. I hope that more schools will volunteer to take part, and that all the children will be inspired to recycle more.”

Alistair Brown, Arbitel Recycling’s Business Development Manager, said: “We have been delighted with the response we have received so far, but we want to remind other schools in Shropshire that it’s not too late to participate, so call us on 01743 295010 if you want the chance to win £500 for your school by recycling electrical items.”

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Recycle your trees and trimmings

The passing of Twelfth Night means taking down Christmas decorations and clearing out for the New Year.

The county council household waste sites on Mareham Lane at Sleaford and at Leadenham are open for residents to take their Christmas trees – both real and plastic – to be recycled.

Healthy Eating for a Healthy Planet

Waste Clearance London-OUR planet is taking strain, and while global efforts are under way to address the environmental issues, the question is: is it time to extend our concern for the environment, and our efforts to protect it, to what we put on our plates?

Waste Clearance Owner Arrested for burning and burying waste

Waste Clearance London-The proprietor of a local waste clearance company has been apprehended and arraigned for diverse offenses involving illegal burning and burying of waste in Wayne County.

 Joseph Bunell, 50 was arrested last Friday by authorities from the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office. Bunnel owns the Bunnell Waste Removal at 257 Tryon Street in Honesdale. Based on the complaint, Bunnel was charged with obtaining money from clients while not properly dumping their garbage. 

 Attorney General Linda Kelly said Bunnell allegedly provided customers with bogus landfill weigh tickets which falsely indicated their buried and burned waste had been disposed of at a landfill. 

 The documents was gathered by Donald A. Hentz Jr., a special agent with the Office of Attorney General, Bureau of Criminal Investigations, Environmental Crimes Section. Hentz said in October 2011, he interviewed someone who had worked at Bunnell for about six years. 

The employee said that he was directed by Bunnell or BWR supervisory employee Jody Rickert to transport waste to one of the two sites in Wayne County. He said waste was transported to the Tryon Street site in Honesdale where it was sorted by Bunnell employees and then burned or taken to the Keystone landfill in Dunmore. 

 The complaint says that waste was "driven up the hill at Tryon Street" by employees "early in the morning and burned primarily on foggy/rainy days." 

 The agent also interviewed a 20-year employee of Bunnell who said that approximately four to six loads of trash at a time were dumped at Tryon Street and sorted by laborers. He said all wood, cardboard and tires were separated out to be burned at the site. The affidavit also said that local fire departments were frequently called to the site to put out trash fires.

 In December of 2011, the agent interviewed Don Hiller of the Seelyville Fire Department. Hiller told Hentz he was aware Bunnell had been burning waste on Tryon Street "for approximately five to seven years." Hiller told investigators he remembered a specific incident on March 22, 2010, where he observed a pile of burning debris approximately 60 feet by 60 feet with flames 30 to 40 feet in the air. He described the debris as "construction and demolition waste consisting of beams, lumber, shingles, etc." 

 The agent also interviewed Department of Environmental Protection Solid Waste Specialist Mike Lucsky, who first began inspecting the Bunnell facility in 2004. Lucsky said he made numerous visits to the site and saw evidence of the processing, burning and burial of waste without DEP permits. He said several notices of violations and compliance have been issued to Bunnell for solid waste violations on Tryon Street. A compliance order issued in March 2011 required removal of burned and buried waste. Lucsky monitored the cleanup of the Tryon Street property, including the extraction of 240 tons of burned and buried waste that was ultimately disposed of at the Keystone Sanitary Landfill.  

In November 2011, the agent interviewed another employee of Bunnell, who said he was ordered to take roll-offs of waste to Tryon Street to be sorted and/or burned and he was additionally told to deliver construction and demolition waste to the Hunt property in northern Wayne County. 

 In February 2012, agents executed a search warrant at the Hunt property. During the search, it was learned that Bunnell had paid $200 per load to dump waste at the Hunt property in northern Wayne County. During the search, areas identified by witnesses were excavated and searched. Extensive burned areas were observed and buried waste was excavated, including construction and demolition waste, household items and ash. DEP officials said they had not issued any permit for allowing disposal of solid waste at the Hunt property. 

 During another interview in January 2012, officials learned that Bunnell Waste never had any scales to weigh waste. The weights of the roll-offs were either estimated or determined at the Wayne County Recycling Center, the investigators were told. Investigators also learned that Bunnell Waste staff members copied unrelated Keystone Sanitary Landfill weigh tickets that would "then be altered by changing information, including customer name, account number, vehicle code, date and time of transaction." It states the altered weigh tickets were provided to Bunnell customers with billing/invoice documents. "Customers were billed on the false weight on the altered Keystone Sanitary Landfill weigh tickets," stated the affidavit.

