Tag Archives: recycling

How to recycle your Christmas tree in Haringey

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Local Lib Dem campaigner Dawn Barnes today sent the very helpful email (below) to local residents. You can sign up for email updates by opting in here.

I hope you had a lovely Christmas and are looking forward to 2014.

It’s time to take the Christmas tree down and if you are looking for ways to recycle it you may find the following information useful.

If you receive a green garden waste collection, you can cut your tree into smaller pieces (maximum length 1 metre) and put it out for collection. Christmas trees can also be taken to Haringey’s Refuse and Recycling Centres:

Hornsey Centre – 35 High Street, N8 7QB
Tottenham Centre – Park View Road, N17 9AY
Opening times: Saturday and Sunday, 9am to 4pm

Alternatively, you can take them to designated sites in the following parks from Monday 6 January – Sunday 26 January:

  • Albert Road Recreation Ground (Staff yard) – Bidwell Gardens, N11
  • Bruce Castle Park (Staff yard) – Lordship Lane, N17
  • Down Lane Recreation Ground (Staff yard) – Park View Road, N17
  • Downhills Park (Staff yard) – Downhills Park Road, N17
  • Finsbury Park (Staff yard) – Endymion Road, N4
  • The Gardens Community Garden – Doncaster Gardens, N4
  • Priory Park (Staff yard) – Barrington Road, N8
  • Woodside Park (Staff yard) – High Road, N22

I do hope you find this information useful and feel free to pass it on to other local residents who want to dispose of their trees too.

Better battery recycling in Haringey

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Here’s my latest column for the Muswell Hill Flyer and the Highgate Handbook:

Recycling batteriesI try to be good with recycling – but when it comes to batteries it is sometimes quite difficult because there isn’t an easy and convenient place to put them locally.

We have battery recycling bins at Parliament – so that makes it easy for me. But how many of us do bother to take batteries to the recycling centres? I don’t know – but I suspect the odd one or two just gets put in the normal rubbish.

So – I just wanted to tell you about a success my Liberal Democrat colleagues on Haringey Council had in the budget debate. Haringey Council agreed to implement Liberal Democrats plans that will provide new green incentives and better recycling in the borough.

My LibDem colleagues proposed that Haringey Council provide new battery recycling services in libraries, community buildings and schools, and new green incentives for local traders and residents to move to ‘greener’ vehicles by reducing parking fees for the least polluting cars.

Even better – the new measures will be paid for by freezing allowances for councillors to the tune of £14,000!

This follows fast on the heals of the new rules passed by the European Union which mean that as of February 2010 shops must have battery recycling bins for residents to use if they sell the equivalent of 1 pack a day. It makes it so much easier to be good – if there is a facility for us to recycle things like batteries easily available. I went to a Tesco local next to my office in Hornsey High Street to celebrate their new battery recycling facilities installed to meet the EU rules.

Until now, people who wanted to do the right thing had to make their way to one of Haringey’s two recycling centres – and that’s not the best way to encourage recycling of some of our most hazardous waste. Batteries are so bad for the environment, and most people do want to do their bit for our planet – it’s only right to make it as easy as possible for people to do just that.

As an added bonus: in terms of encouraging greener vehicles – Haringey Council agreed to the LibDem proposals that there would be free parking for the greenest business vehicles and free parking for the greenest residents’ vehicles.

Hurrah!

Local Liberal Democrats welcome easy access to battery recycling in shops

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Bob Hare and Lynne Featherstone recycling batteriesLocal Liberal Democrats Lynne Featherstone MP and Environment spokesperson Cllr Bob Hare have recently visited a local shop to test out new battery recycling facilities. From February 2010 new rules passed by the European Union mean that shops must have battery recycling bins for residents to use if they sell the equivalent of 1 pack a day.

Haringey Liberal Democrats are also proposing to install 100 new battery recycling sites throughout the borough as an amendment to the Council’s budget to be discussed on Monday. The sites will be in libraries, schools and other community space and will make it easier for local residents to find a convenient battery recycling site near to them.

Lynne Featherstone MP comments:

“It’s great news that from this month, residents will be able to pop down to their local shop to recycle their batteries.

“Until now, people who wanted to do the right thing had to make their way to one of Haringey’s two recycling centres – and that’s not the best way to encourage recycling of some of our most hazardous waste.”

Councillor Bob Hare, Environment spokesperson for Haringey Liberal Democrats, adds:

“I very much welcome the fact that this will make it easier for people to recycle their batteries, but it can be made even easier. That’s why we are proposing to install 100 new battery recycling sites throughout the borough.

