Birmingham Recycled issue one

birminghamrecycled Issue 1

www.birminghamrecycled.co.uk

environmental news from the midlandsIssue 1: 21st May 2010

WEST MIDLANDS

SAFARI PARK:Conservation haven

or menace?pg 8

Inside: Emma’s week as a vegan, how did it go?

Photo by: (username/URL)

Electic cars: Has any progress been made? Find out in-side! Pg 33

Recycling in Birmingham: How can it be better? pg 28

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ContentsHello!Welcome to the first edition of the Birming-ham Recycled magazine!

With the success of the website over the past year, we’ve been using different forms of online communication to talk with you, from Flickr to Facebook. However there’s nothing quite like holding a brand new magazine in your hands and being able to flick through it at your leisure. The launch of this quarterly magazine means that you’ll be ready for each season’s environmental events and updated with how to lead a green lifestyle all year through. Of course we chose to distribute the magazine through subscription – it’s the most environmentally friendly way as there are no surplus issues produced!

Our journalist Emma has covered some extremely exciting features for you in this summer issue; from whether the West Midlands Safari Park’s environ-mental benefits outweigh their disadvantages, a guide to cycling in Birming-ham and an insight into the progress of electric cars coming to our city’s streets.

We hope that you enjoy the magazine as much as we have writing it and we will see you in Autumn! In the meantime you can check the Birmingham Recycled website for your daily news.

Natalie

[email protected]

REGULARSNews - 4

Your vox: Birmingham Recycled vox pop - 38

CONSERVATION

Exploring Birmingham’s Parks - 10

Butterfly Sanctuary - 12

How does your garden grow? - 14

LIFESTYLEThe Greenest University Awards - 16

A week as a vegan - 18

We’re all going on a eco holiday - 20

Getting the city cycling - 22

Farmers market: A brief history - 24

Kiss me cupcakes: ‘Made with love’ - 26

REYCLINGSpotlight: This edition’s issue = Batteries - 27

How can recycling in Birmingham be more like recycling in Huntingdonshire? - 28

Freecycling is on the move! - 30

SCIENCEA year on: Where are the electric cars? - 32

Emma says: Wake up Birmingham! - 34

Green gadget corner - 35

Which eco car is right for you? - 36

Visit us:

www.birminghamrecycled.co.ukwww.twitter.com/bhamrecycledwww.flickr.com/photos/bhamrecycledSearch Birmingham Recycled on Facebook!

The rest of the team:

Katie: PREmma: Journalist

Rebekah: Magazine Designer

The summer edition!


news

NEWSBirmingham City Council will be celebrating World Environment day in style, with

their third annual Climate Change Festival running from the 5th-7th June.

The festival kicks off the internationally celebrated World Environment Day, which aims to encourage people to start tackling environmental issues from their home.

Saturday will see events based around the theme “Change Your World” taking place in and around Centenary Square in the city centre. It will include a Fair Trade market, vari-ous stalls for green businesses and activities to demonstrate green jobs, skills and energy efficiency.

The area will also boast a green circus, with rides using only solar power to energy, and a road show showing local bands and acts on a solar powered stage.

Sunday will see Birmingham City Council teaming up with local radio station BRMB to pro-mote the message “Change Your Walk” through BRMB’s Walkathon. Food will be provided to the walkers from an electric vehicle which will follow them on their journey offering a variety of healthy food options for those needing a pick-me-up.

Sustainability Officer at the Council, Lorraine Cookson, explained: “On this day we’ll be aiming to raise awareness for a healthy lifestyle, such as activities like walking and cycling and sustainable food options.”

Monday, the final day of the festival will try aim to promote messages of sustainability to local schools, with the theme “Change Your Future”.

For Secondary School children there will be the chance to view the first showing of new play “What If?” opening at the Library Theatre in Birmingham, which explores themes of sustainability and climate change, and examines what the younger generation can do to help.

The Primary School children will not be left out either as they will be invited to the green circus and roadshow, where a number of activities will be taking place to raise their awareness of issues such as recycling, wildlife and energy efficiency.

Lorraine explained: “We’ve made sure there’s something for students of all ages, as this day is really about getting the message to younger generations in Birmingham that changes need to be made in the near future to sustain our society.”

For more information about the Climate Change Festival keep checking the Birmingham City Council website www.birmingham.gov.uk.

Birmingham celebrates World Environment Day with Climate Change Festival

Earth Hour, the national campaign organised by the World Wildlife Fund on Saturday 27th March, has been

criticised for lack of promotion and results.

A number of Birmingham institutions and organisations signed up to the campaign, which encourages people to switch off their lights for an hour in the evening run-ning from 8.30pm to 9.30pm, to make a stand against climate change.

It is the second year that Birmingham City Council have been supporting the cam-paign, and they have supposedly helped promote the event; although in actual fact there was little visible work done to raise awareness for the event or the reasons behind it.

Sustainability officer Lorraine Cookson said: “We did join in and promote the event, although there’s not really a lot to be shown for it as we haven’t had much feedback about it yet. As it’s a national event it is more difficult to determine what contribution everybody made.”

Earth hour flop for the second year running

Visit www.birminghamrecycled.co.uk for the latest news!


news

Birmingham City Council is in the pro-cess of changing rules that currently prevent allotment holders from

keeping bees.

Rule 7.4 of Birmingham City Council Allot-ment Rules – under Section 28 of the Small Holdings and Allotments Act 1908 - previ-ously stated that ‘beehives are not allowed on the allotment.’

Adrian Stagg, Allotments Finance & Re-cords Officer at Birmingham City Council, clarified the new plans:“We intend to change the Allotment Rules to accommodate bee keeping but are wait-ing for approval to the new terms. In the meantime we allow bees subject to the following conditions:The siting of hives must be agreed with the Association and the Allotment Liaison Officer in advance.Anyone keeping bees must have Public Liability insurance and must be a member of the British Beekeepers Association or affiliated society.”It is unclear when the approval of the new ruling will be received and indeed what the new terms of the agreement will be.

Council changing the ruling on keeping bees in Birmingham Allotments

By Kellie Maddox

As 2010 has been declared by the United Nations as an International year of Biodiversity, from May to

July there are plenty of sustainable events to get involved with.

The year is a celebration of life on earth and reflection of our achievements in safeguarding biodiversity and focus on the urgent changes that need to be made to sustain in.

The West Midlands Safari Park will be host-ing events running over two weekends, Saturday 15th – Sunday 16th May and Saturday 22nd – Sunday 23rd May.

The event promises a range of activities for all the family aiming to raise awareness for all flora and fauna.

Solihull Council are continuing work in conjunction with local students to garden representing themes of sustainability and biodiversity.

Birmingham celebrates the year of biodiversity

Birmingham City Council is sending mixed messages about the city’s recycling rate as their latest figure may not be accurate.

The most recent information published claimed Birmingham has a 32% recycling rate according to research conducted by UK recycling campaign, Recycle Now.

However, if you look elsewhere online you will find different figures.

Birmingham City Council has been including donations to charity as recycling, so that people who do not actually recycle general recyclable materials are counted as doing so.

Birmingham Recycled want to clear up the confusion, and online journalist Ben Harrow has sent a Freedom of Information Request to the council, requesting the recycling rates for Birmingham over the past ten years and an explanation of how the research is collected and collaborated to produce the figures.

He explained, “We just want to find a definitive figure after seeing whisperings in different places of how bad Birmingham is compared to other councils.”

Check back to www.birminghamrecycled.co.uk to find out the results.

Birmingham recycling rate confusion

The garden design was inspired by the Alice in Wonderland movie released earlier this year, with the students taking a number of aspects of the gardens depicted in the film and transforming them into designs suitable for a sustainable garden.

Councillor Kate Wild, Cabinet Member for Community Services, said: “This garden is a wonderful project that will bring together lots of boroughs young people and give them some great experience of working with professionals to make their plans a reality.”

The final result is due to be unveiled in June, to coincide with the Gardener’s World live exhibition at the National Exhi-bition Centre.

The Birmingham Science Museum are inviting visitors to take a walk on the wild side and learn more about nature at their new Thinktank Goes Wild! exhibition.

Events will run throughout the summer month, from May 6th – September 5th.

The exhibition will host activities for all ages, including the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition 2009, which is regarded an international leader in artistic representation of the natural world.

For younger children there will be plenty of new activities, including the Survival of the Weirdest Science Show, Meerkat Madness Story Telling and even Animal Handling Sessions.

Marketing Officer Caroline Durbin said: “We’re very excited about this event and helping celebrate the International Year of Biodiversity by raising visitor’s awareness about wildlife and nature.”

Below: Thinktank Sea Life Safari

Below: Child Safari


news

6

The height of the summer months, July to August, will see the return of the annual Love Parks Week, a

chance to appreciate and celebrate the beauty that our parks and green spaces bring.

Now in it’s fifth year, the national an-nual campaign organised by parks charity Green Space will run from Saturday 24th July to Monday 1st August, and a num-ber of West Midlands’s parks are getting involved.

Emma Donaldson, Officer of Green Space said: “Love Parks Week is really a celebra-tion of what parts and green spaces mean to local people; it’s a national event but it work’s really well on a local community level as well.”

This year, as part of Love Parks Week, Green Space is campaigning for continued investment and support in Britain’s parks, which are too often neglected.

Emma said: “We bring together a lot of is-sues through the campaign; there’s health and wellbeing as it’s important for people to get out and stay active and parks are

Love your parks this summer

Birmingham Friends of the Earth are calling for all documents related to the BIA’s expansion plans to be

made available to the public.

They want it reviewed with regards to the new legislation in place which makes the Aviation White Paper of 2003 obsolete and calls for more consideration of the environmental consequences of aviation extension.

Joe Peacock from Birmingham Friends of the Earth said: “We now know that avia-tion expansion plans do not add up for the planet or the people of the West Midlands.

“New government guidance, in the form of a National Planning Statement on Aviation, due next year must take into account the science of climate change that is recognised in law and this will mean expanding aviation, as set out in the AWP of 2003, can no longer be justified.”

The plans to expand the airport by building a second runway were originally approved in 2009 but it was confirmed recently that work would not start for at least five years.

Birmingham Inter-national Airport’s “environmentally-appraised” plans for extension come under scrutiny

Roughly three hundred Birmingham residents took part in the interna-tional photography event the 4am

Project in April to get a different view of our city.The project highlighted our landscapes at this ‘magical’ time, including how many lights were on, how much traffic was on the road, how clean our roads are without people milling about and a look at the wildlife that comes out at night.

Founder of the project Karen Strunks said:

“The 4am Project has been even more successful this year and has built upon its engagement with photographers from around the world.

“Although raising awareness of energy issues isn’t the aim of the project, it has been highlighted by the photographs submitted. Also some participants have mentioned it to me, commenting on how many lights were being used at that hour of the day. One has even

by Natalie Adcock

4am Project shows a different view of Birmingham

a great location for activities. As well of that of course there’s the environment and issues of biodiversity. The events throughout the week give people a chance to try new ac-tivities and just enjoy their local parks.”

She added: “We had over 600 events held in parks over the coun-try last year, with a lot of them coming from the West Midlands. We’re hoping for a similar turnout this year.”

