Welcome to Powys Zero Waste
Community Recycling, Waste Management in Powys
‘No longer do we want to hear words like rubbish, no longer waste,
no longer terms like landfill, throw-away, discard – your rubbish,
is now a valuable resource; recycling waste, reducing emissions and protecting
our children’s future is where its at. All of us now realize that
we do not have to cost the earth – we are its guardians, it and its
valuable resources are on loan to us for only a short period of time’
Why is Community recycling important?
This is a question that should be asked time and time again. Why should we recycle waste in Powys. Here are some reasons why community recycling is important.
- Most of what we throw away are made from products that cannot be replaced quickly enough because of the amount we consume
- Many of the materials we throw in landfill tips have a value and can be used again
- Making new products out of material that is recycled saves energy and helps conserve our environment.
- Reducing the amount of raw materials we use and recycling these materials reduces the need to extract or mine new raw materials, which often damages our environment
Most waste that ends up in incinerators and landfill can be used
again.
Powys Zero Waste is the link in the chain that brings together community recycling bodies throughout Powys, Mid-Wales: brings you furniture recycling, white
goods recycling, kerbside recycling services, food waste composting recycling, tool recycling
and a wide range of other waste recycling services, ploughing funds and resources back into where
they belong – Your Community.
Get involved! We want to hear from you - the community, your community. Are we doing enough to manage our waste? Can we help? Community recycling is about
inclusion, so why dont we all be a part of it!
Latest Posts
Cwm Harry Land Trust officially opened its new food waste recycling centre on the Vastre Industrial Estate Newtown on the 10th April. The opening of a food waste recycling plant will see food and green waste mixed and naturally heat treated to produce a useful and safe soil improver. No need to transport the waste miles, no sticking it in landfill and creating more methane and therefore no further depletion of the Earth’s atmosphere by a greenhouse gas 23 times more destructive than carbon dioxide.
The opening marks two years of intensive work and effort by Cwm Harry Land Trust and its sponsor Powys Zero Waste who has funded the project to a total value of £738,215 using European Regional Development Fund and Strategic Recycling Scheme cash.
With our assistance Cwm Harry has grown from a small green waste field composting outfit to a leader in food waste recycling here in Wales.
The real solution to food waste collection and treatment in Wales? We think so!
Well done to the team at Cwm Harry Land Trust!
The facility was officially opened by Lembit Opik MP.
April 14th, 2008
Liz Gyekye
08 Apr 2008
UK consumers are throwing away £3 billion worth of eatable fruit and vegetables away per year, according to new research.
As part of its Love Food Hate Waste campaign, the Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP) has found that people throw out 5.1 million whole potatoes each year, followed by 4.4 million apples and 1.6 million bananas.
WRAP has been working with supermarket giant Sainsbury’s, to find out why consumers are wasting fresh produce and what can be done about it. The study shows that the main reason why consumers throw food away is because they do not eat it before it goes off and do not store fruit and vegetables “in the best place once we bring it home from the shops”.
WRAP’s new research shows that by storing fresh fruit and vegetables inside the fridge the food will stay fresher for longer.
Chief executive Liz Goodwin said: “These dramatic figures show that although we are all keen to do the right thing buying plenty of fruit and vegetables, the benefit is clearly lost when good gets thrown out.
Sainsbury’s is trialling new storage guidance to customers both in store and on its website. Findings from the research will be shared with all retailers.
“In light of this research Sainsbury’s are advising shoppers to store their loose fruit and vegetables in the fridge,” said Sainsbury’s head of brand policy and sustainability Alison Austin.
“We are tackling the task in two ways: showing shoppers how to keep their food fresh for longer, and then inspiring them to use it in lots of different ways.”
Following the research findings the Liberal Democrat Party have called on the Government to act against food waste. Environment spokesman Martin Horwood said: “Reducing the amount of food that gets thrown away is vital in fighting our culture of waste. Local authorities must also improve collection of compost waste, and the Government needs to support households and businesses who want to recycle food waste themselves.
“It’s outrageous that the Government is cutting the budget of WRAP by more than 25%. It is difficult to understand how we are expected to tackle food waste issues when the Government is slashing the budget of the very organisation that is meant to be tackling it.”
* Taken from Recycling and Waste Management News & Information
April 14th, 2008
Composting at home is the simple, effective and fun way to get rid of your garden waste and put something back into the soil as a conditioner. Powys County Council are selling these at a heavily subsidised rate at your local Civic Amenity site for £10 or for £15 delivered to your door! Not bad when you consider similar bins go for £30 or more in shops!
Home composting reduces our reliance on landfill and all those wasted and wasteful journeys using the infernal combustion engine to lift our waste or deliver it for disposal!
The Council also provides a very useful booklet on how to produce the perfect home compost and there is also information available here at http://www.gardenorganic.org.uk/organicgardening/compost_pf.php
The perfect compost is a mixture of greens and browns. The greens being green garden materials such as grass clippings, salad vegetables, tea bags etc. and the browns being things like newspapers, shredded woody cuttings, old bedding plants and cardboard. Basically anything that was once living can be composted but avoid cooked meat, dairy products and the like.