“Batteries are so bad for the environment, and most people do want to do their bit for our planet – it’s only right to make it as easy as possible for people to do just that!”

Liberal Democrat ‘green’ budget proposals success

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Haringey Council agreed last night to implement Liberal Democrats plans that will provide new green incentives and better recycling in the borough.

Liberal Democrats proposed that Haringey Council provides new battery recycling services in libraries, community buildings and schools, and new green incentives for local traders and residents to move to ‘greener’ vehicles by reducing parking fees for the least polluting cars.

The new measures will be paid for by freezing allowances for councillors.

Cllr Ed Butcher (Stroud Green), Liberal Democrat Finance Spokesperson, comments:

“I am glad that Labour have, once again, taken the lead from Liberal Democrats. They followed our lead on the Council Tax freeze and now on new green incentives and recycling.

“It shows that even in opposition Liberal Democrats lead on the green agenda and recognise, in these tough economic times, that councillors should not take more of taxpayers’ money.”

Lynne Featherstone MP adds:

“My colleagues on Haringey Council continue to hold Labour to account and provide new ideas that move Haringey forward. If they can do this in opposition imagine what could be done in a Liberal Democrat-run Haringey Council.”

Recycling batteries should be made easy!

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It’s a real problem. You know when you change batteries that you need to recycle the old ones and that you mustn’t put them in with the ordinary rubbish because they are hazardous – but there’s nowhere convenient in Haringey to do the right thing!

So my Liberal Democrat Haringey councillor colleague, Bob Hare (inveterate campaigner on all matters environmental) and I got together to illustrate our point.

In a bid to make it easier for local residents to recycle their household batteries, we local Liberal Democrats have called on Haringey Council to increase the number of battery recycling points in the borough.

Currently, residents can only recycle their batteries at Haringey Council’s two recycling centres – in Hornsey or Tottenham. In contrast, several local authorities across the country run successful schemes that give residents the opportunity to recycle their batteries in special battery recycling points on the streets or in local shops and libraries.

Why is Haringey Labour Council so bad at everything? The clue is in the phrase ‘Haringey Labour Council’!

Local Liberal Democrats call for better battery recycling in Haringey

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In a bid to make it easier for local residents to recycle their household batteries, local Liberal Democrats have today called on Haringey Council to increase the number of battery recycling points in the borough.

Currently, residents can only recycle their batteries at Haringey Council’s two recycling centres – in Hornsey or Tottenham. In contrast, several local authorities across the country run successful schemes that give residents the opportunity to recycle their batteries in special battery recycling points on the streets or in local shops.

Lynne Featherstone MP and Liberal Democrat Green spokesperson Cllr Bob Hare, are today calling on Haringey Council to look at innovative options that will make it easier for residents to recycle their batteries instead of throwing them in the normal rubbish.

Lynne Featherstone MP comments:

‘Batteries, especially if old or broken, can be very dangerous to people and the planet. Throwing them away with the normal rubbish sadly means they end up on the landfill, with potentially very worrying long-term consequences.

‘Recycling needs to be easy and accessible – we all want to do our bit for the planet – but if that means driving half-way across Haringey to recycle our batteries, many may feel it is not worth the extra effort or the extra carbon foot-print.

‘That’s why we are calling on Haringey Council to look at options to help residents make the green choice when it comes to disposing of old batteries.’

Cllr Bob Hare adds:

‘I hope Haringey Council will take a good hard look at the many innovative and simple options out there that will make it easy for residents to recycle their batteries, either by dropping them off in battery points on their street, at their local library or shop.’

Haringey Council deceiving residents on recycling

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Residents’ efforts to recycle cans, bottles and paper are going to waste because of Haringey Council’s poor method of recycling, the Liberal Democrats have learned.

Recyclers are asked to put their waste into separate sections of recycling bins, like in the new recycling bin installed in Stationers Park recently, but all the different types of recycling is collected together, leading to waste that can only be used for lower quality recycling.

The Liberal Democrats are calling on Haringey Council to mirror the practices in other boroughs, where waste is kept separately and can therefore be used more effectively in creating recycled products.

The Liberal Democrats have found out that Haringey Council used to use this method of separating waste, but have changed to this less effective system.

Bob Hare, Liberal Democrat Environment spokesperson, commented:

“People in Haringey, who are conscious of environmental issues and trying to do their bit, are spending time and effort separating their recycling. Yet, Haringey Council are completely wasting this effort.

