Weekly News Articles

Already this year gas and electricity prices have risen twice and look set to rise further in future years.

It is estimated that you can save about £200 a year by using your energy more efficiently.

At the present time large grants are available to almost everybody in Essex to help them install energy efficient measures such as cavity wall or loft insulation. In many cases if you are on benefits these can be installed for free.

In addition, the majority of people have never shopped around for cheaper energy suppliers. This is probably because most people feel that it is a big hassle. However, the process is quite easy if you use one of the energy comparison services available.

To make it easy for you a list of such services are listed on our website, alternatively if you are not on the internet pop into en-form for a free energy check.

If you live in Harbour Ward you may soon be getting a call from us, as we have recently received funding to help around 100 households to improve their energy use.

All the hard work will be done for you as we will be helping you complete the forms, apply for grants and offering free energy advice. If you live in Harbour Ward and want to take advantage of this free service give us a call.

Finally, our paint recycling project Re>Paint is up and running in Colchester. If you have some unwanted but still useable paint you no longer need you can now leave it at the special skips at Shrub End, Colchester and Rush Green, Clacton Civic Amenity sites. The paint is distributed free of charge to local charities, schools or community groups. If you are a member of a group who wants free paint give us a call.

Have an environmentally friendly Christmas.

Most are easy to answer but once or twice a week we receive a more challenging question.

One such question we have recently been asked is whether recycling is profitable in its own right.

Profitable recycling relies on a number of factors such as the material to be recycled, technology available, the cost of disposal, collection and recycling and even time.

Materials such as scrap metal and textiles have always been profitable and continue to be profitable today.

Paper and glass varies – sometimes it is profitable and at other times it is not.

Likewise, plastics can be profitable in certain circumstances.

In Victorian times even recycling bones was profitable and gave rise to the rag and bone man.

The cost of collection is the main factor behind profitability.

For instance in Colchester the cost of setting up the recycling service in the first place is expensive. The more we use the service the cheaper it becomes. If everybody used the recycling service the cost to us all through our council tax would fall.

Another factor is the cost of disposal. Not just the direct costs but the environmental cost such as dealing with global warming and pollution.

To complicate matters further energy and transport costs have to be taken into account. For instance vast amounts of energy are used to make aluminium from bauxite. This is not required for recycling. Transporting aluminium from far off countries is costly, uses large amounts of energy and is only made possible by exploiting the local workers.

We are also running out of natural resources and need to conserve them by re-using them more than once.

Finally there is the aesthetic cost. Do you want to live near a pile of rubbish, huge mines or have all the trees cut down.

I have yet to find a cradle to grave calculation made for recycling, which is very much needed, and as you can see the answer is not clear cut.

To sum up recycling can be profitable but we all need to take part. However, the real challenge is not to produce so much waste in the first place.

We live in an old town with a population that has expanded significantly over the last 30 years and is set to increase even more.

Our roads have not and cannot keep pace with the growth of the town. Many residents even find it more convenient to shop in other towns than to visit our own town centre.

We live in the age of the car and whilst they provide us with cheap, independent and convenient travel, they also choke our towns, are noisy, cause pollution and raise our stress levels.

It is unlikely that car use will decline. In fact, it is set to rise significantly in future years and solutions are not easy to find.

What we can all do is to try to use the car a little less. Do you need to drive into town? Do you need to use the car on the school run?

On 22nd September en-form and other local groups are holding an In Town Without My Car Day. We will have about 20 stalls from local groups with an emphasis on transport set up near the Learning Shop.

If you get time pop a long and give us your opinion on transport in Colchester. Should the High Street be pedestrianised? Does Colchester need a Park and Ride Scheme? Would you like to join the Car Share Register?

If you can’t come along, let us know what you think anyway. Answer the survey on our website at www.en-form.org.uk.

If you normally use a car try using alternatives on this day and lets see if it makes a difference. Try the bus or train. Its actually cheaper to go into town by bus when parking charges are taken into account.

If you live a few miles a way why not walk or cycle in. If you don’t feel confident on your bike ask us about cycle training.

It was a bit of a last minute entry but thanks to the hard work of the Colchester Town Partnership, Colchester Borough Council and a number of local community groups and individuals an entry was made.

The judges visited us in July and we now have to wait until September to hear the results. Although we hope Colchester does well we won’t mind too much if we don’t get the result we want as it was our first year.

When you work on a project like this you realise just how many attractive features Colchester has. The Castle park, our roundabouts and verges, some fantastic nature reserves and wonderful school gardens.

Unfortunately, you also notice areas which are not so good. Litter and graffiti are the two worst areas. It’s very embarrassing to be standing near a judge with a pile of litter and graffiti in front of you.

Because it’s an everyday feature we don’t even notice how bad the situation is any more. Just look around you next time you are out.

However I digress. Anglia in Bloom followed hot on the heels of Colchester in Bloom. This is a competition open to local businesses and individuals and has been going for many years. There have also been a number of ‘in Bloom’ competitions held by other districts and villages around the Town.