West Midlands Parks that have confirmed their involvement include Coombe Abbey Country Park, Coventry War Memorial Park, Edgebaston Reservoir and various Solihull parks.

Below: Handsworth Park by Alex Dean

suggested a ‘Green’ theme for another 4am Project event in order to highlight this area.

“One 4am photographer wrote about encountering a fox for the first time. Foxes usually shy away from people, but this one, although it kept it’s distance, didn’t run away straight away. Another person disturbed some sleeping birds and report-ed back about the noises they made, as if complaining to her for waking them up!”

For more information about the event visit www.4amproject.org.

Below: 4am project, night time

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news

7

By Natalie Eccleshall

Birmingham’s Metro plans under criticism

The High Speed Rail debate rages on

News in brief

Check www.birminghamrecycled.co.uk for updates and your daily environmental news.

The Government’s plans for a new high speed rail network, confirmed in early March, are still sparking contro-

versy within the environmental community in Birmingham.

The new network, dubbed HS2, is planned to open in 2026, and will connect Birming-ham and London by a 40 minute train journey.

Head of Birmingham Friends of the Earth, Joe Peacock said: “The assessments made of this project show that it will not save carbon, but is more likely to cause an increase in emissions in the short term. We feel that there are cheaper and quicker ways to cut carbon from transport.”

However many are celebrating it as an innovative new development, bringing jobs and cash to the local economy.

Amongst those in favour of it is Louis Ste-phen from the West Midlands Green Party, who said: “I am delighted that this project is going ahead. We have been lobbying for some time to get real investment into the rail network, as it will help reduce carbon emissions at the same time as creating thousands of jobs.”

Critics have slammed Birmingham City Council for approving plans to extend the Midlands Metro to con-

nect Snow Hill to Birmingham New Street station.

Critics are cynical about the development as £125 million is being invested to cover a distance that takes no longer than twenty minutes to walk.

On top of the cash spent on the develop-ment, the Metro will run on an electric line therefore using valuable energy sources at a time when it’s at the height of the city’s agenda is to cut back on electricity expen-diture, rather than invest in more.

Joe Peacock from Birmingham Friends of the Earth said: “It is a very expensive way of creating extra capacity. We have concerns about the effect this scheme will have on the bus routes going into the city centre and want to ensure that all transport schemes in the city are properly thought out and integrated to give pas-sengers the greatest possible service and better alternatives to using private cars for commuting purposes.”

It is believed that the extension will help reduce traffic congestion by incorporating stops at Bull Street and Corporation Street, as well as creating jobs.

Babs Coombe, spokesperson for the West Midlands Transport Authority, Centra, said: “We believe a lot of positive things will come from this expansion and it will en-courage people to travel in a more sustain-able way. All modern European cities have a tram line running through the centre, so this will help Birmingham become a more vibrant, modern city will is accessible to visitors.”

Coombes explained that the cash will not just be spent on the expansion itself, but also on a fleet on new trams, which they claim will be more “environmentally friendly”.

She also argued that, although the dis-tance covered is less than a mile, “some people are less capable to walk that distance easily, particularly visitors to the city.”

Green nightclubs have sprung up in cities such as New York, San Fran-cisco, Chicago and more recently

in London, but Birmingham Recycled re-vealed Broad Street’s clubs have no plans to follow in their footsteps.

The clubs are fast-becoming an eco-friendly trend on the high street, sporting energy-efficient dance floors, waterless urinals/toilets, leaf-covered ceilings, and ‘eco Vodka’.

The most popular nightclubs on Birming-ham’s famous Broad Street were inter-viewed in our survey to determine if they were running any ‘green policies’.

However, Revolution was the only bar that professed to be making any sort of ‘green efforts’.General Manager of Revolution, Nazsangh said: “We recycle all of plastics and glass, and we use energy-efficient bulbs through-out our bar. We are very strict on these policies.”

Club giants such as Gatecrasher refused to comment.

Broad Street is not so broad minded ethically

It seems more of Birmingham’s residents are recognising the benefits of locally sourced food, straight from their own back gardens! The council have revealed that an estimated 6000 back-to-basics Brummies are keeping chickens in their back gardens to get fresh eggs and this figure is expected to rise in the near future.

Saturday 15th and Sunday 16th of May will mark Middle Earth Weekend at the Shire Country Park. A weekend long event in honour of author J. R. R. Tolkein. Cel-ebrate the life works and place that inspired the epic Lord of the Rings with plays, craft stalls, historical re-enactments and more.

On Saturday 26th June Aston Park will be offering the public a chance to learn the role and history of the park since the 16th Century as part of Heritage Trail Week.

Green business solutions are coming to Birmingham in the form of the Green Manufacturing Expo-Birmingham Exhibition taking place at the National Exhibition Centre on the 27th April. The event will present an overview of business solu-tions that can be employed in order to reduce the impact of your business on the planet’s resources.

Edgebaston Reservoir are celebrating World Environment Day on Sunday 6th June, with a day of eco games, activities and arts and crafts for all the family from 1pm – 4pm.

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conservation

conservationWest Midlands

Safari Park: conservation

haven or menace?

Now that we have reached summer, many of us will start looking for new and unusual ways to

have fun in the sun and this year, like many before it, West Midlands residents will turn to the popular lo-cal safari park. But Birmingham Recycled asks, is it as green as they would have you believe?

8

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Image by (username then URL)birminghamrecycled Issue 1

Image by (username then URL)

The Safari Park looks after hundreds of animals and claims to do vital work for their conservation and educating public, but on a closer look there seems to be a downside to every plus. Here, Birmingham Recycled examines a number of issues in more detail, and asks; how green is your safari park?


conservation

conservationHundreds of cars take a trip around the four-mile route of the park in the sum-mer time with peaks of 10,000 visitors a day. The safari park is a popular daytrip for young couples, and as a result many of the cars to be seen on the route are half empty, wasting needless petrol.

All this carbon being emitted on a daily basis, purely for entertainment purposes? It seems like a step back rather than a step towards helping nature.

In a place like the Safari Park with rare and endangered animals, these cars could be causing more immediate damage. The fumes from a car’s exhaust pipe can have detrimental affects on the air and water quality and when inhaled regularly they can cause respiratory problems and even damage to the central nervous system.

The West Midlands Safari Park refused to comment on the number of cars that pass through their gates, but at the very least, they could put a limit of the number of people in one car or make using the mini buses mandatory.

The safari park hosts a number of shows, including the Friendly Reptile Encounter and Hippo Feeding Time. That’s right, “feeding time” – animals are given their food for the day whilst an audience of keen tourists watch on.

The famous Sea Lion Encounter is no better as for half an hour three times a day, the sea lions are implored to perform tricks with their instructors in front of a keen crowd.

Elsewhere, the park boasts a leisure park where there are around thirty rides for visitors’ enjoyment. This addition screams greed for commercial gain and it certainly doesn’t fit in with the eco conscious image the Safari Park endeavours to create.

Along with the expenditure of valuable funding which could have been spent on providing better facilities for the park’s animals, the theme park uses up land that could be used to provide the animals with more space. It serves to emphasise that the park is an entertainment venue, not a conservation centre.

The park offers an extensive range of inter-active educational experiences and work-shops, both for Primary and Secondary school groups. Wendy Jackson explained: “We’ve got an enormous amount of edu-cational facilities on offer here at the park, such as Creatures in the Classroom. We bring animals into the classroom and show it to the children - it’s great when a child’s never encountered anything like that be-fore; it’s giving them a new experience.”

Getting children closer to nature and teaching them about issues such as con-servation is a worthy trait. They also offer a purposely-built discovery room, where children can learn interactively by meeting meet some of the animals, taking part in educational quizzes and games.

See www.birminghamrecycled.co.uk for stories relating to Birmingham City Coun-cil’s policies regarding animals in captivity and conservation programmes.

Carbon Emissions Shows, Trails and Activities Treatment of Animals

Carbon Emissions Shows, Trails and Activities Treatment of Animals

It isn’t green?

It is green?

The four-mile safari route is divided into eleven sections, including the African Reserve, Asian Reserve and the Kingdom of the White Lions, all split by tall fences. Whilst many of the more tame animals are allowed to roam freely around their areas, the cheetahs, lions, tigers and wolves are caged, most likely due to fear for public safety.

Although we don’t want safari park visi-tors being attacked by frustrated lions or wolves, it still does not seem right to cage these beautiful wild animals. Instead of being free to roam their home country, they are subjected to staying in a confined space away from their natural climate, with thousands of people milling around taking photographs. When asked for a comment on the situation, Wendy Jackson, public relations officer at the park refused, saying: “We don’t talk about the cages. We just chose to stay out of any debates.”

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It’s undeniable that the carbon emissions produced by visitors’ cars are harming the Safari Park’s environment and animals, but if you want to visit the park with minimum impact on the environment, they tell you to travel by public transport.

The park offers a bus service for the route as an alternative to using your car, although this is not as well advertised as it could be both on the website and in the park. It runs at least twice a day and more often during the peak hours of summer.

When asked about the buses, a public relations officer commented that they are often very popular as people book in advance, begging the question of whether they should run more than twice a day.

Although some of the animals are still caged, there is no doubt that Safari Parks are a step up from the traditional Zoo in terms of animal rights. Zoos have fallen under criticism for many years, due to the small caging for most animals and the fact that they are often situated in city centres, meaning the animals virtually never go outside. In contrast, at the Safari Park the animals are given at least a certain extent of freedom with the amount of space. However, the animals’ natural habitat is still preferable.

We should consider what could be the alternative for some of these animals, for example the white lions that were brought over from Africa. These creatures, officially an endangered species, were dwindling in number in their native African plains due to hunters from the West. The West Midlands Safari Park became the first park in the UK to home a pride of white lions in 2004 and it has also ensured the lions’ safety and protection from hunters.

For every debate there are two sides, but with this question it seems that even every plus point is lined with even more cyni-cism. The bottom line is that these animals are being subjected to these conditions for our entertainment and that the benefits for them are not great enough to justify its existence.

However we cannot demonise the West Midlands Safari Park for the faults of our society. If we look around us, this treat-ment of animals is happening every day.

It isn’t green X

It is green Overall...

As issues with conservation and carbon emissions move to the forefront of political and public agenda, we can only hope that the Safari Park, and others similar to it, will work to find solutions that are better for the animals and the environment if they will not abolish the park completely.


conservation

Exploring

ParksBirmingham’s

Parks are a traditional and generally low cost way to get out and enjoy the sun this summer. Here in the West Midlands we’re lucky enough to have a wide range of parks on our doorstep, so whether you’re with your family, partner or a group of friends, there’s bound to be a park in the area to suit your needs.

Home of the famous Walsall Illumina-tions, the Walsall Aboretum is a beautiful place to walk around, with well cared for gardens and a stunning lake. It is perfect for young families as it offers a vast play area and a café where stressed parents can relax!

Families

Sutton Park is a stunning place to visit for a number of reasons, including its history, wildlife and, of course, the wide array of birds which can be seen flying around the area. Delights for birdwatchers include cuckoos, kestrels, skylarks and Linnets, and new species are being found all the time!