“Haringey Council is pulling the wool over the eyes of people who are trying to help them clean up the borough and that is just not on. We need to recycle but we also need to recycle well, and the current system used by Haringey Council is leading to lower quality recycling material that may be contributing to pollution because of the processes needed to decontaminate the waste.”

Lynne Featherstone MP added:

“Recycling is something that people in Haringey care about and a way in which they can do their bit to solve environmental issues. Haringey Council needs to make sure that our recycling is top class but at the moment it is just rubbish.”

Haringey Council fails to meet recycling targets for nearly a year

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Concern is growing for Haringey Council’s green credentials after it emerged that it has failed to meet its own recycling targets for ten out of the last eleven months.

Haringey Council only met its 28% recycling target once in the last eleven reported months, in January this year. The average amount of waste sent to recycle in the last year to date was languishing 3% under target at 24.93%.

Liberal Democrats believe that residents need more opportunity to recycle and would like to see action from Haringey Council to improve performance.

Cllr Bob Hare, Liberal Democrat Environment Spokesperson, comments:

“Whilst it is not just the quantity of recycling that counts, it is a good indicator of how the borough is doing on recycling. What is clear is that Haringey has consistently failed to meet targets yet there seems to be little evidence of any political will by Labour to better their poor performance.”

Lynne Featherstone, MP for Hornsey and Wood Green, adds:

“Clearly steps must be taken to increase recycling rates, and Haringey Council needs to take a good hard look at why they have failed to reach targets month after month.

“Recycling needs to be easier and more accessible – there are still plenty of people in Haringey who want to recycle but don’t get the opportunity.”

Local MP recycles Christmas cards to help fund tree planting

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To encourage local residents to recycle their Christmas cards and enable thousands of new trees to be planted, Lynne Featherstone MP has done her bit by recycling her cards at Tesco on Hornsey High Street.

The Woodland Trust, which is running the Christmas Card Recycling scheme, sends all cards collected to paper mills where they are recycled into new paper products. The money that is raised then goes to plant thousands of trees in the conservation charity’s forests all over the UK. Last year, the 73.6 million cards recycled turned into 17,000 new trees.

Lynne Featherstone comments:

“This scheme is great- all the lovely cards received for Christmas turn into new paper products, plus new trees are planted. It’s sustainable, green and helps our forests grow and flourish: win-win all round!

“So do your bit to make sure that 2009 gets off to a great start – pop into a local Tesco, M&S, WH Smith or TK Maxx and recycle those cards.”

If empty bottles had dreams

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Green glass bottleMy latest column for the Highgate Handbook and Muswell Hill Flyer is about recycling:

Here’s a question – why do we still need bottle banks when we have doorstep recycling? A relevant question as Haringey Council is on the brink of scrapping them.

Doorstop recycling is great idea in principle. It responds to the reality of any time poor Londoner; there aren’t enough hours in the day to do everything let along make it to the bottle bank. Green boxes are an easy and convenient method that lots of Councils have chosen to increase the amount of waste recycled.

The problem is that it is the best worst option. That might sound a bit strange, but here’s what I mean. Take an ordinary glass bottle, let’s say a wine bottle. After you have finished the last drop of that cheeky red I am sure you diligently put it in your green box.

Here is where the problem starts. Because not only do you put in wine bottle from Friday night, but you also put in the weekend’s newspapers, the pizza flyers that come through your letter box and your plastic milk containers after you finished the last drop milk for your crunchy-nut cornflakes that morning.

When this mix leaves your doorstep and gets crushed in the lorries that transports it to the recovery centre, the damage is done. The dreams of that poor bottle are crushed and that empty bottle of cheeky red has absolutely no chance of ever been turned back into even a milk bottle let alone the finest Chateauneuf-du-Pape.

The bottle does get kind of recycled, but the best that poor bottle can ever hope to be is road fill because of the contamination. Hardly the most glamorous end to your favourite Pinot Noir but more seriously, what is lost when it is recycling in this way is the enormous energy saving potential of that glass. It takes about seven times the amount of energy to make new glass than is does to make glass from recycled glass. An extremely important fact as we try to reduce our carbon footprint.

Until a more perfect and cost effective alternative presents itself, kerbside recycling in its current form is here to stay for a while. But in the meantime, why not keep our bottle banks? When practical, I am sure many people are happy to take their glass to the supermarket bottle bank instead of consigning it to be become part of the M1 extension.

Taking the greenest option away is simply ludicrous and retrograde step in our fight to make our communities more environmentally friendly. I for one will be fighting to keep our bottle banks not only to help drive down our borough’s carbon emission, but so green bottles can still dream of rediscovering their cheeky former selves.