Issue 2 December 2013 Printed on recycled paper - read me, recycle me

Transcription

1 Cheshire West & Chester Council Recycle First News Issue 2 December 2013 Printed on recycled paper - read me, recycle me Read on Christmas collection day changes Festive Ask the experts Chester students Recycle First Lovely leftover recipes Food waste recycling is easier than ever The festive season is fast approaching and it s a bumper time for recycling. With food waste on the increase at this time of year, it may be good to hear that you can now line your food waste caddy with plastic bags such as carrier bags or pedal bin liners. If you wish to continue using compostable bags or newspaper to line your caddy, these will still be processed along with your food waste. Please continue to place your bagged food waste into your brown bin before placing it out for collection. Wasted food and drink costs the average UK family almost 60 a month, see inside for ways to Love Food, Hate Waste this Christmas. For more information please tel: or enquiries@cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk visit: cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk/recyclefirst

2 2 Recycle First in action Ask the experts Our experienced Customer Service Representatives answer the latest questions that you have been asking. Are there any changes to collections this Christmas? Yes, collection days will be changing. Please check the table on the opposite page to find your revised collection day. What if I have too much recycling over the festive period to fit into my recycling boxes? Can I put extra recycling out? Additional recycling can be placed out for collection next to your recycling boxes in suitable, clearly labelled containers such as a carrier bag or a plastic storage box (this container will be returned after emptying). Please separate the materials as you would in your recycling boxes. Do I put my real Christmas tree inside my green wheeled bin or do I leave the tree next to it? Please cut up your real Christmas tree and place it inside the green wheeled bin for recycling with the lid closed. Trees with decorations on the branches cannot be taken. If you have an artificial tree you wish to dispose of please take it to your local Household Waste Recycling Centre. Garden waste collections will be suspended for two weeks, commencing Monday, 30 December 2013, resuming on Monday, 13 January Once collections resume, please place out your green wheeled bin on your scheduled collection day as per collection calendar. Can I recycle Christmas cards and wrapping paper? Yes, cards and wrapping paper can both be recycled. Christmas cards (with your cardboard), envelopes and wrapping paper (with your paper) can be placed in the green box. We cannot recycle foil wrapping paper, please put this in your black wheeled bin. Cardboard can be recycled too but please remember to flatten boxes to fit inside your green box. Larger cardboard boxes can either be folded to the size of the green box and left to the side of the box on collection day or ripped up into smaller pieces and placed in the green box. Cardboard can also be taken to your local Household Waste Recycling Centre. What types of plastic packaging can be recycled in the grey/red box? Shaped plastic packaging from toys and other gifts can be put into the grey/red box for recycling but all cardboard should be removed from the packaging. We are unable to recycle hard plastic such as toys and plastic ties as well as bubble wrap, plastic bags/film and black plastic. Please continue to recycle the other types of plastic too such as plastic bottles, plastic pots, tubs and trays. What are the opening times of the Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRC) over the festive period? All the HWRCs are open everyday from 8am to 4pm apart from Christmas Day when the sites are closed.

3 3 LIVE need more of these educational sessions guys. Very #recycling Very interesting. As a household we recycle almost everything. Black bin not even quarter my 3yr old loves the collection trucks and your guys always wave to her! Live action tweeted from collection crews Residents had the chance to see how our innovative Recycle First service works on the ground recently when we hosted the first of our series of Twitter days. The Council tweeted live on-the-job with the Recycle First collection crews as they worked across the borough. Residents followed their recycling and waste on its journey from the kerbside to the recycling centres. Photos, videos and tweets followed the action of a typical day. Residents joined the conversation on the day using the hashtag: #cwaclive and experts were on hand to answer all their questions quickly. You can follow all the Council s up-to-date action on twitter by Alternatively, for those not on twitter, all tweets are featured on the Council s website. Christmas 2013 collection dates Check the table for your revised recycling and waste collection dates over the festive season. Please ensure the correct containers are available for collection by 7am at the edge of your property or agreed collection point. Garden waste collections will be suspended for two weeks, commencing Monday, 30 December 2013, resuming on Monday, 13 January 2014 Normal collection date Revised collection date Wednesday, 25 December 2013 Friday, 27 December 2013 Thursday, 26 December 2013 Saturday, 28 December 2013 Friday, 27 December 2013 Monday, 30 December 2013 Monday, 30 December 2013 Tuesday, 31 December 2013 Tuesday, 31 December 2013 Thursday, 2 January 2014 Wednesday, 1 January 2014 Friday, 3 January 2014 Thursday, 2 January 2014 Saturday, 4 January 2014 Friday, 3 January 2014 Monday, 6 January 2014 Monday, 6 January 2014 Tuesday, 7 January 2014 Tuesday, 7 January 2014 Wednesday, 8 January 2014 Wednesday, 8 January 2014 Thursday, 9 January 2014 Thursday, 9 January 2014 Friday, 10 January 2014 Friday, 10 January 2014 Saturday, 11 January 2014

