Help from the planet "Greenstar"

Ey up my faithful "green" blogworms, it would appear that last weeks blog captured a lot of peoples imaginations and aroused some pretty strong feelings.

I realised that last week that with my blog: "Even shopping can be green....." that I'd only just scratched the surface of what I wanted to say.

So this week I'm taking the unusual step of a follow up on the same subject. Wasteful plastic !
Stick with it because there's a ray of hope at the end of the story!


We're all used seeing plastic bag trees where this ugly phenomenon is a blot on our landscape, in the pic to the left 2 of the offenders can clearly be seen in a fishing net. The 2 swans in the next picture aren't playing, they're stuck !! caught in  a discarded plastic bag. 

Waste plastic is killing our wildlife, some of the pictures I found, I felt were too upsetting to put in this blog. I don't know which idiot thought that charging for plastic bags was going to make the problem go away ??? Get rid of them completely, go back to paper, it's biodegradeable and can't do any real harm to our birds and sealife, at least if they try and eat it there's more chance it will pass through with no lasting damage.


I make no apologies for the cartoon I've shown here because it sums up probably how many thousands of responsible people in the UK are feeling !! I thought it was perfect for the point I'm trying to make.

Some of the damage caused by plastic bottles, yoghurt pots and those strong plastic things that hold 6 cans of beer together beggar belief. The deformed wildlife that have suffered at the hands of that stuff is truly appalling. 

We need to recycle all the plastic we can to keep it out of harms way and stop the huge environmental damage it's causing.  

Talking about supermarkets and retail outlets last week, it struck me that, apart from our homes, we probably spend more time in these places than anywhere else.

These major shop chains only seem to pay lip service to environmental issues without embracing them properly ..... so, here's an idea !! Get them to lead the way !!

Next time you go into your local supermarket ask them to start, for an easy example, a yoghurt pot & plastic bottle collection scheme to encourage parents and children to bring back their used yoghurt pots and bottles to be collected and sent to reprocessors to be turned back into something useful and stop them going into landfill.

They're always issues vouchers for school computers or something so let's get our kids involved in helping us clear up an environmental mess !!
The chap in this picture works for a company called Greenstar, based in Redcar, Middlesborough. and they've just won government funding to boost our yoghurt pot and plastic bottle recycling efforts.

I'm absolutely certain that he would be glad of the raw material to reprocess as recycling mixed plastics is certainly one of the weakest areas of the UK's recycling infrastructure

Go on their website : http://www.packagingnews.co.uk/environment/greenstar-wins-wrap-funds-to-boost-yoghurt-pot-recycling/ and have a look at their efforts, pick up the phone and talk to him, set up a deal, become active in making a positive contribution.

In my eyes, this guy is one of the unsung heroes of our world and he needs our help, so come on supermarkets, take note !! get a recycling scheme going and walk the walk instead of just talking the talk. We'll help you reuse the products he makes, back into your shop counters, wall panelling etc and that would then be truly " closing the loop "

The cynics among you, and I'm sure you're out there, will be saying that all this is just a boost for our own products and business but would you rather help us to put recycled plastic back to gainful use or would you rather see it killing wildlife .... you decide !!

I'm knackered now !  see you next week. Jules

Even shopping can be green if we work at it !

Good Morning, my faithful blogworms, today is all about shopping !!

Woo-Hoo, I hear you say, well .. don't get carried away, I'm not taking you all shopping, as much as I'd like to !. 

With all the current emphasis on eating properly, organic food and supermarkets using local suppliers where possible, all of which I strongly support, it strikes me that they are starting to take a green lifestyle a lot more seriously.

One company we feel has a fantastic attitude towards this is H & M Stores and as an environmentally aware company that's spending the green pound wisely, we feel they really do deserve your support in their efforts.

We have been supplying our EcoSelect kitchens with a host of energy and water saving features to H & M for their staff kitchens in all their stores under a current programme of new stores opening and refubishment of older stores for over 2 years now.


They, as you know, are a major clothing retailer and are sourcing a lot of their store furniture ethically and should be seen as an example to all you other retailers out there.

Big supermarket chains ... THIS IS YOUR WAKE UP CALL !

Supermarkets are guilty of creating a lot of waste either through still using plastic bags and plastic packaging that still end up in landfill or simply by throwing away perfectly good food that somebody would be glad of !