Bird watching

The Birmingham Botanical Gardens In Edg-baston spans 15 acres of land and offers an unforgettably tranquil experience. Take a trip to explore a variety of gardens and greenhouses including Japanese garden, bonsai collection, and tropical and Medi-terranean greenhouses.

Scenery

Photography by Alex Dean


conservation

Parks Made up of both wet and dry woodland, Moseley Bog is perfect for a stroll with your dog. While your dog enjoys the nature reserve, you can marvel at it’s im-pressive claim to fame as renowned author J. R. R. Tolkein played there as a child, wth many even believing that the park helped inspire the epic world created in his best selling Lord of the Rings novels.

Dog walking

There is a host of things to see and do on the water at Edgbaston Reservoir, includ-ing a private rowing and sailing club, ca-noeing club and windsurfing centre. Mean-while, the land provides plenty of space for the water shy walkers and joggers.

Water Sports

Woodgate Valley Park is an ideal place to go observe wildlife, including pony trek-king, birds and a country farm. It offers a number of walks and activities and is great for kids too.

Wild life

You’ll have trouble doing everything on offer in Cannon Hill Park in one trip! There are activities available for all the family, ranging from sports opportunities such as cycling and tennis, to a nature centre to a stunning exhibition centre where art and films are displayed.

Activities

The award-winning Lickey Hills is one of the Midlands’s oldest parks, tracing all the way back to the stone age. It offers amaz-ing views from Beacon Hill, a sculpture trail and a number of walks through one of the most picturesque locations in the Midlands.

Historic

Check out the council’s website to find your local park at http://www.bir-mingham.gov.uk/greens

Fishing

Alvechurch Fishery has recently re-opened under new management, after a major refurbishment aiming to make it a better place for fish-lovers than ever! There are four pools located here, with carp, roach, tench and bream available.

Couples

In Handsworth Park, you would never know you were in Handsworth! Nestled in the city, this pretty little park has been awarded a Green Flag award for its beautiful landscapes and winding paths surrounding the lake make it perfect for a romantic stroll in the sunshine.


Butterfly

sanctuary

conservation

Photographer Kate Knight visits the Butterfly Conservation reserves in the West Midlands to see how nature reserves in the West Midlands are helping to save butterflies and snaps a few of our fluttery friends.

Butterfly Conservation are a UK based butterfly conservation charity, with five reserves in the West Midlands,

dedicated to saving wild butterflies and moths and raising public awareness of these beautiful, dying out creatures. There are now only 53 species that have been spotted or conserved within the UK.

President of the charity, Sir David Atten-borough is one of the well known faces who has dedicated time and effort to this

years. Amongst one of the butterflies most in danger is the High Brown fritillary, which can now only be found at 50 registered conservation sites. Photographs of the High Brown can be found on the Butter-fly Conservation website and all public sightings are urged to be reported to the charity.

Photographer Kate has been snapping two of the butterflies most commonly found, the Comma and the Peacock. The Comma is found mainly in gardens and woodland, where leafy areas with a

ause and urge everyone to join for as little as £2.33 a month.As with most of the animals and insects that are hovering in or around the endan-gered list, damage to habitat is the main reason for the suffering of numbers of butterflies within the U.K. Extreme weath-ers and longer winter seasons have also harmed butterfly hibernation patterns in the last year or two, meaning younger members of the species are not surviving as long as they would have in previous

Photography by Kate KnightBy Natalie Adcock


conservationcombination of sun and shade provide the perfect playing ground. The Comma’s larvea are flecked with brown and white spots, which make them look more like bird droppings, which is one of the reasons that their young survive and are not eaten or destroyed.

The Peacock, a large woodland and coun-tryside butterfly, has undersides designed to looks like dead leaves, allowing them to camouflage when in danger.

Kate said: “I became aware of the charity when researching several species of but-terfly I discovered last year on a series of wildlife walks in the West Midlands. I have always been obsessed and fascinated by these creatures, as is my mother, and her mother before her but they never thought that these creatures would be close to endangerment.

Research into Butterfly Conservation has taught me that every year, different species of butterfly and moths are being added to the endangered list.”

More information about the Butterfly Conservation in the West Midlands can be found at: http://westmidlands-but-terflies.org.uk.


your garden grow?The number one rule for being green is to start at home. So what better way than to get green fingered than working on your garden this summer? That’s what the staff at Northfield Eco Centre are do-ing, working with the local community to create an organic, eco-friendly place which everyone can enjoy. Birmingham Recycled visited the centre to find out more about what they do and get some top tips on how to ensure your garden grows smoothly.

conservation

Jane Baker prepares the seeds for their organic graden

Plants stored to join the gardenNorthfield eco Paper pots

Photography by Carly York

How does


and demonstrating what people can do with their own gardens.”

The staff, along with the centre’s volun-tary gardening group, after starting work on the garden less than a year ago, have transformed the mass of turf to an intri-cately designed, multi-layered garden incorporating an organic section, a forest garden, a wild-life area and a sensory garden.

The group are currently planting seed-lings in the soil, but by using methods like a toilet roll and sheets of newspaper, they create paper pots in which to place the seedling into. These can then be bur-ied in the group, and the paper naturally disin tegrates over time, leaving just the plant growing in the soil.

Assistant Manager of the Northfield Eco-centre Luke Olly added: “We’re by no way expert gardeners; we’re here to learn as

Jane explained: “Gardening organic is very important to us. The organic vegetable

garden here is kind of an experiment to find out if it’s cheaper to grow

your own vegetables, rather than buying them from supermarkets.

“The vegetables sold in super-markets have a lot of chemicals added to them that can be harmful. There’s also this pres-

sure for the vegetables to be perfect and look the same – that’s

not how vegetables are! Because of that there’s a lot of wastage, and

some are even genetically engineered. I believe it’s much better to grow your own.”

The vegetables currently growing in the centre’s organic garden include cabbage, beans and radish.

The sensory garden is still a work in prog-ress at the moment, as Luke explained to me: “We’re hoping to get the local school involved and encourage the children to help to design it.

“It’s really aimed at kids - we want things that they can see, touch, taste and smell. We’ll have some herbs and fruits which they can taste and smells, long grasses and maybe a water feature – all things that children can use their different senses to explore.”Groups Development Manager Jane Bak-er said: “The main philosophy behind the garden is to use affordable, recyclable ma-terials that people can use just as easily in their own homes. Here we are replicating a bigger garden in a smaller space,

The Organic Garden

The Forest Garden

The Sensory Garden

conservationThe Northfield ecocentre team hard at work on the garden

All the trees in the forest garden are clearly labelled, and from a short wander around you can spot pear,

raspberry, apple and rhubarb trees -just to name a few! Jane explained the concept behind the forest garden: “We’re trying to simulate a forest in this section, with the differ-ent layers that a forest really has – trees, shrubs and vegetables all growing to-gether and complimenting each other.”

The main philosophy behind the

garden is to use afford-able, recyclable materials that people can use just

as easily in their own homes.

“

”

well. It really is a community based experi-ence.” The garden follows a written plan, which can be found inside the centre, and the outlined sections of the garden are all easy to set up on your own turf.

Northfield Eco Centre’s garden-ing group meets every Thursday 10am – 12pm. For more informa-tion visit http://www.northfield-ecocentre.org/.


lifestyleThe Greenest There are over 100,000 students in

the West Midlands, with 65,000 in Birmingham alone, which would

make you think that educational institu-tions should be taking responsibility and playing a pivotal role in encouraging green living.

Some of them definitely are – and some not. We looked at the eight most popular West Midlands Universities in more detail to see who would win awards for their environmental contribution.

Coventry University, Warwick University, Birmingham City University, The University of Birmingham, Aston University, Univer-sity College Birmingham, The University of Wolverhampton and The University of Worcester are our competitors. Between them, they have won more than fifteen national awards for their environmental work, but how many awards do they win with Birmingham Recycled?

Birmingham Recycled analyses which local universities deserve a gold medal for their environmental efforts.

Carbon reduction: University of WarwickThe University is home to one of the larg-est combined heat and power plants in the UK, which was installed in 2001 and generates energy for a number of the University’s buildings. Alongside this, they make use of solar power and wind turbines on other parts of the campus.

Recycling: University of WorcesterMost Universities have recycling schemes and targets in place but the University of Worcester shows initiative in the imple-mentation, working with local organisa-tions and Worcester City Council.

Katy Boom, head of Sustainability and De-velopment at the University said: “We’re really lucky being able to work closely with the council, and implement the City’s recy-cling scheme in the Halls of Residence.”

The University is also introducing a num-ber of new technologies, amongst which is the intriguing Worm Composter. Katy ex-plained: “The composter doesn’t use any energy; it’s a self-watering tank with the worms in with a small solar panel on top. The worms eat basically anything organic;

Research and Development: Aston UniversityAston University takes the lead in sus-tainability research and is internationally recognised for some of its work in the area. It in fact boasts one of the larg-est University based research groups in thermal biomass conversion in the world, the BioEnergy Research Group, which has been established at the University for over twenty years.

Alongside this, Aston is establishing a brand new Centre for Sustainability and Innovation, which will bring together re-searchers to look at sustainability projects. Environment and Sustainability officer, Victoria Johnsen, said: “The new centre will really focus in interdepartmental work; we’ve got five projects going on there which will span over the four different schools.”Other nationally acknowledged environ-mental research comes from the University of Birmingham, who conduct research into environmental issues and new ways to save energy.

Above: Flickr Creative commons - Birmingham University - (insert username), Coventry University - (username), Warwick University - (username)

A number of other Universities also have heat and power plants, or plans in motion for installation. Nick Hilliard, Environmen-tal Manager at the University of Warwick said: “I think across the educational sec-tor there is a growing awareness of the benefits of carbon management. A lot of Universities are jumping on the bandwag-on at the moment to improve their green credentials, but we’ve been working in this area for a while and have long running projects.”

it’s not just limited to vegetable cuttings – you can put in most foods; meats and bones included! The compost drops out of the bottom and can then be collected in recycling bags.”


lifestyle lifestyle

UniversityawardsTogether with Aston and Coventry Univer-sity, they are also helping with the CABLED project; analysing data collected from the trials of electric cars.

Student initiatives: University of BirminghamStudents at the University of Birmingham have shown dedication with an increase of members in their conservation society this year. The Birmingham University Conser-vation Volunteers (BUCV) work on green areas of Birmingham, such as Sandwell Nature Reserve and Sutton Park.

Chairman of the society, Andrew Limm, said: “People in general do care about issues such as global warming, so although we don’t claim to save the world there are at least 10 people who turn up every week to help these areas of Birmingham.”

Sustainable construction: Aston UniversityAston University wins again, demonstrat-ing sustainable constructions at it’s best, as Victoria Johnsen explains: “When build-ing and refurbishing properties on the University site, we have a sustainability

Continuous improvement: Coventry UniversityCoventry University may not rank the high-est in academic league tables, but when it comes to the Green League it’s a different story.

Environmental Officer Elise Smithson ex-plained: “The environment is up there with the core values for the University. We’re pleased to say we are involved in quite a few schemes, and we’re reviewing our environmental policy and planning future targets.”