4 4 Recycle First success Recycling rates reached a record high in with 56 per cent of waste being recycled. There are some impressive amounts of recycling being collected from our residents. GARDEN WASTE Compost can be applied in a range of end uses, within gardens, on brownfield sites, landscaping and full scale agriculture. GARDEN WASTE COLLECTED 28,613 TONNES GLASS COLLECTED 10,168 TONNES GLASS Glass is perfect for recycling you can recycle it back into new bottles and jars over and over again, without its clarity deteriorating. Glass products can use up to 90 per cent recycled materials. FOOD WASTE In the UK we throw away a third of the food we buy, most of this could have been eaten. (Source: Love Food Hate Waste) FOOD WASTE COLLECTED 6,052 TONNES PAPER If every person in England recycled just one more glossy magazine every week together we'd save the same amount of energy that is used by 3,152 households in one year. PAPER COLLECTED 8,190 TONNES Recycling makes a significant contribution towards reducing our carbon footprint. Thanks to all your recycling efforts, last year we stopped over 31 million kilograms* being generated. That s the equivalent to 20,000 family cars being taken off the road for a whole year. * CO 2 calculations are made using DEFRA's Conversion Factors for Company Reporting. Want to know more? Visit the Recycle First website: and you can keep track of the Recycle First success by seeing month-by-month recycling tonnages. You will also find out where the materials go after they are collected and how each material is recycled into something new.

5 The freezer - your festive friend You d be amazed at how many foods you can freeze. You can freeze food right up until the use-by-date - so if you ve spotted something in the fridge that s just about to go off, you ll be able to enjoy it in the future by popping it in the freezer. 5 Did you know you can freeze all of these foods? 4 Potatoes and other root vegetables just blanch in boiling water for a few minutes, cool, and freeze in bags or tubs. 4 Hard cheeses it s very tempting to splurge on lots of yummy cheese at Christmas, but it doesn t always get eaten. Thankfully, Cheddar and Parmesan can be grated and Stilton crumbled before popping in the freezer then add straight into soups, pasta, lasagne, gratins the possibilities are endless. 4 Lemons are your lemons about to go past their best? Slice them up and freeze, they make refreshing ice cubes for your New Year parties. 4 Leftover roast meat don t let it go to waste, pop it in the freezer then use it again in a tasty pie or curry. 4 Fresh herbs add them to oil and/or butter then freeze to use another time. 4 Bread - when buying bread over the Christmas holidays, remember to put some straight into the freezer. It keeps perfectly for when it is needed, and you can use a sliced loaf at breakfast by toasting slices straight from frozen. Don t forget to eat from the freezer in the run up to the big day, freeing up space for all those lovely leftovers. Plan your perfect Christmas Some simple, quick planning before the chaos begins will mean that you have just the right amount of food for the festive period. It needn t be boring get the family involved and see how much money you can save by only buying food that will get eaten. If you re smartphone-savvy, there s a handy meal planner on the Love Food Hate Waste app it s free to download. If you re not sure how much food to buy check out the Love Food Hate Waste portion calculator at The calculator helps work out how many sprouts, roasties and turkey might be needed by simply entering the number of people that will be around the festive table. Make sure you write a shopping list before you hit the shops and stick to it this will make sure you re not tempted to buy things you don t need. But if you do go off list check the date and storage guidance and plan them into your meal to ensure they get eaten.