We are doing our best to increase awareness that much of that plastic can be recycled and re-used. In the pics above are: Yoghurt Pot, Dapple and Snowflake are three recycled plastic boards that all start their life as food safe products that can be re-used and, as such, diverting tons of plastic waste away from landfill and given another life.

They can be used for: food counters, wall clad, panels for customer toilets, wash basin countertops, even benches for shoppers to rest their weary bones on. They are practically maintenance free once installed, really easy to clean, totally waterproof and food safe and can be re-used many, many times over. This will save you money long term and even that's got to be worth thinking about !!

I'm appealing directly, this week, to you readers of my blog who work for supermarkets, are buyers for supermarkets or even own them !!.... we need to talk ... you should by now, have some sort of environmental conscience and we can help boost your eco street cred by helping you be seen to be being green.

This is important, in this day and age and judging by the amount of time we spend shopping in supermarkets, you are ideally placed to show that you support and encourage recycling efforts. Don't think about following some vague environmental policy which basically only pays lips service to green issues ..... embrace it ... and lead the way, your customers will think better of you for it, I'm sure !!

Call me and let's talk ! 01943 817153, tweet us: @ecokitchens, email me on: julian@milestone.uk.net, fax me 01943 817158, send a carrier pigeon, whatever you like, just do it !!

Jules

If it stands still ... Truncate it !

 Ey up my faithful blogworms, it's not normal for me to endorse or recommend stuff on my blog but twice now I've come across stuff that I think is brilliant and you need to know about.

Last week it was Ecos paints, which, if you haven't checked them out yet, you really should. It will change the way you look at paint forever !!

This week, with winter just around the corner and getting your log burner fuel sorted out, 
I really need to introduce you to the Truncator.

I first saw the Truncator at a show in Cumbria back in the summer and thought it was a good idea then.
Coming home and thinking about it I decided to bite the bullet and buy one.

I am soooo-o-o-o-o glad I did, it's absolutely perfect for logging those smaller branches and boughs that are usually fiddly and you end up spending hours cutting them by hand while thinking" Sod this, it got to be easier just to buy some logs!".

Well fear not, carry on gathering those branches and boughs while you're out walking the dog or whatever. I had a great big pile of tree branch trimmings next to my shed in the garden and couldn't be bothered to cut them all up, it was going to take ages ! Out came the new Truncator and my small chainsaw and whistled through the pile, safely, easily and quickly, I got through probably 4 hours cutting in about 11/2 hours.

It designed and made by a guy who cuts logs for people who cut logs and it's brilliance is in it's simple design, quality components and ease of use. Also the fact it's designed from materials that won't damage your chainsaw if you are a bit too enthusiastic with the cutting.


TRUNCATOR.CO.UK ....go on, treat yourself,  or at least, get it on your xmas list. You won't regret it ! 

Happy cutting, Jules.

An Organic World from carrots to paint

Ey up my faithful blogworms, this week it's all about organic paint. This stuff is absolutely brillliant !! We're used to organic veg. but how many of you knew that organic paint even existed ??

Interest with Pinterest

Ey up my faithful Blogworms, I really do appreciate your enormous interest in our Roadstone Plaques and thought this week you might like to see what we've achieved with them so far, follow the link below to my Pinterest board and you can see the diverse plaques we've made upto now

http://www.pinterest.com/milestone01/recycled-roadstone-plaques-kitchen-splashbacks/

For some reason I don't seem to be able to load individual photo's this week, bloody computers !! I'll get it sorted somehow, so I'm afraid this weeks blog might seem like a bit of a cheat.

While there's a lot of interest from you all, I'm not getting any feedback as to what you really think ??

I'm puzzled, I know you're out there !! 

There's a lot of creative thinkers out there in the Blogosphere and I'd love to hear from you either by leaving me a message or emailing me on : julian@milestone.uk.net and let me know what you think

While we're on the subject on Pinterest, you might like to see the full story of the "Reclaimed Madness" kitchen which has also created a fair bit on enthusiasm among you , my faithful followers, we are still adding finishing touches as the proud new owner of the kitchen keeps thinking of more stuff she needs.

http://www.pinterest.com/milestone01/milestone-reclaimed-madness-kitchen/

Interestingly, she loves the kitchen so much, she's asked us to now do her bathroom in the same style, Yippee, Happy Days are here again. We had a ball last time and really looking forward to doing it again !!

See ya next week when, hopefully, I'll get this bloody computer fixed.