They have set an ambitious target of 50% recycling rate by the end of the 2010 – 2011 academic year. Elise added: “At the moment we’re at around 34%, but we’re actively implementing a recycling scheme to raise this figure.”

Alongside recycling, the University are working on reducing their energy con-sumption. Elise said: “We’re currently running an 8% energy reduction scheme in buildings across the University. All build-ings receive a monthly energy report to keep track of how much they’re using and what can be improved, and there’s a cash incentive prize for the building which does the best.”

ConclusionAs issues concerning the environment and climate change are rising in the public agenda, it is hard to say for sure which universities are really committed to sus-tainable work, and which are attempting to improve their environmental status for commercial reasons.

Amongst the eight universities Birmingham Recycled considered, only two – University College Birmingham and the University of Wolverhampton - had gained no national recognition for their environmental work and appeared to have done little to raise awareness for environmental issues, but Birmingham City University won no awards with Birmingham Recycled either.

It is curious to see that the universities that do well in academic league tables often don’t do so well when it comes to the green league. The People and Planet Green League, which ranks UK universities in order of environmental performance shows that Worcester is the only university in the region to receive a “first class hon-ours” for environmental performance. The next Midlands University is Aston, closely followed by Coventry University but both Warwick and the University of Birmingham fall much further down the list.

However the clear gold medal goes to As-ton University, who appear to be trying its utmost to excel in all areas of environmen-tal concern, making us proud to be from Birmingham. Perhaps the example set by some of the Universities leading the way in sustainable development will encourage those lagging behind to improve their poli-cies in the future.

contractto which constructors work to. We have clear targets set out and we’ve recently been doing a lot of refurbish-ment to improve the sustainability of our buildings.”

Elsewhere, Warwick University, Coventry University, Birmingham City University and the University of Worcester are working to ensure their newer buildings meet the BREEAM standards in sustainable con-struction, meeting the new standards of sustainable design.

Flickr Creative CommonsRecycle logo - (username)

Right: Flickr Creative Commons - Bir-mingham University - (username)


lifestyle

A few months ago the concept of veganism was one that I was unfamiliar with and I could not quite grasp the reasons why anyone would chose to to cut out foods that all my life I viewed as essential to people’s diets.

However with around 407 million vegans in the world today, this lifestyle choice is increasing in popularity and is certainly no passing fad.

A week as aHow challenging

could it be?

18

VEGAN

By Emma Williams

Emmas selection of vegan fmaterialsEmmas vegan pancake

The path to my vegan challenge

began when I attended a Vegan Christmas Fayre last year for Birmingham Recycled. When I

reported back the Birmingham Recycled team, they agreed that veganism is a good idea in theory, but wondered how hard

is it to actually have as a lifestyle?

The group set me a personal task of going vegan for a week, sacrific-ing all foods and drinks which contain anything that originates

from animals - and that includes more than I first thought!

I must admit I had my reservations but the more I read up on the subject, the issues and the controversy sur-

rounding it, the more determined I became to see it through the week.


lifestyle

I’m lucky enough to

have an Or-ganic shop located close to me, Down To

Earth, which sells a variety

of specialised cruelty-free,

vegan food, where I picked up a selection of tofu, bean burgers, dairy-free milk and even some vegan chocolate ice cream!

Then a trip to the local supermarket for a seclection of fruit and vegatables, chickpeas, rice and pitta breads and I was surprised to find that the total price of my purchases came to little more than a regular shop.

One of the main things that I found during the challenge was the amount of meals that I had to cook from scratch. I cooked more new and varied meals that week than any other week in my life!

No more could I turn to my favourite jar of Dolmio or Lloyd Grossman sauce to add to my pasta, as these products can often contain traces of milk, egg or other animal by-products. Instead I was going back to basics, using a base of chopped tomatoes for a number of my dishes sauces, and seasoning using a variety of vegetables and herbs.

There is a lot to be said for creating your own sauces for dishes – it offers a lot more flexibility and control over your cooking.

The cooking

The dietLiving as a vegan seems to be the perfect healthy diet. By cutting out most fatty and processed foods and leaving yourself with the bare essentials – fruit, vegetables and

other natural foods such as rice – you can’t really go wrong. I went from struggling to have my recommend-

ed ‘5 a day’ of varied fruit and vegetables to having about 8 a day!

Eating out comes with it’s prob-lems though. Even vegetarian dishes

such as the “Five Bean Chilli” at Wether-spoons is off-limits as it contains butter. In fact, in most main stream pubs and res-teraunts I found myself left with no more options than a side salad. Alcohol was a little easier – although I avoided most wines and beers in the pub, I could still drink most spirits and mixers, including my tipple of choice, Ameretto and Diet Pepsi.

I must admit, I was also harboring a slight-ly more selfish reason for doing things the vegan way as well. I had hoped it would help me shift some weight – surely cut-ting out cheese, chocolate, burgers, crisps and wine for a week had to have some effect? And I did lose around two pounds throughout the week. However I did not seem to feel healthier in myself, like I had expected myself to but perhaps my expectations were too high.

It is not a lifestyle that I will be adopting fully for practical reasons, however since my challenge I have been thinking of the implications of each meal and choosing the vegan option whereever I can.

The overall benefits

The Earth – Farmed animals currently outnumber people by more than 3 to 1 and the raising of livestock takes up more than two thirds of agricultural land. Forests are even being destroyed just to provide land for grazing cattle and to grow crops to feed the animals. By becoming vegan you could cut down to using just one fifth of the amount of land used to sustain a typical West omnivourous diet.

Animals – Laying hens are kept in cages so small they can’t even move their wings and after about a year of egg producing they are slaughtered – all to provide us with eggs! The conditions for cows producing milk are no better; as a cow only produces milk after giving birth, they are kept in a constant cycle of pregnancy and lactation. Male cows have an even worse time of it – with no chance of milk, they are often slaughtered at just a few days old.

Gobal Warming – Livestock farming is responsible for around 18% of all greenhouse gas emissions – that’s even higher than transport! Switch to vegan and you will use substantially less energy than an omnivourous diet, therefore contributing less to air pollution, habitat destruction and global warming.

Yourself – A vegan diet enables you to cut down on saturated fats found in cheese, milk and many processed products, whilst also increasing your intake of fibre and potas-sium found in fruit and vegetables. It can also improve your quality of life and reduce your chances of diseases such as heart disease, strokes and even cancer!

Once the week was underway, the affects of the vegan lifestyle were apparent almost immediately. On Monday I awoke, like every morning, desperate for my morning cup of tea. But of course, no milk allowed! I substituted my usual cow’s milk with rice milk – a poor substitute I must confess. For my future caffeine fixes I used soya milk instead, which was much better.

It was with little things like this, choices everyone must find out for themselves, that I began to adjust to my vegan life-style.

If I learnt anything from challenge, it’s that eating a vegan diet doesn’t have to be dull! Vegans include a wide variety of vegetables, herbs and spices in their diets which us humble omnivores don’t even know exist.

A handy tip if you’re thinking of going vegan is to try cooking foods from around the world. I stepped beyong my usual cook-ing boundaries (of pasta, omelettes and ready meals!) and attempteda number of new dishes including Red Lentil Curry, Jamaican Rice and Peas and Stuffed Peppers. The Red Lentil Curry was even served up to my parents – one omnivore and one vegetarian – and was declared an all-round success by all.

A handy tip if you’re thinking of going vegan is to try

cooking foods from around the world. I stepped be-yong my usual cooking

boundaries.

“

”

The shopping

The adjustment

Below: Brown curry (Left) Homepride flour (right)

Vegan Benefits


COUNTRYSIDE GETAWAYS AND ECO RETREATS

lifestyle

W e endured snow, hail and rain for far too long but after much anticipation, the summer season

is finally upon us. It is the peak time for holidays, as our thoughts turn to escaping the mundane humdrum of the nine-to-five in Birmingham for a week or two and exploring new and exotic places.But simply because we are forgetting our work and problems, this doesn’t mean people should forget to care for the envi-ronment. Eco holidays are on the rise, with numerous UK companies now endeavour-ing to provide their customers with the same amazing holiday experience, without the adverse affects. It is no longer a niche market reserved for purely specialist com-panies; eco travelling is spilling into the mainstream, leaving people with no excuse for not doing their bit.

There is some question over what exactly eco travelling is, but a widely accepted definition is provided by The International Ecotourism Society who describe eco tourism as “responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and improves the well-being of local people”. The Really Green

Holiday Company is a multi award-

winning company based in the Isle of Wight offer-ing environmen-tally friendly

camping facilities whilst not com-

promising on their guests’ comfort. They of-

fer an extensive range of activities to take part in including waterskiing, golf, and yoga, and you can enjoy them knowing that the company is doing everything pos-sible to keep carbon emissions and energy use as low as possible.

Website: http://www.thereallygreenholi-daycompany.com/

What is an Eco Holiday?

Why should I Eco Travel?

Where do Eco Holidays offer?

We’re all going on an

ECO HOLIDAY

Any destination which builds a reputa-tion as a holiday spot will inevitably start building more hotels, restaurants and attractions. Whilst this can have a positive affect on the local economy, it is to the detriment of the environment, as the more industrialised the area becomes, the higher the level of pollution, and excess waste from holiday-makers often causes problems for recycling.

An aspect often overlooked when planning summer holidays, but an im-portant one nonetheless, is the wellbeing of the local people. Most eco travel agents aim to create an experience which benefits both the tourist and the host, by establish-ing partnerships uniting countries all over the world to ensure the local people get the economic and employment benefits that they should.

Go green while you go brown this summer!

Travel and tourism is the largest business sector in the world economy, but the adverse affects are rife. From transport issues to wildlife to the local people, there is plenty to take into consideration in order to minimise the impact of your summer holiday.

We’re all aware of the effects of motor travel on the environment, but air travel is one that too often slips under the radar of public agenda. In fact, air travel is cur-rently one of the largest contributors of Co2

Eco travelling is

no longer a niche market reserved for

purely specialist companies.

Carbon emissions

emissions, and is predicted to make up 10% of the UK’s total carbon dioxide output by 2020. Research by the Nether-land Centre for Energy Conservation and Environmental Technology revealed that one long-haul return flight can produce more carbon dioxide per passenger than the average UK motorist in one year.

Environmental issues

Social aspects

Whether you simply want to explore fresh pastures within the UK or experience a whole new culture abroad, there is a range of great destinations for green conscious travellers...

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lifestyle

Lundy Island is a small granite outcrop, ten miles off the coast of Devon. Because transport to Lundy Island is limited, the wildlife remains generally unspoilt and Zanzibar Cultural Tours offer a wide variety of packages to suit all tastes, including historic sightseeing, boat trips and chances to explore local forests and villages. Their vision is to develop sustain-able economic growth in Zanzibar whilst offering tourists the chance to experience all this exotic island has to offer.

Website: http://www.ecoculture-zanzibar.org

Spanish Footsteps is a family run busi-ness providing walking holidays and tours aimed to give tourists a taste of the true culture, nature and history of Spain in an eco-friendly way. Based in Soria in North-ern Spain, Spanish Footsteps offers you the chance to get away from the common in-dustrialised seaside resorts and experience the heart of Spain, untouched by tourism.