One of our ideas for next year is to set up an Anglia in Bloom Committee with work starting now and involving the whole community. We would like to include all the other local competitions leading to a Colchester in Bloom final. We also want to compile a list of community actions such as community gardens over the next year and raise money to build a drought garden.

So if you would like to become involved or want to see this year’s entry please pop into en-form.

The good news is that the recycling rate has increased by a whopping 13% according to provisional figures. If this figure is confirmed it will make us one of the top recycling areas in the country.

However, since the launch of the service there have been a number of problems, which are being regularly reported in the press.

Despite the problems, which the council are investigating, en-form would urge everyone in Colchester to support the council’s service and continue to recycle while the problems are being sorted out.

Although not all the problems have been resolved, and it could take a few more weeks yet, we have noticed that things have improved in most areas and continue to improve week by week.

As we walk the streets of Colchester for our survey we have been asked questions and made a number of observations. We hope to address some of these in this column over the coming months.

We have been impressed with the number of people who recycle. However one thing we have noticed is that people are putting out a lot of there recycling in black plastic bin liners, which are tied up.

Unfortunately, refuse collectors do not have the time to look very closely and if your recycling is in black bin liners it will be treated as waste and sent to landfill.

So please, if you have taken the trouble to separate your waste for recycling please use the garden waste sacks or green box provided by the council or use old carrier bags or cardboard boxes where the contents can be clearly seen.

Now that the summer is well and truly here why not pick up a free local food directory and sample some of the local foods on your doorstep.They are freely available from libraries, visitor centres and Farmers’ Markets.

Finally, after 18 months struggling we have taken the decision to close Dedham Farmers’ Market.

I was surprised that the most annoying industry in Britain as voted by the viewers was junk mail.

I can however understand this; last year I was receiving about 75 junk mail items per week – none of which interested me at all.

Along with my colleagues at en-form I decided to register at the Mailing Preference Society and after 3 months my junk mail was reduced to just 5 items per week.

Registering will not stop all junk mail, but it can stop a lot of it.

So, if you do not want unsolicited junk mail make sure you register at the Mailing Preference Society. You can do this by post, internet at www.mps-online.org.uk or pick up a form from en-form. Alternatively visit the en-form website at www.en-form.org.uk and click on the stop junk mail campaign.

Not only will you reduce your waste but the time taken to open and throw away all this unwanted post.

Other helpful tips are to send back your junk mail in the freepost envelope that is normally enclosed. Cross through your name and address details and write across the letter ‘’under the Data Protection Act please remove me from your mailing list’’.

In the UK junk mail accounts for a staggering 235,000 tonnes per year which is roughly four times the total amount of waste produced in Colchester each year.

There are a number of environmental activities taking place in Colchester during June. Bike Week starts on the 12^th June with about 12 cycling related activities. Why not have a go on the Rickshaw Taxi which will be available in the Town Centre all week for a small donation.

One of the biggest local environmental events of the year, The Colne Valley Festival will be taking place at Chappel on the 26^th and 27^th June with most of the local environment groups represented.

And finally, en-form will be running the Clacton Farmers Market and Craft Fayre on the 12^th and 13^th June at the Clacton Factory Shopping Centre and the Colchester Farmers Market this Friday the 11^th June from 9am till 1pm at the Arts Centre.

If you would like any further information on anything mentioned this month please call into en-form.

Over the past few weeks garden waste sacks and recycling directory’s have been distributed, new collection vehicles have been brought into operation and recycling days have changed.

With so many changes taking place it is not surprising that some problems have occurred.

The good news is that the amount of interest shown in recycling has increased significantly, unfortunately to the point where it has been difficult to cope with the number of recycling enquiries being received. However, the system should bed down over the next couple of weeks. So please be patient and continue to recycle.

The recycling directory included one mistake. The charity that recycles bikes by sending them to the third world is Re ~Cycle in Mersea who can be contacted on 01206 382207 or www.re-cycle.org. Please don’t use the contact details in the directory.

In addition Emmaus the homeless Charity collects unwanted furniture for resale and they can be contacted at the Cowdray Centre on 01206 541616.

May the 22^nd is also ‘International Day for Biodiversity’ and the Essex Biodiversity Partnership have over 40 events going on throughout Essex. The full calendar of events can be found on the events section of www.essexbiodiversity.org.uk or we have details at en-form.

On the 8^th and 9^th of May en-form will also be launching the new Clacton Farmers Market at the Clacton Factory Shopping Village. Apart from the usual Farmers Market stalls selling a wide range of local produce including meat, fish, vegetables and the like the market includes a Garden and Plant Fayre - just in time for you to stock up your garden. The market opens at 10am until 6pm Saturday and an hour later on Sunday.

And finally don’t forget the Colchester Farmers Market this Friday the 7^th May which welcomes back plant stalls for the gardening season. The Colchester market is held at the Arts Centre 9am till 1.30pm.

We are blessed in this area with plenty of countryside, nature reserves and woodlands on our doorstep. We even have Castle Park bang in the middle of the town centre.