6 6 Recycle First locally Chester Students are helped to Recycle First The Council s Recycling Engagement Officers and its collection partner, Kier, have teamed up with The University of Chester, Chester s Students Union, and private landlords to help the 2,500 students in the Garden Quarter area of Chester to recycle. Having already rolled out a very successful compliance campaign in this area the Council officers were keen to ensure the new influx of students fully understood the Recycle First recycling service so they could participate too. During the first two weeks of term, help and advice was available on collection days and every student household received a visit. This ongoing engagement ensured students new to the area learned about what to put in their recycling containers and when to put them out for collection. As part of the campaign a special Recycle First Student Guide was delivered to all Chester students via and was also made available through the University and Recycle First websites. More activities are planned throughout the year in partnership with the University to promote waste reduction and reuse. These will include Student s Love Food Hate Waste cookery sessions, pizza and chat nights, and student textbook bring and buy sales. Children get creative with healthy leftovers Photo: Healthbox staff Jenni Moss and Mark Gleave with Zack Dean and Megan Mellor from Overhall Primary School, Winsford. Primary school children received expert advice and cookery lessons from qualified nutritionists at the recent Junior Environment Club launch events. Staff from Healthbox, a Community Interest Company, delivered interactive Love Food Hate Waste cookery sessions resulting in some tasty salsa creations made by the children themselves. Mixing common leftover ingredients such as sweetcorn, tomatoes, onions and peppers educated the children in healthy eating as well as reducing food waste. This activity was just one of many that the children took part in at the event. Activities around composting, litter and recycling were designed to encourage children to reduce waste and look after their environment. For more information about the Junior Environment Club please contact Liz Ellis, Recycling Awareness Officer on:

7 7 Real nappies, real change Working with real nappy experts Go Real, the Council funds a trial kit scheme that gives parents the opportunity to try the different types, fabrics and styles of washable nappies over a period of three weeks in the comfort of their own home. West Cheshire residents can access a Real Nappy trial kit, completely free of charge. By testing the different real nappies available, the kit helps parents to make the best decision on which nappies are right for them. To find out more information visit the West Cheshire Real Nappy website at: or call the free real nappy helpline on: Local communities benefit from volunteers knowledge The Waste Reduction Volunteers have been busy attending fun events and giving engaging talks to help residents save money by reducing their food waste and by starting to home compost. If you are interested in becoming a member of our fully trained and supported Waste Reduction Volunteers then please contact the Volunteer Coordinator, Holly Jaskolka on:

8 Getting creative with Christmas leftovers Instead of wasting uneaten food, try turning delicious leftovers into tasty new dishes. Here are a couple of recipes, by experienced food writer Caroline Marson, for you to try. TURKEY HAM AND LEEK PIE A traditional turkey or chicken pie contains lots of vegetables and is the perfect use up dish. You can add almost anything to your pie, such as mushrooms, potatoes, sweetcorn, peas, spinach, parsnips, carrots and broad beans. This recipe makes use of the turkey stock from Christmas dinner, but you can make it richer, if you prefer, by adding cream or crème fraiche to the sauce. INGREDIENTS: 90g butter 25g flour 1 litre turkey stock a pinch of salt black pepper 1 tablespoon English mustard 350g cooked turkey or chicken, cut into chunks or strips 125g cooked ham, cut into chunks 6 leeks, cleaned and chopped 2 tablespoons chopped parsley 200g ready-made shortcrust pastry 1 lightly beaten egg INSTRUCTIONS: 1. Preheat the oven to 220 C (425 F) gas mark seven. 2. Melt the butter in a heavy based pan. Take the pan off the heat and add the flour. Whisk in the turkey stock and cook over a medium heat, stirring all the time until the sauce is smooth. Season well and add the mustard. 3. Place the turkey pieces, ham and leeks in the bottom of an oval pie dish, sprinkle with the fresh parsley and pour over the sauce. 4. Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface and cover the pie dish with the pastry. 5. Brush the top of the pastry with a little beaten egg and bake in the oven for minutes. After this time reduce the heat to 180 C (350 F) gas mark four and bake for a further 15 minutes. CHRISTMAS PUDDING STRUDEL An impressive dessert made from leftover Christmas pudding. INGREDIENTS 250g ricotta cheese black pepper zest of 1 orange 250g leftover Christmas pudding, crumbled 3 large sheets of filo pastry 25g melted Butter ground cinnamon brown sugar vanilla ice cream, custard or cream to serve INSTRUCTIONS 1. In a bowl mix together the cheese, black pepper, orange zest, juice and crumbled Christmas pudding. 2. Lay out the sheets of filo pastry, brush each sheet with melted butter and place on top of each other. Spread the filling at one end of the filo square. 3. Fold one end of pastry over the mixture and continue rolling, tucking each end to create a seal, until you have a tight filo parcel log. 4. Brush the top with butter and sprinkle with a little cinnamon and brown sugar. 5. Bake at 200 C (400 F) gas mark six for about 25 minutes or until golden brown and crispy on the base. Serve in slices with cream, vanilla ice cream or warm custard.