Website: http://www.spanishfootsteps.com/

How can I travel to my eco-friendly destination?

WORLD WIDE CULTURAL TOURS

WILDLIFE HOLIDAYSWebsite: http://www.lundyisland.co.uk/

Out of the Blue Holidays are organised by the Whale and Dolphin Preservation Society and offer people all over the world the opportunity to witness the whale and dolphin in their natural environment. A leading programme in responsible whale and dolphin watching and a share of the proceeds for every trip is put towards the Whale and Dolphin Preservation Society’s charity work.

Website: http://www.oceansworldwide.co.uk/

Air Travel

• Try the carbon offset scheme, used by many travel agents and organisa-tions.

• Your money will be used to reduce the equivalent amount of Co2 in another part of the world, through environment sustainability projects.

Trains

• Taking the train rather than the plane to your holiday destination cuts car-bon emissions by a whopping 90%.

• The train uses up to 70% less energy and causes up to 85% less air pollu-tion than a jet aircraft.

Boats

• Boats are currently one of the most environmentally friendly ways to travel.

• Travelling by boats puts you in touch with the environment directly, and you can travel pretty much any-where. So set sail now and the world is your oyster.

Really green company: One of their eco bedrooms

Stratons facade: a perfect country get away.

(Above) Lundy Island: Get lost in the wild in Devon

Laguna negra glacial lake: observe the beauty of the spanish lake

We’re all going on anStrattons Hotel offers a luxurious experi-ence without the environment paying the price. This hotel, situated amongst the stunning countryside of the Brecks, is designed to minimise the energy it uses and the waste produced. It also boasts an award-winning restaurant serving organic and locally sourced produce. They even offer a 10% discount for those who arrive using public transport!

Website: http://www.strattons-hotel.co.uk/

The International

Ecotourism Society who describe eco tour-

ism as - responsible travel to natural areas that con-

serves the environment and improves the well-being of local people.

“

”

Really green company: One of their eco bedrooms


lifestyle

We all know the common phrase “it’s like riding a bike”, emphasising that nearly everyone has easily mastered the skill of cycling, but how many of us get on our bikes on a regular basis? We look at the reasons people are not cycling, which bikes are best for what you need your bike for, how to know the safest routes and what initiatives are in place to encourage more people to cycle.

Reports from Birmingham City Coun-cil show that the actual figure is low, in fact cycling accounts for less than

1% of trips in Birmingham. This statistic alone is worrying, but couple it with the fact that around 40% of trips in Birming-ham are less than two miles in length, and it reveals an even more shocking state of affairs.

Have we just become lazy, choosing to take the car for short journeys at the expense of our carbon footprint? Or is that Birming-ham is not a most bike friendly place? Between 2003 and 2007 there were a whopping 1182 accidents involving cyclists on the roads of Birmingham and if you take a trip through Birmingham city centre and you will find that most roads appear to be designed without much thought for cyclists or pedestrians.

on our website including a new Cycling and Walking map. We’re currently work-ing on an online cycling journey planner which should be up on the website this year.”

Birmingham has also been selected as a SkyRide 2010 city, meaning the council will work in partnership with multi-million media corporation Sky to encourage cy-cling in Birmingham through events and activities. Graham said: “With the resourc-es of Sky behind us, hopefully everyone in Birmingham will get to hear about it at some point. We’re excited about having such a big media company on board to help promote cycling in Birmingham.”

You can find all the latest information and advice the council has to offer cyclists on the council’s website at www.birming-ham.gov.uk/cycling.

Getting the city cycling

Why aren’t we cycling? The Council’s view

Photo: Flickr Creative Commons - by inside story

Project Leader for Cycling at Birmingham City Council Graham Leonard admitted: “I suppose people don’t find the centre pleasant for cycling, but it’s similar to a lot of big cities. It’s a tricky area to work in; there’s limited road space in the centre with high demand. However, general traffic speeds are quite low and if people have the right cycling training it certainly shouldn’t be beyond their capability to get around Birmingham City Centre by bike.”

There are a number of schemes in the pipeline to encourage cycling, with Graham saying: “We are ensuring that the right infrastructure is provided, along with training and advice. We’re working closely with local schools, encouraging children to travel by bike and offering them train-ing. We offer extensive advice


lifestyle

We spoke to Alister Macdonald, owner of city centre bike shop Birmingham City Cycles, to get some bike recommenda-tions from an expert.

The City Commute Bike – Alister recom-mended the Trecks 7.3 SX, saying: “It’s our most popular commuting bike and it’s great for urban fitness.”The Off-Road Bike – Alister suggests the Gary Fisher Kaitai. “This is one of our best selling bikes this year, and can handle more rugged terrain for those who bike in areas outside of the city centre.”

The Green Bike – The innovative Trek Dis-trict Single Speed bike is perfect for those who want to go easy on the oil. It runs using a carbon fibre belt drive instead of the traditional oil and chain. Alister said: “It’s ideal for a commute of 3-5 miles and needs zero maintenance.”

All bikes listed are available from Birming- ham City Cycles and can be viewed at www.birminghamcitycycles.co.uk.

You can find all the latest information and advice the council has to offer cyclists on the council’s website at www.birmingham.gov.uk/cycling.

You can view the map online at www.dandavies23.com/2010/01/birming-ham-safe-cyclist-map.

To find out more information on PushBikes, visit www.pushbikes.org.uk.

Journalist Dan Davies set up an online investigation into road cycling accidents and hazards. He explained how it came about: “Last Summer, I was commuting to a job at Fort Dunlop Business Park. Usu-ally I’d cycle into town and then catch the free bus, but one day I cycled the whole way. It was hellishly hard and quite dangerous.”

It was his own arduous journey to work that inspired Dan to find out more.“I put a Freedom of In-formation request to the council to find out how many cycling accidents had occurred in Birming-ham, aiming to set up a Google Map with the results.

“Through internet sources such as Help Me Investigate and Hashbrum I started an open consultation so I could speak to experts and community cycling groups. The response I got from them was great – I took a lot of suggestions on board.”

The map Dan endeavoured to create is now available online, and details loca-tions of accidents and potential cycling hazards in Birmingham, formed from a combination of information from Birmingham City Council and his own experience.

Dan said: “Conclusions indicate that there are accident blackspots and hazards on practically every road. Although there are some great cycle routes through parks and along canals in Birmingham, some of the road cycle lanes, which are shared with buses, are jokes. The key is to keep your wits about you at all times.”

Pushbikes are an independent cycling group running in Birmingham for over 30 years. Whilst solely a campaign group, they also organise regular bike rides for

members of the public.

Secretary Graham Han-kins explained: “We

campaign to get more people cy-

cling in Birming-ham and for a better cycling network to enable people to cycle more easily through-

out the city. My role is to get

more adults cy-cling by giving them

advice on how to get started. I give presentations

at local community and leisure centres about cycling and it’s benefits.”

Overall, he seems positive about cycling in Birmingham. “There’s certainly more cyclists around in Birmingham than there used to be which is great to see. Hope-fully the council will acknowledge this as well and provide for the rise in cyclists accordingly.”

Graham says there are around 3000 people in Birmingham in the ‘near market’ for cycling; meaning those ones who are willing to cycle more, but never quite get round to it.

Recommendations from Birmingham City Cycles

“There are hazards on practically every road!”

Pushbikes: campaigning for Birmingham’s right to bike

There are some great cycle

routes through parks & along canals in Birmingham,

some of the road cycle lanes, are jokes. - Dan

Daves

“

”

The only way to discover for sure how comfortable you are cycling on Birming-ham’s roads is to get your bike out and try for yourself. There are a number of groups and organisations passionate about Birmingham and looking for new mem-bers and joining may help your cycling ventures.

Dan Daves: Cycling enthusiast


Farmer’slifestylelifestyle

The last 200 years has seen Birming-ham rise from being just a market town to being the fastest-growing

city of the 19th century, but the market element still thrives today in the form of Farmers Markets across the city.

Farmers Markets emerged in this country around 1998 and were seen as a saviour to many struggling farmers who were experiencing difficult times. The concept of providing local produce to local people has been embraced in Birmingham, and is now incredibly successful. Despite facing a number of challenges over the years, including foot and mouth in 2001, the floods of 2007 and the cur-rent economic downturn to name a few – the markets have survived and have still continued to grow and benefit our com-munity.

From Kings Norton to the University of Birmingham to Moseley, our Farmers Markets benefit the community in many ways.

By Lucy Hird

What they do for Birmingham

marketPhotography by Claire Malone

Abive: People checking out what the market has to offer

Farmers Mar-kets bring people in

to shopping areas who wouldn’t normally come which promotes footfall

and helps to directly support local shops.

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”


lifestylelifestyle

Health benefits

Carbon footprint

The future

The growth has helped bring life into towns and cities aiding regeneration and encouraging social interaction particularly between rural and urban communities. They stimulate local economic develop-ment by increasing employment, encour-aging consumers to support local business and thus keeping the money within the local community.

Duncan Ross, an organiser of the Kings Norton Farmers Market, says: “Farm-ers Markets bring people in to shopping areas who wouldn’t normally come, which promotes footfall and helps to directly support local shops. Our market has also directly helped the local economy by run-ning the campaign that saved our local Post Office.”

Farmers Markets have the environmental benefit that they reduce food miles, being run by small-scale pro-ducers who are un-able to produce the quantity required by the big supermar-kets.

Duncan says: “We did some research a few years ago that showed that a basket of food from our market was cheaper than the equivalent from our local supermarket, and repre-sented 5000 fewer food miles.”

Education is important so people are able to make the right decisions on the food they eat, each market promotes the production and origin of their food and can be a source of information and inspiration on how to cook and prepare fresh ingre-dients. Farmers Markets also encourage more environmental production practices, such as organic or pesticide free.

Duncan says: “Farmers Markets foods are always fresh - seasonal-

ity is a key part of the way we work - and our stallholders take care with the food they are producing. They have to, because they are selling it directly to the public! You can ask our traders about the wel-

fare conditions of their hens or sheep, about how a pie was

produced, or about any additives or other ingredients and they will

know because they have to be involved in the process.”

For the markets to continue to benefit Birmingham in the future, they may need support from the council. Duncan says: “Unfortunately there is no coordination of the Farmers Markets in Birmingham by the City Council - they don’t promote them, and they impose conditions that vary wildly from area to area. This is a shame as this could be a great opportunity for the city to show its commitment to good local food.”

There has been a rise in online virtual markets with the aim of bringing fresh pro-duce to everyone, like those unable to at-tend the actual markets. Could these be a threat to Birmingham’s Farmers Markets?

A spokesperson for Sketts, the company that operates the markets and special events, said: “The problem with online markets is that you lose the conversations taking place, we have some real characters and I think you would lose that personal touch the markets are famous for.”

To support local Farmers Markets or for more information, visit: www.farmersmarkets.net/listBirmingham.htm.