Make the most of these by taking regular walks through them. If you need to be more disciplined, take the Health Walks at Highwoods Country Park. The good news is that a brisk walk will burn up to 400 calories an hour.

Alternatively, why not discover some of our picturesque villages, by exploring them on your bike, and burn up another 400 calories an hour.

You could also try a spot of gardening, or take up an allotment. As well as being out in the fresh air, burning up 340 calories an hour, you can grow some healthy fruit and vegetables, and take them home and cook them and burn off another 120 calories an hour!

If you are feeling more energetic, why not become a conservation volunteer and really burn off those calories by looking after our local nature reserves.

If you want to volunteer, contact us at en-form, and we will put you in touch with local groups.

Finally, don’t forget to eat five pieces of fruit and veg per day.

If you don’t grow it yourself, don’t forget to buy it at Colchester Farmers’ Market this Friday.

The market is held at the Colchester Arts Centre, form 9.30am – 1.00pm. For more information of any of the items mentioned in this article, please contact us at en-form.

Before the charges were brought in London had the worst traffic congestion in the UK with drivers in central London spending half their time in queues.

Each weekday morning the equivalent of 25 lanes of traffic tried to enter central London costing an estimated £2-4 billion of time a week.

Reducing congestion is good news for those of us concerned with health and environmental issues.

Congestion can contribute to respiratory disorders, high stress levels, pollution contributing to the greenhouse effect and ozone depletion as well as coating our buildings and lungs in a black dust – making our world a little greyer.

Not all car users are required to pay the charge; emergency services and taxis for example do not have to pay, nor do some vehicles powered by cleaner alternative fuels.

The charges seem to have significantly reduced congestion in London and the money raised is going towards improving public transport, road maintenance and road safety.

However, not everyone is happy. Some businesses have had the cost of delivering and receiving goods increased and some claimed to have lost customers.

At the moment the scheme seems to be a big success with other cities considering similar schemes.

Are there any lessons that Colchester can learn. With many roads gridlocked in the rush hour and traffic set to increase dramatically, what methods can Colchester adopt to keep traffic moving.

This week also sees the beginning of Fairtrade Fortnight.  With Colchester aiming to become a Fairtrade Town why not take advantage of some of the offers on Fairtrade goods on sale at the moment or pop in to Traders Fair for their Fun Day and find out what its all about on the 6th March.

And finally, not forgetting Fairtrade to our local Farmers the Colchester Farmers' Market is on this Friday the 5th March at the Colchester Arts Centre from 9am till 1pm. 

However, this week after seven months of hard work, one of our projects, the Local Food Directory has finally been completed. It will be launched at the Colchester Farmers Market on Friday 6th February and copies will be available free of charge.

If you can’t get to the market this Friday the directory will be widely available throughout North East Essex from next week at Libraries, Visitor Centres and Farmers Markets. If your organisation or business would like a supply to distribute to your customers free of charge, please contact us at en-form.

Also this month, Colchester Council’s garden waste collection scheme reaches another milestone. Three garden waste sacks together with an instruction leaflet are now being delivered to every house with a garden in Colchester. This will make it very easy for you to recycle your garden waste and dispense with the weekly trip to the dump in future.

Since last April over 2000 tonnes of garden waste has been recycled using this scheme increasing the recycling rate in Colchester by over 6%. Now that everyone will receive free sacks this is set to increase even further next year.

Over the next two months new recycling services will be introduced by the council including a new plastic recycling service. A recycling directory will also be delivered to every home in Colchester which will tell you where and when you can recycle most of your waste.

Finally, don't forget the next Colchester Farmers' Market is being held at the Arts Centre in Church Street on Friday 6th February from 9.00am to 1.30pm. If you haven't been before give it a try - you'll be surprised at the variety and quality of the produce available.

Here are 12 ideas enough for one a month for you to try in 2004.

1) An easy one to get you going – collect up all your cards and give them to a collection scheme and help to raise money for a good cause. Collection boxes are at Tescos and WH Smith.

2) Burn off some of those extra calories and feel great - walk or bike to work at least one day a week.

3) Don’t just put out your rubbish start to recycle it. You can recycle glass, paper, cans and garden waste with your recycling collection.

4) Get healthy - visit a Farmer’s Market and try fresh, healthy and tastier food this year.

5) Compost your garden waste or recycle it through the free kerbside collection service in Colchester.

6) Save money and replace your old light bulbs with low energy ones.

7) Take a bag for life shopping with you instead of picking up a new plastic bag every time.

8) Turn off all your lights and electronic equipment when you’re not using them

9) Get out and about in the countryside and help with a conservation task or just enjoy the outdoors

10) When your out in the garden remember your not the only one out there. Put out food and water for the animals that may pay you a visit.

11)  Go for green power and change your electricity supplier. Find the best deals by checking with en-form.

12) Remember to turn off that tap, don’t let that water flow away needlessly.

For further information about any of the above or how to get that green new year started pop into your local, friendly environment centre.

Have a great New Year from all at en-form.

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