April 11th, 2008
Well what an evening! Groups travelled the length and breadth of Powys to hear Kirsty Williams AM give this years key note speech. It’s really great to know that our politicians both listen and fully understand the complex issues facing us on the island of Powys. As we drift ever further from sources of funding it’s good to have voices in the Assembly and beyond fighting our corner! A big thank-you to Kirsty and indeed all our local politicians for their unwavering support.
Powys Zero Waste is the community sector recycling groups business support unit and long may it remain so. It was great to hear positive feedback from the groups for the support given and the continued support for the new Powys Lottery www.powyslottery.org
March 14th, 2008
The Powys Zero Waste AGM will be held on Thursday 13th March at 7.30p.m. at Plas Dolerw in Newtown.
The guest speaker will be Kirsty Williams Assembly Member for Brecon & Radnorshire.
Refreshments will be served.
If you wish to attend please contact us using the contact page or phone on 01938 555925
February 21st, 2008
The Curlew Centre in Presteigne has received a grant of £81, 000 from Powys Zero Waste to run a wood reuse training project for young people in the area.
Many of these trainees have been excluded from main stream education and are in danger of slipping through the net. However they have been given a second chance, thanks to the caring and motivated staff at the Curlew Centre who have a history of running programmes that help many of these young people to turn their lives around.
In common with other wood reuse programmes, the Curlew Centre collects unwanted timber from local households and businesses, which is then graded and either sold to the public, or is made into new products. Most of their products relate to the general theme of food production, gardening or landscaping that is at the core of the Curlew Centre’s ethos.
With the grant, they have set up a carpentry workshop, where the young people are taught a variety of carpentry skills, as well as the softer life skills that are needed in order to progress from the starting point at which they join the project.
Since the Wood-a-Gain project started in April , the centre has worked with 34 clients, and they will continue to find individuals from the area who will benefit from the training on offer.
The scheme also collects unwanted furniture from households, which is stored on site for collection by Phoenix Community Furniture Scheme based in Newtown & Llandrindod Wells.
This partnership working is central to the ethos of community sector recycling organisations, and provides vital infrastructure, that is especially pertinent to rural areas such as Powys.
For more information contact the Curlew Centre on 01544 267194/711
December 20th, 2007
Christmas is coming so where to take my recyclable materials?
Simply follow the link below to the Waste Awareness Wales site, enter your postcode and heh presto!
www.wasteawarenesswales.org.uk
December 17th, 2007
Ystrad Volunteer Centre has set up an innovative wood recycling service that takes domestic and trade waste wood out of the waste stream and reuses it.
In the past 8 months they have collected over 15 tonnes of timber that would otherwise be destined for landfill. This rescued timber is put to a variety of uses either through the production of bespoke items, garden furniture and other products or, following some preparation, the collected timber is distributed into the community through the Wood Store.
Examples of items available at the retail outlet are planed and rough sawn timbers; doors; worktops; floor boards and joists; firewood and kindling.
The Wood Store also provides opportunities for volunteering and to date has created 13 volunteer posts (either full or part time). This scheme offers a range of opportunities that are very much dependent on individual needs and requirements. And whilst it allows scope for certain individuals to fill their time, it also offers training in various skills to those who want it.
So for all your local timber needs, save on mileage, recycle and reuse locally, visit the Ystrad Wood Store. Contact 0793 5303600 or 01639 844219 Unit 205, Workshops, Trawsffordd, Ystradgynlais SA9 1BS
December 11th, 2007
Event organisers in Powys (and the rest of Wales) now have the chance to seriously address the management of waste produced at their shows.
Llanwrtyd Community Transport Events Recycling has been set up following the award of £129,000 from Powys Zero Waste Ltd.
This grant has allowed the team at Llanwrtyd Community Transport to begin to address the issue of events recycling, especially at the many small shows that are so popular in mid-Wales.
The Events Recycling team offers a complete waste management package to suit the requirements of particular shows. Services offered include waste audits that allow organisers to quantify the waste and recycling produced from their event; provision of a variety of bins and signage depending on the size of the event; advice on dealing with food/drink disposables and food waste to allow for composting. All these are backed by a dedicated team of trained volunteers to assist organisers in delivering a truly sustainable event.
LCT Events Recycling has been working in partnership with the Wales Events Recycling Project to provide storage for equipment and transportation logistics across Wales. This partnership - along with other groups funded by Powys Zero Waste such as Cae Post and Cwm Harry Land Trust-is an essential step in raising the profile of the community sector, and demonstrating the ability of this sector to provide integrated recycling services to show organisers.
This year’s Royal Welsh Show provided the opportunity for these partners to demonstrate their abilities by providing a service that saw an overall rise in materials collected by 77 % on the previous year.
One day the show may achieve the status of a zero waste event.
Llanwrtyd Community Transport has recently been awarded the HSBC/CEW Regeneration Wales Award 2007. For this award, made by HSBC and Community Enterprise Wales, LCT was voted as one of the top ten community regeneration organisations in Wales, with the Event Recycling service receiving specific acknowledgement.
For further details contact LCT Events Recycling on 01982 551295
December 10th, 2007
Christmas is upon us once more and while its great to give and receive invariably someone has to take the left overs to the recycling point!
So remember Reduce, Reuse and the Recycle!
To get you started here is a great site for e-cards
www.jimpix.co.uk/
December 6th, 2007
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