Economic development

A basket of food from our mar-

ket was cheaper than the equivalent from our local supermarket. - Duncan

Ross

“

”

Below: locally produced products are a hit at the market

Above: The farmers market in action

Below: The farmers market in action



lifestyle

The two entrepreneurs decided to set up Kiss Me Cupcakes on returning from a year of travel-

ling the world. Dalvinder said, “We were in Bali, the last stop in our trip round the world, and we were talking about what to do when we got back to the UK over breakfast. We tried to think – what would our dream job involve? And the answer was clear – cupcakes!”

And so Kiss Me Cupcakes was born in July 2008, and since then it has been going from strength to strength, even managing to survive the hardest hitting recession in recent history. They currently produce around 500 cupcakes a week, retailing at the Art Lounge in the Mailbox and The Urban Coffee Company in the Jewellery quarter, as well as produc-ing made-to-order cakes for special events.

The business boasts a range of green cre-dentials. Mary explained to me “All the produce we use is organic, such as Green and Blacks chocolate, and our ingredients is locally sourced where ever possible. At the moment we use eggs from Kidderminster and flour sourced from Gloucester

– but we’re constantly on the look out to source more products locally, we

work with the seasons when creat-ing cupcakes – for example in the season of English Coxs apples we produce apple and blueber-ry cupcakes. We recently went to a local fruit farm to handpick blueberries. When you know where your food has come from it’s more personal, we’re

all about the personal touch – all our cakes are made with love!

I think when it’s handmade and fresh it makes all the difference.”

On top of sourcing fresh food, the girls also recycle everything they can in the business, and all paper for

When two young graduates de-cided to up sticks and travel the world over two years ago, they

could never have guessed they’d find inspiration for a successful business ven-ture whilst living in Sydney – cupcakes!Meet Mary Ashman and Dalvinder Chee-ma from West Bromwich, the proud own-ers of Birmingham’s most successful and eco-friendly cupcake business.

Kiss me Cupcakes:‘Made with Love’

labels and businesses is FSC Certified. “We’re hoping to open a shop this year in the Jewellery Quarter,” Mary told me, “We want to really engage with the community more. Everything sold in the shop will be baked on site to reduce mileage and we hope to get recycled furniture from places such as Freecycle.”

The business has already received national recognition, having been featured in the Guardian last year, and with many innova-tive developments in the pipeline for 2010, it seems the only way is up! Birmingham Recycled wishes them the best of luck for the future.

For more information visit:http://www.kissmecupcakes.co.uk

Kiss me cupcakes do cakes for special events.

We want to really engage

with the community more. Everything sold in the shop will be baked

on site to reduce mileage

“

”

lifestyle



recycling

Anew European directive has been introduced this year meaning that ev-ery shop that sells more than one pack of batteries a day will be forced to accept old batteries for recycling. Most of these stores are also expected

to, and already have, set up an in-store collection point. Therefore, this edition we have decided to put battery recycling under the spotlight.

to offices, the issue of battery recycling is high on the agenda at the moment because of the new European law which came into place in February.

If you’re doing your shop in Birmingham City Centre, you can take your old bat-teries along to either the Tesco Express located on Hurst Street or the Tesco Metro on New Street, where you can dispose of them in the Supermarkets’ battery bins. Alternatively, Sainsbury’s in Martineau Place also provides battery recycling fa-cilities, or if you’re a bit further out, try the Asda in Perry Barr or Small Heath, where a spokesperson for the supermarket explained: “When the new policy came in, bins were sent to all the Asda stores, so recycling facilities are readily available to the public.”A spokesperson for Birmingham City Council said on the matter: “We welcome the suppliers of these batteries accepting responsibility for dealing with the con-sequential and inevitable waste product, but it would be better over all if the waste was avoided in the first place.”

There are solutions to the issue of batter-ies. The most simple is to just try to avoid using batteries where ever possible, by plugging electrical equipment into the mains instead. If this just isn’t possible, try to use rechargeable batteries, especially with a solar powered recharger. Birming-ham City Council told Birmingham Recycled: “The capacity of re-chargeables has gone up greatly in recent years, and the price has tended to go down, so they’re better than ever.”

Why is it important?

Where can I do it?

What else can I do to help?

Britain has to increase battery recycling from the current level of 2.8% per year to

25% by 2012 and 45% by 2016.

Lead acid batteries (Used for car batteries) and mercury button cell batteries (used in

watches) are fully recycled in the United Kingdom.

Lithium and alkaline batteries, (AA, AAA and 9v batteries) are part recycled in the

United Kingdom and then sent abroad to finish the process.

Other information

By Katie Wood and Emma Williams

Issue: Batteries

If you throw batteries into your normal rubbish bin, the batteries are likely to end up in a landfill. Some of these household batteries contain chemicals like lead, mer-cury and cadmium. Once these batteries have been buried, they will start to break down and can leak the chemicals into the ground creating, potentially creating soil and water pollution that could be harmful to us humans as well as the surrounding environment.

You will also be saving the planet’s re-sources, as some of the raw materials in batteries can be recovered and used to make other products.

Whilst there is currently no door collection service for recycling batteries in Birming-ham, the situation is improving and you can take your old batteries to a number of outlets, including most large supermar-kets. You may or may not have noticed that battery recycling bins have been cropping up everywhere over the past few months – from supermarkets

Want to know more? Visit www.birminghamrecycled.co.uk

Creative Commons Flickr: by mr.smashy

Spotlight feature

Spotlight!


Birmingham City Council’s recycling policies has ranked place 307 out of 394 in the latest figures from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA). Birmingham Recycled wants to know, what do we need to do to get into the top ten? We compare our council to high achievers Huntingdonshire District Council to find out.

Huntingdonshire District Council came in at number five, with an overall recycling and composting

rate of 55.14%. The chart showed that Bir-mingham had a shockingly low recycling rate of 14.84%, whilst composting for the area was at a dismal 11.59%.

So why is Birmingham lagging so far behind? Looking into other Councils’ work may help reveal what our own council is lacking in and Hunting-donshire District Council are clearly doing something right.

ServiceBoth councils provide door collection service for recy-clable waste, but they have their differences.

Huntingdonshire District Council offers a weekly collec-tion using three different bins for composting, recyclable waste and general waste. Education and Promotion Officer for the council, Heidi Fields said: “I think it really helps that we collect so many different materials – in-cluding three different types of plastic

EventsEvents, campaigns and incentives are a key tool to get the residents of an area motivated about an issue, particularly one like recycling. Huntingdonshire Dis-trict Council holds a number of events throughout the year to raise awareness for environmental issues, including taking part in Recycle Week and Compost Aware-ness Week.

A major event coming up in the council’s calendar is the first ever Huntingdonshire Green Heart Community Awards, which

will take place on World Environment Day. The awards give recognition to individuals and community groups who have worked to reduce their environmental footprint within the community. The winners will be announced at a special ceremony on the day, and awarded with cash prizes; giving people an incentive which will inspire them to work towards their goals.

Birmingham is not to be discredited in the area of events either though, after host-ing the UK’s first climate change festival in 2008. This event now takes place every year, starting on World Environment Day and spanning over a weekend.

It is events like this that can make a real impact in the long term, educating the public and raising awareness of issues in a fun way. Although Birmingham has a number of small-scale events within it’s constituencies, events like the Climate Change Festival that brings all areas of Birmingham together to consider the consequences of climate change are very rare.

recycling

How can Birming ham’s recycling be more like Hu ntingdonshire?

and tetra packs – and it all goes in the same bin, so the residents don’t really have to do anything!”

Birmingham on the other hand has a weekly collection for general waste but only a fortnightly collection for recycla-bles and garden waste, which are divided

into different boxes and bags. They are a lot

more limited in what they col-

lect, with no collection for kitchen waste or other recyclable items such as tetra packs.

Spokesman Richard Green

explained: “We don’t have the facili-

ties to sort through the materials at the moment, which is why they have to be placed in different

boxes. We are really lucky as our paper goes to local organisation Kappa, but the plastics and foils all go to different places which are further away.”

The services provided by our Council certainly leave room for improvement. Although their spokesman offers a val-id reason, if Birmingham City Council took steps to implement the use of one bin for all recyclable materials, recy-cling would be easier for it’s residents, and in turn residents would be more likely to make the effort. The problem is that it would take additional time

We are re-ally lucky as our paper

goes to local organisation Kappa, but the plastics and foils all go to different plac-es which are further away

- Spokesman Richard Green

“

”Creative Commons Flickr - TheTruthAbout...

and money, which the council claim that they do not have for recycling.


Campaigns and schemesHuntingdonshire District Council runs a variety of campaigns and schemes throughout the year, including a Hunting-donshire Spring Clean, aiming to reduce litter and promote recycling as a community. They have also been working on a Green House Project, due for completion later this year.

Heidi explained: “We’ve bought two 1960s houses and are in the process of renovating them to incorporate new green technolo-gies such as solar panels and a green roof. They will be open to the public as show homes in the summer, to demonstrate what people can do in their own home within the current hous-ing stock.”

These practical demonstrations and activities as a community serve as a great help to get residents motivated about recycling and sustainability.

Birmingham City Council has implement-ed a new scheme with the Birmingham Environmental Partnership, helping busi-nesses recycle. Since March, workshops have been running to help local restau-rants improve their green credentials and

What can we do?Birmingham produces a whopping 500,000 tonnes of waste a year and so it is important to ensure this colossal amount of waste produced is distributed through the right channels. Maybe the sheer size and indus-trial nature of Birmingham city makes it difficult to get the message across to all areas, as Huntingdon’s Heidi Field says: “I think it makes it easier that we are quite a rural district, it’s smaller and communication is easier.”

Birmingham City Council seems to have difficulties publicising their schemes and reaching such a wide area. One thing they could do to easily combat this problem is to utilise their website to make their events and campaigns more visible and easily ac-cessible to the public.

However Birmingham is making gradual progress, and some of the campaigns pro-posed for over the next year show innova-tion and inspiration. Kris Kowalewski said: “If you look around, the throw-away culture is certainly changing. People are starting to think about what happens to things once they are finished with. We do admit more needs to be done by the Council, but we’re making positive steps in the right direction.”

recycling

How can Birming ham’s recycling be more like Hu ntingdonshire?

the next step will be to introduce a Green Restaurant award, to recognise the prog-ress local eateries make in environmental responsibility. Recognising businesses efforts and providing incentives to go

greener is certainly a worthy idea,

but he scheme has had

very little exposure and some restau-rants in the city have

not even heard of it.

Birmingham also boasts the

innovative Energy from Waste” scheme,

in partnership with Violia Environmental Services. Kris Kowalewski said: “Our recy-cling rates may look bad, but it’s impor-tant to bear in mind that the amount of waste we send to landfill is actually very low because of this scheme.” However, although Energy from Waste is a promis-ing scheme, a closer inspection reveals that some of the materials being burnt are recyclable anyway, and so could have been used to make recycled products.

Our recycling rates may look bad,

but it’s important to bear in mind that the amount of waste we send to landfill is

actually very low. - Kris Kowalewski, Environmen-

tal Services

“

”

What do you

do to contribute to

Birmingham’s recycle

system? Check our online

recycling articles out and

comment to let us

know!