 In August 2012, investigators interviewed Susan L. Mang, office manager of Bunnell Waste. Mang told investigators that Bunnell is involved in all aspects of the company and when he is not present, it is operated by Jody Rickert. She added that during the course of the day, company drivers would call in and notify office staffof where they were and the type of load they had picked up. Then, either Joe Bunnell or Rickert directed where the loads would be taken. Loads were either returned directly to Tryon Street, taken to the Wayne County Recycling Center to be weighed and then returned to Tryon Street or delivered to the Keystone landfill for disposal. The affidavit says that loads returned to Tryon Street were either processed, burned and/or buried. In July 2012, agents interviewed Dan O'Brien, business manager for Keystone Sanitary Landfill. He said Keystone provides customers with weigh tickets documenting transactions at the landfill. He also confirmed that Bunnell Waste is a customer of the landfill. He said those tickets document the date and time of the transaction, net, gross and tare weight of the vehicle transporting the waste and location within the landfill grid system where the waste is disposed. O'Brien said he "doubted it was possible for trucks to have the same gross, net and tare weights and stated it was virtually impossible for waste to be disposed of at the landfill in the same grid on different days." Investigators reviewed 366 Bunnell weigh tickets, invoices and associated billing documents for BWR customers from Jan. 17, 2009, through May 11, 2012. 

The agent noted "numerous instances where weigh tickets contained identical information regarding gross, net and tare weights, grid location and driver's signatures." It was also determined the customers were billed in excess of $2,000 by Bunnell for proper waste disposal. 

 The agent cited various Pennsylvania codes which he alleges were violated by Bunnell. Bunnell was charged with two counts of illegal transportation, one count of illegal dumping, one count of illegal burning, one count of illegal storage, one count of theft by deception and one county of corrupt organizations. The last two counts are felonies and the other are misdemeanors.

 He was arraigned last Friday by Magisterial District Judge Ted Mikulak and was released on $2,500 unsecured bail.

Free E- Recycle Event Eco Park

Waste Clearance London-People who worry how to dispose their electronic stuff have the opportunity to dispose them for free.

State Senator Joe Robach have joined with Time Warner Cable, Sunnking, Waste Management and Monroe County for a electronics recycling event Saturday.

The people have responded and brought along personal computers, printers, phones, tv and they sis not even have to unload there electronic products at Monroe County's Eco Park in Rochester.

"In addition to the drive that we sponsored and did and notified people on, this ecopark here, a joint venture between Monroe County and Waste Management, is up and running full time to try to have a place where people can get rid of all their things in an environmentally sound way," said Senator Joe Robach.

The Eco park receives electronics for recycling free.

How To Make A Compost from Food Waste

One of the best techniques to stock food waste before transferring  to the compost bin is by using a tightly sealed kitchen compost pail or you can also use any plastic container with lid.

Place this near the kitchen so that you can easily transfer your food waste into the pail. Try to transfer the contents of your compost container when its full or when the is a foul odor coming from the food waste. You can also cover the container with paper or newspaper to reduce the smell or gnats.

Transfer the collected food waste from your container to a much larger bucket .Wash the pail and be ready for the next batch of kitchen waste. A 4-5 gallon container is appropriate for  this. Check out your nearest junk shop or hardware store. 

Make sure the bucket is accessible from your kitchen so that you can easily empty your food waste.  

One of the best solutions for fruit flies or gnats from going over to your bins is to cover the lid with newspaper and also reduces the smell that is coming out from your compost.  Make sure to change the newspaper when it gets damp and falls apart.

To further reduce the odor and fruit flies, cover the compost with  some peat moss,sawdust, rock dust,leaf mulch or good soil.

Waste Clearance London

Household Increase Recycling Rates After Council Stops Weekly Collections

Waste Collection London-Homeowners are encouraged to further strengthen their recycling efforts because councils will only be removing their waste every fortnight.
The Department for the Environment , Food and Rural Affairs predicts that for the first time, there will be an increase in recycling than garbage being dump on dump sites.

Local Councils in England have recycled,reduced and reused about 10.7 million tons of garbage that were gathered, rather than being transferred to landfills.
The data shows that, in the 10 councils, the biggest improvements were due to the fortnight waste gathering and food waste recycle in the period of two years of implementation.

A fortnight collection and a different food recycling day has brought the success in Cheltenham Borough Council from 35 percent to 46 percent in a span of one year.
The second largest in London is Borough of Newham which uses rubbish collection and does not gather food waste.

Councils have already increased their guidelines from 15 to 23 percent recycling rate. Ministers have been campaigning to councils recycling efforts from dropping weekly collections.

Advocates have been been encouraging household to recycle more because garbage bins cannot hold enough waste in the span of 14 days. 

Doretta Cocks, founder of the Campaign for Weekly Waste Collection, told The Daily Telegraph: “The idea of reducing frequency of residual waste collection is that people are forced to recycle by the lack of capacity in residual waste bins.

“This is a far speedier way of changing attitudes than education which is costly and time-consuming. Unfortunately the end result is contamination of recycling materials.

“Residents are rarely asked whether they are happy with reduced frequency - if they are surveyed they are presented with the option of weekly collections with the most exaggerated costs quoted.”

A Defra spokesman said: “Across the country, people are cutting the amount of waste going to landfill by recycling more. They are not only protecting the environment, but fueling a growing industry that reuses the things they throw away.

“More still needs to be done and we continue to push towards our aim of a zero waste economy, with businesses, councils and householders all doing their bit.”


Local Government minister Brandon Lewis told The Daily Telegraph: “Research shows that residents overwhelmingly prefer a regular and frequent rubbish collection, but under the previous administration the numbers of weekly services across the country halved while council tax doubled.

“Cutting the frequency of collections is a lazy and unnecessary move. It is possible to increase recycling and still have comprehensive weekly service, through better procurement, more joint working and using incentive schemes.”