NIMBY'ism reaches new solar heights

not in my back landfill!

Spotted this in The Boston Globe and just had to share.

A the 'Globe puts it - 'NIMBY-ism taken to head-scratching extremes', after residents blocked a plan to install solar panels on a former landfill site, claiming their view would be disturbed.

Read their full report here.

photo credit: d'arcy norman

North Tyneside energy plant runs on rubbish

Taken from the Journal Live

A factory on an industrial estate on the north bank of the Tees is now the destination for thousands of tonnes of rubbish from homes in Northumberland and North Tyneside.

The Energy from Waste (EfW) plant is what used to be known as an incinerator. But bosses at Sita UK, which runs the plant, stress it is about more than burning rubbish.

Ian Haswell, regional manager for Sita Tees Valley said: “We’re not an incinerator – that is a very small part of the process. In effect we’re a power plant generating electricity for 36,000 households.”

Waste - we can't get away from it, despite the best efforts of recycling centre's and manufactures alike. At least this little lot isn't going into landfill.

Read the full story (click here) on how Sita Tees Valley are taking the heat from the incineration process and water from the Tees to produce steam which powers turbines - the water is reclaimed from the steam and the ash is sent to be processed for aggregate use.

photo credit: nicholas smale

Want not waste could be driving kitchen designs

I read somewhere recently that as a society, we throw a lot of spoilt food away before we get to eat it. That's your hard-earned cash being tipped, scrapped or dropped straight into the bin.

The figures as a nation are astronomical.

More recently, attitudes have started to change - mush of it I suspect with the rationing on wheelie bin collections - but whatever the reason, it's to be welcomed.

These new found attitudes are also finding there way into kitchen design as its recognised that lots of cupboard space equals lots of dark cubbyholes in which to loose food at the back of.

Lots of cupboard space also means a hiding place for endless kitchen devices, glass and crockery that probably seemed like a good idea at the time, but has never ventured out of the box even.

So less is very much more as kitchen designers turn their attention to quality appliances that you will use on an everyday basis - hobs, ovens with built in microwave cookers, multi-place dishwashers with a rated energy efficient cool wash settings and extractor hoods and fans that make open plan kitchens a pleasure to mingle in rather than somewhere best kept behind closed doors.

If you're planning a kitchen makeover, then it's a very good time to think about the flooring. If you're tiling the floor, why not look into an underfloor heating system - perhaps one that can one day be run from a ground source heat pump or a solar installation? There will never be a better time than when you've got the whole floor uncovered.

Many will cite the food wastage is all to be blamed on the fridge, and whilst if you've got a large family (like me) when nothing short of a wardrobe sized appliance will do, most fitted kitchens are offering more modest chilled storage built into cupboard units.

People are changing their habits and the kitchen fitting industry has responded. If you're thinking of having a new fitted kitchen, why not start by getting an online quote for your plans? You can use our sister website KitchenQuoter - free, online quotes for your dream kitchen in minutes.

photo credit: pacdog

62 million tonnes a year goes to landfill

It's just a truly shocking figure - 62 million tonnes of waste every year is being buried in holes in the ground in the UK.

One site in Bury receives 600,000 tonnes alone, which is bulldozed into an old sand quarry.

The BBC Science & Environment pages report on Environment Secretary Hilary Benn as she calls for a radical rethink on waste management and household waste recycling.

The "50 year bubble in which we though we could throw away things without regard to the consequences" is bursting.

Read the full, and very interesting piece, on the BBC website by clicking here.

photo credit: dnorman