Creative Commons Flickr - TheTruthAbout...


energy

30

Freecycling is on the move!Freecycling has been

established in Birming-ham for over five years

now, although the group have recently changed the name to Freegle.It allows people who are get-ting rid of ‘anything’ to donate it to the project so that people, such as young couples start-ing out in their first home or people who can’t afford to spend too much on furnishings for their home, will have access to them, saving the items going to landfill.It’s been a huge hit in the Mid-lands, so Birmingham Recycled went to speak James Robert-son, the founder of the group, to find out more about the history of it’s success, why he chose a new name and what his plans are for the future.

How did you initially get involved with Freegling? I launched the Birmingham group myself in October 2004 because I saw it had been launched over in Phoenix Arizona and I thought “that’s a really good idea: I bet it’s already been done in Birmingham” but when I checked there was nothing hap-pening, so I got in there and launched the Birmingham UK group and got it linked from the core Freecycle site. amount of time and effort The inspiration was an absolute horror at the thought of so many manufactured items going into landfill that I knew that someone else could use that were only chucked out because of the price it would take to flog it on Ebay - or even take it down to a charity shop.

The project has been a MAS-SIVE success: we have just short of

25,000 involved.

Why the name change from Freecy-cling?We changed from Freecycle when the vote was taken amongst all UK Freecyclers to split off from the US organisation. It was just felt that we should be in charge of our own affairs as we are all volunteers.

How successful has the project been?I would say the project has been a MAS-SIVE success: we have got just short of 25,000 people involved, and I am not sure of the precise figures - but there’s now 25,000 people in Birmingham giving away stuff they don’t want to people who need it and will use it and avoiding it going into landfilll.

I have come to see any waste at all as a failure of imagination and industrial pro-cesses: there is not an infinite amount of metals and oil left to manu facture stuff -

James Robertson: Founder of Freecycling

“

”

By Natalie Eccleshallrecycling


Freecycling is on the move!

so anything that is shoved into the ground when it’s first owner is finished with it represents both a waste of finite resources and a poisoning of the environment as it

degrades.

What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever had submitted?Where to start? Literally everything is Freegled: we get all furniture, cars, cara-vans, bikes, toys, bags - everything you can think of! Personally I offered an old scuba diving kit that I knew I would never use

again!

What is the most popular thing that people want to get rid of?Very popular is furniture: people often buy new stuff and think of how much of a waste it would be to just chuck the old one away but there are ALWAYS students or first home buyers looking to furnish a new flat for as little as possible.

Is there anything you struggle to get rid of?With 25,000 people in the group there is almost always someone who will take something off your hands, so it’s hard to say if there is a single category of stuff hard to Freegle - the problem is usually getting to stuff before other people do!

What are your plans for the project in the future? Are you optimistic that it will continue to be popu-lar?I think it can only get bet-ter: we have got 25,000 people involved which

sounds a lot but is not that many com-pared to the total population of Birming-ham. What would be great is to get some sponsorship to take it to the next level - perhaps a full time moderator.

Also it’s sad that the City Council still do bulk waste collection at all - if they simply said to everyone in the city to give it away on Freegle first and only if no one in the whole city wanted it they’d take it and landfill it, then we could cut down on waste going to landfill even more. Freegle could do so much more good if we could get some corporate or council sponsor-ship!

So, with summertime soon to be upon us, why not make an early start on that spring cleaning?You may unearth some junk you really don’t need, and donating to ‘freegle’ is

easy, just log on to http://www.ilove-freegle.org/ to get started.

And if you like the way James thinks, you can follow him on Twitter: www.twitter.com/brumguvnor

Literally ev-erything is Freegled:

we get funiture, cars, caravans, toys, bags -

everything you can think of!

recycling

SO, AS JAMES SAYS: “DON’T

THROW IT AWAY - GIVE

IT AWAY!”

How do you use freecycling?: You can give away virtually anything from funi-ture to a scuba diving kit as confirmed by James!

“

”

Whereto freecycle?: The company are based in Birmingham


science

It had already been a long time coming when last year an innovative new project was announced with

the aim to get electric cars on the roads of Coventry and Birmingham.With fossil fuels dwindling and the need for transport to move away from the tradi-tional fuel-reliant technologies, this news came at exactly the right time.

Thanks to funding from the Technology Strategy Board, the Coventry and Bir-mingham Low Emission Demonstrators (CABLED) project was formed, aiming to show that electric cars are a practical alter-native to conventionally fuelled vehicles.

A spokesman for Birmingham City Council said: “We believe we have the necessary technology, skills and manufacturing base to ensure we would deliver a highly suc-cessful pilot project.”

Planning and developmentWord on the street was that over twelve months a total of 110 low emission cars would be given to test drivers across the two cities, both known traditionally for their successful motoring and manufacturing industries.

On top of this, plans were made to provide the ap-propriate infrastructure for electric car users, including installing charging points at loca-tions within the drivers’ own properties and in public places, with help from major electric com-pany Eon.

A total of thirteen businesses and organisations jumped on board the CABLED project bandwagon, led by Arup Manufacturing based in Solihull.

The vehicles submitted for testing by trial drivers have been contributed by six ve-hicle manufacturers including Mitsubishi, Smart and Jaguar Land Rover.

Data from the test drivers will be collected from the trial drivers and ana-lysed by researchers at Aston, Birmingham and Coventry Universities, in order to produce detailed information and analy-sis to help support future plans to develop low carbon vehicles for the mass market.

Action and implementationBut after a flurry of media at-tention in summer 2009, the CABLED project seemed to slip in the media and public agenda, with very little coverage over recent months.

As the end of the initial twelve month stage creeps closer, Birmingham Recycled wants to know what real action has been taken to get the roads of Coventry and Birmingham to go green?

Neil Butcher, manager of the CABLED project told us: “The reason the

project appeared to take so long to get off the

ground is because after we won the

grant we went into an initial development stage, planning and researching the project, be-

fore putting it into practise.

“It was actually a two-year plan, with an initial

development stage followed by the implementation, which is the

stage we’re at at the moment.”

All well and good, but what action have they actually taken in implementing the

plan? Neil explained: “Last December we had the handover of the first 25 electric vehicles, the Mitsubishi i-MiEV, to test drivers. The triallers will get to keep the

cars for a year from the date they were handed over, and will fill in regular ques-tionnaires and surveys to find out how

A year on:

We will be launching the rest of

the cars within this year, and they will be tested for a year-long period. At the mo-

ment the vehicles aren’t ready. - Neil Butcher

CABLED

“

”

Above: Electric Smart Car

they’re getting on with the cars.”

Getting 25 electric cars out there is cer-tainly a start – but that’s all it is. At the beginning of the project, the public were promised that 110 electric motors would be making it onto our roads within the next year, so why the delay?

Neil said: “We will be launching the rest of the cars within this year, and they will all be tested for a year-long period. At the moment the vehicles aren’t quite ready as they are using very new technology; these are brand new vehicles which are not cur-rently on the market. We’re also carrying out quite a complex user selection process to ensure a variety of results – we have to take into account where they live and work and how often they drive.”

Worrying news that they haven’t yet pre-pared the cars or selected people to drive them, but Neil brushes these concerns aside, assuring us that “The next hando-vers will definitely take place between May and June this year. We haven’t set an exact date yet, but it’s definitely going ahead.”The next cars to be launched will be the Smart fortwo Electric drive, followed


science

33

The infrastructureAnother key aspect to the CABLED project plan was ensuring the correct infrastruc-ture to charge electric cars is installed throughout Birmingham and Coventry workplaces, homes and public areas. As they haven’t managed to get many cars on the road as of yet, have they done any better at providing charging points for the cars?

“We’ve gone round to all the Mitsubishi test drivers’ houses and installed charg-ing points for them, we’ve also installed them in their workplaces as well where possible. We’ll be doing the same for the next batch of test drivers too” Neil added: “We’re currently working with local councils on getting the approval for charging points in public places, and unfortu-nately learning it’s a compli-cated process getting the approval for charging points in public places!”

It seems hypocriti-cal and unreasonable that the local councils, who are working on the project with Arup, are proving less than agreeable when it comes to actually installing the infrastructure needed to run the electric cars. Without easily available places to

charge, an electric car is an awk-ward car to run, making the public even less likely to embrace it as an alternative mode of transport.

But a spokesman defended Birming-ham City Council saying: “We’ve got plans to install charging points throughout the city this year, including public places. If you’re going to have the vehicles obviously you’ve got to have the infrastructure, so that’s all in hand.”

Because of these issues, the first charging point in a public place will not be installed until the end of April, and Neil was unable to tell us where it would be located due to “politics”. However, we can rest assured

that plans are still on track for a total of 36 charging points in public places by

the end of the project.

The future“It’s a very exciting project which I’m proud to be a part of.” Neil concluded; “At the moment there isn’t that depth of knowledge and experience

in this area. Everyone, from the councils to the manufacturers, is

keen to know how these cars will be used in every day life. The technol-

ogy is very new to all of us, and we’re all trying to learn in this process.”

It certainly does seem that way, but Birmingham Recycled hopes that the ob-stacles and delays the project overcomes will all contribute towards the knowledge

If you want to find out more about the CABLED project or check for the latest news and updates, you can visit the website at:

Where are the electric cars?

We’ve got plans to in-

stall charging points throughout the city this

year, including public places. - Birmingham

City Council

shortly by the Tata Indica Vista EV. We’ll have to just wait and see if they come out on time over the next couple of months.

and expertise gained in order to help the West Midlands become a successful centre for low carbon vehicles.

http://www.cabled.org.uk

“

”

Below: Electric silver Car

Below: Electric Blue Car


science

34 37

science

“I do what I can to help; I catch the train to work instead of driving and I’d like to think my home’s pretty en-ergy efficient” Nick Oliver, 35, Financial Consultant, Tamworth.

“Climate change does affect me – I don’t like this weather! Something really needs to be done.” Ayesha Uddin, 18, Student, Small Heath.

Emma says:

Wake up Birmingham!

“I know climate change is something that’s in the news at the moment, but I wouldn’t really go out of my way to do help the problem.” Meg O’Brian, 17, Student, Sutton Cold-field.

“I think if we really wanted to make a difference it would take a complete change of lifestyle, and a lot of people just aren’t will-ing to do it.”– Naomi Hull, 27, Teacher, Lichfield.

A particularly concerning example comes from 64-year-old Birmingham shopper Lionel Bolton from Stafford, who an-nounced boldly: “It’s all an excuse for the Government to charge more taxes. If you look at history it says you get cold win-ters, this is nothing new. Climate change is all a con!”

Disturbingly, he is not alone in this view. Looking for somebody to blame on the issue, many people turn to their favourite scapegoat; the Government. Ammuni-tion for this viewpoint was provided in 2001, with the introduction of the Climate Change Levy, a tax on energy for non-domestic users in the UK, which outraged many UK citizens and businesses. These people just cannot seem to understand that the Climate Change Levy was intro-duced for a reason; to provide an incen-tive for energy efficiency and reducing carbon emissions. Not, as Lionel would have us believe, simply to wind people up.

A different but equally disconcerting view on the matter is offered by 17-year-old Meg O’Brian from Sutton Coldfield, who brazenly admitted: “I know climate change is something that’s in the news at the moment, but I don’t really follow the news and I don’t know many people who do, so it’s not really relevant at my age. I wouldn’t really go out of my way to do anything to help the problem.”

