Green Matters - March 2008
Down to earth
Residents living in highrise flats have been using compost made from their own food waste to get their gardens ready for Spring.
The Council’s recycling team has been holding a number of trials – including a food waste pilot – to find the best way of collecting recycling from estates and high-rises.
People were given kitchen caddies with compostable liners, which they filled with scraps. The full bags were then taken to an on-site recycling bank.
Residents of All Nations House, who took part in the trial, were also keen to revamp their gardens. Using compost made from their food waste, they got their hands dirty and jazzed up their flower beds.
Jo Galbraith said: “It is great to physically see the benefits of recycling my vegetable peelings and food scraps. The compost produced is of good quality and is helping to make things greener.”
Residents who live in street-level properties can recycle their kitchen waste using the Blue Bin scheme. All the compost produced is used on Hackney’s parks and green spaces.
Compost samples are often given away at recycling events, so keep an eye on these pages for a chance to bag some.
Treat your box right
The wrong materials have been finding their way into Hackney’s green boxes.
Officers who monitor the boxes’ contents have reported an increase in unsuitable items being put out for recycling, including various plastics, broken glass and household rubbish.
Crews sort the contents at the roadside, meaning that precious time is spent weeding out these offenders from the recyclable goods.
If you are in any doubt about what you can and can’t recycle, call the recycling hotline: 020 8356 6688.
Some of the repeat offenders
- Yogurt pots
- Margarine/butter tubs
- Broken glass
- Household rubbish
- Drinking glasses
- Window glass
- Plastic meat trays
- Tetrapak and drinks cartons
- Plastic egg boxes
- Plastic food packaging
Greener energy for Games
The latest plans for a 2012 Olympic Games Energy Centre near Hackney Wick have been unveiled.
Residents had a chance to see the designs and ask questions at Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) run drop-in sessions at Hackney Wick Community Association on 18 February, and Hackney Central Library on 20 February.
The centre will provide hot water, and heat the Aquatics Centre pools, as well as supplying various heating and cooling systems across the Olympic park.
It will be partly housed in a renovated Victorian building in Kings Yard on Carpenters Road, E15.
Construction work will begin in the summer to coincide with the start of work on the main venues, which will mean that utility connections can be fitted in the foundations.
The Energy Centre is designed to be flexible so that future technologies can be used to supply buildings and communities in the area long after the Games.
The centre will also have biomass boilers, which will use sustainable fuels such as woodchip, as well as gas, to generate heat. A Combined Cooling Heat and Power (CCHP) plant will capture heat the that is generated by electricity production.
A planning application for the Energy Centre will be submitted in March.
For more information call the ODA energy team on: 0203 023 6078.
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Page updated: 15 Jun 2010
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