Meg exemplifies the views of a typical teenager; more concerned with what is happening in Eastenders than news about the future of our planet. What she fails to realise is that the affects of global warming on the earth will most likely be-come imminent within her lifetime but by the time that it is impossible to ignore the issue any more, it may already be too late.

Something needs to be done to re edu-cate the people of our city of this promi-nent and very real problem. With so many people not even willing to accept the truth that is right in front of them, how will we ever get them to take action to change things? The future is in our hands, and if the people of Birmingham are any-thing to go by, it is in danger of slipping through our fingers.

What does Birmingham think?

What do you think?

Email:

editor@birminghamrecycled.

co.uk

This month I hit the streets to see what the general public

were now saying about climate change, and, as expected, met some despairing results. From the Copenhagen summit to the “Climategate” scandal, the words on every-one’s lips for the past year have been cli-mate change. But despite extensive media coverage, campaigns and political debates, the true message of what is happening to our planet is still lost on most of Birming-ham’s citizens.

Sad but true, it seems only a slither of the Midlands population - perhaps those who would be most likely to pick up this magazine – are taking climate change seriously. I took to the streets to hear what the general public had to say about climate change and fully realised that we are in the minority, whilst the majority of people are more than happy to live with their heads in the sand, ignoring this world wide crisis that is taking place around us.

As the UK’s second largest city, Birming-ham relies heavily on fossil fuels. Boast-ing the constantly bustling Bull Ring shopping centre, the city encourages a consumer culture, leaving little time in the busy centre for people to stop to recognise the issue of climate change and global warming.


science

35

Emma says:

Wake up Birmingham!

The world around us is changing, and with that comes more innovative and exciting developments in technology.

Birmingham Recycled brings you our pick of this season’s eco friendly new gadgets.

RRP: £14.99 and first Class delivery to Birmingham costs £1.76 per buttonAvailable at: www.eco-button.com

The award winning Eco Button makes sure that your computer is not using unnecessarily energy. At least a third of the energy generated from a PC goes to waste but simply connect the Eco But-ton to your Windows PC or laptop and, with just the press of a button, you can put it into the most energy saving mode available and, when you do come back to it, you won’t have to wait an eternity for your computer to power up again. It is simple, cuts your carbon footprint and saves money.

Eco Button

Wattson Energy MeterRRP: £99.95 including delivery to Birming-hamAvailable at: www.diykyoto.com/uk/watt-son

The Wattson Energy Meter allows you to find out exactly how much energy we are using in the home and how much it is costing. This sleek, stylish little device is wireless so it can be placed anywhere in your home to measure the total amount of electricity being used at any given time. The makers, DIY KYOTO, claim that it can save households between 5 – 25% off their electricity bills every year. And to top it all off, it is recyclable too!

Freeloader Pico Solar ChargerRRP: £16.99 with free delivery anywhere in the UKAvailable at: www.solartechnology.co.uk

The Freeloader Pico Solar Charger works in all daylight hours and is suitable for iPods, Laptops and many mobile phones including the Apple iPhone and Black

berry. The Freeloader Pico will provide enough energy for a mobile phone to run for 35 hours, an iPod to run for 14 hours or 1 ½ hours for GPS and you only need to leave it plugged in for 30 minutes! It is perfect for people who are regularly on the move.

RRP: £88.95 including a delivery to Bir-mingham within two days

Available at: www.greenwarehouse.co.uk

The Brill Razorcut Premium 33, the latest model from the company regarded to pro-duce the world’s finest hand lawn mowers, having been featured in the Guardian, the Daily Mail and Gardener’s World. The Brill hand lawn mower produces no air pollu-tion or noise, making mowing your lawn a pleasure.

Brill Razorcut Premium 33

Powerplus Verio Wind Up Mp3 Player

Green gadget corner

RRP: £39.95 with an additional cost of £2.50 to deliver to BirminghamAvailable at: www.biggreensmile.com

The Powerplus Verio Wind Up Mp3 gives you instant access to your music any time, anywhere. You only have to wind up this handy little gadget for 1 minute to be provided with 15-20 minutes of listen-ing time. This Mp3 player comes with 1 Gigabyte of internal memory to ensure you always have a vast range of tunes to choose from at your fingertips and a USB and mains charger is available for when electricity is available.

Buy online now!

The new eco button

Pico solar

Brill razor cut premium 33


science

36

Which eco car is right for YOU?

BR Recommends: Ford Focus 1.6 TDCI 90 ECOnetic Prices ranging from: £19,660Available locally at: Bristol Street Motors, Shirley, Solihull.

The Ford Focus ECOnetic is one of the most environmentally friendly vehicles available in this category. You can enjoy easy driving with a clear conscience as it has Co2 emissions of just 99g/km. The downside is that it only has five-seats so it isn’t practical for the larger families.

Car Saleswoman Jo Scarle from Bristol Motors said: “The Ford Focus ECOnetic is quite a new car on the market but it’s getting more popular because of the economics. I drive it as a demonstrator – it’s a lovely, smooth drive, and it’s easy to keep track of how much carbon you are emitting.”

BR Recommends: Toyota Prius T3Prices ranging from: £19, 504Available locally at: Toyota World Birming-ham, Fort Dunlop Business Park.

The Guardian describes the all-new third generation Toyota Prius as “just about the most economical car you can buy”.

>>>

In an ideal world we would all ditch the motors and embrace nature, travelling to the city by foot or bicycle but this is some-times just not possible in the industrialised world we live in,

particularly for those who have to travel long distances on a regu-lar basis and are isolated from public transport. The next best solution is simple – invest in the most environ-mentally friendly car. This might seem like an oxymoron but with motoring companies becoming more conscious of their impact on the environment, you don’t need to worry about struggling to find an eco-friendly car.We’ve whittled down the best environmentally friendly cars cur-rently on the market. From the top of the range for fuel efficiency, to the compact, they are all here. So which one is right for you?

We all know that cars are one of the biggest sources of CO2 emissions, and one of environment’s worst enemies.

Know of an eco

car that ha

sn’t

been mentioned?

Let us kn

ow at

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inghamre-

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k

Focus Eco: Fords answer to saving the planet


It’s a big ethos

of the Smart brand to be as environmen-

tally friendly as possible. - Tom Edwards, Smart

Birmingham

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science

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Which eco car is right for YOU?

The Toyota Pruis has carbon emissions at an impressively low rate of 89g/km and even comes with an Eco Drive Monitor, where you can keep track of your fuel consumption and hybrid power flow. It is perfect for businessmen as it allows you to take responsibility for the environment whilst still keeping up with a busy busi-ness life in Birmingham.Peter Fox, Business Centre Manager at Toyota World Birmingham said; “We’ve used our best technology to combine electric power and petrol and built on the strengths of the earlier models, so the third generation Prius is definitely the best yet.”

BR Recommends: Smart Car for two CoupePrinces ranging from: £9,440Available locally at: Smart Birmingham, Lawley Middleway.

The Smart Car for two Coupe is the new compact car from Smart, a company completely dedicated to producing envi-ronmentally-friendly cars. Tom Edwards, Sales Manager at Smart Birming-ham spoke on the company’s values, saying: “It’s a big ethos of the Smart brand to be as environmentally friendly as possible. I think we lead the way in that respect as there is not many car companies that can say the same.”He describes the Smart for two Coupe as “the original city car”; a small and

practical vehicle offering maxi-mum comfort and economy. Its carbon emissions are at 88g/km and the car is 95% recy-clable – so when you’re finished with it, you can be safe in the knowledge that it won’t simply be going to wasted scrap. With low fuel consumption as well as a low price tag, you might as well do the Smart thing!

BR Recommends: Lexus RX450hPrices ranging from: £42,330Available locally at: Lexus Birmingham, Tyre Fort, Erdington

The Lexus website describes the RX450h as “the premium cross over.” Using

a combination of hybrid tech-nology and petrol power, it

can be driven anywhere, from a busy city centre to the more rugged terrain of the coun-tryside. The carbon emissions are slightly higher than the other car choices, 48g/km, but is still considered

good because of the vehicle’s larger size.. The

high price tag may alarm some, but Sales Manager at

Lexus Birmingham, Simon Gould-ing, explained: “We don’t offer your six

grand smart car; all our hybrid cars are luxury, top of the range. We’ve had hybrid for many years - it’s not new technology to us, everybody else is just cottoning onto it! In the next three years we will stop producing diesel cars altogether and

all our cars will be hybrid.”

BR recommends: Ford KA 1.3 ZetecPrices ranging from: £4, 750Available locally at: Heartlands Ford Erdington

So, you’re a first time buyer on a budget but still want to drive with a clear con-scious?

Invest in a second hand Ford KA 1.3 Zetec and you will get a bargain for your money, and you can feel safe in the knowledge that you are supporting the used car industry. The Ford KA is the perfect prize and size for a first car, and with carbon emissions of 112g/km, it is eco-friendly as well. The Short Commute

BR Recommends: G wiz iPrices Ranging from: £8,995

This innovative new vehicle is not yet available locally in Birmingham, but is well worth the trip further a field. This fully electric car is specifically designed for commuters, but works just as well for anyone who needs a car to get them on short trips from A to B, whether it’s driving to work or just driving to the local supermarket. The G wiz i has no carbon emissions and is very cheap to own and run, which might be why it’s currently the most popular electric car in the UK!

It’s a big ethos of the

Smart brand to be as environmentally friendly

as possible. - Tom Edwards, Smart

Birmingham

“

”

Focus Eco: Fords answer to saving the planet

All new Pirus: Fords answer to saving the planet


Ford: Brochure photo


Edith Brittle, 69, from Hed-nesford:

“I often have 3 dogs to care for while my two daughters work in the day, which you can imagine create a lot of excess hair, so I collect it all up when I can and put it into my compost! It’s really good for the plants as it keeps the roots warm if we have any cold spells.”

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It is most encouraging to know that members of the great British public are in-deed doing their bit to help the environment. Some notable individuals are go-

ing that one step further to recycle and reuse some unusual things that others are shipping off to landfills and recycling centres on a weekly basis.This month we mingled with a proportion of the public in and around Birming-ham to unearth some rather quirky recycling habits.

YOUR Birmingham Recycled

What’s your unusual green habit? By Natalie Eccleshall

Sarah Stirling, 19, from Stirch-ley:

“It was my Mum’s birthday a few weeks ago and I already had her present, but a couple of days before I realised I had no paper to wrap it, so I thought quickly and wrapped it in a piece of newspaper! The best thing about it was my mum loved it! She thought it was retro wrapping paper that had cost me a fortune!.”

<<Joanne Christian, 21, from Cannock:

“I am currently studying pho-tography at college and I use any rubbish I can get my hands on to make ‘pinhole cameras’ to take photos. Cartons of any description are especially useful!”

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Lauren Perry, 20, from Bir-mingham:

“My partner and I have recently decorated our dining room with a retro sixties theme in mind but we struggled to pick details as trivial as placemats for the table, so I came up with the idea of using old vinyls! They are the perfect touch, and they work!”

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recycling

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Birmingham Recycled issue one

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Transcript of Birmingham Recycled issue one