Category: Counting On …

Reflections and actions during COP26 and going on

 Counting on …day 185

17th May 2022

The public are being urged to keep an eye out for any signs of disease in local trees, as the UK launches a hi-tech, £5.8m tree laboratory to fight the spread of pests and diseases. The UK is especially vulnerable to the growing spread of plant pathogens because of warmer, wetter winters, and because it is a hub for global trade. The public can report sightings via the Tree Alert site, and a specialist will come and look at the tree, or send samples for further testing. One pest that affects Richmond Park is the oak procession are moth.

“First identified in London in 2006, it probably arrived on imported live wood. It has since been found in some surrounding counties. The caterpillars will be emerging over the next three months. They are black with long white hairs and move in long nose-to-tail processions, which give them their name. The nests are usually the shape of a dome or teardrop and are around the size of a tennis ball. They strip bark off oak trees and cause them to lose their leaves. The caterpillars can cause rashes and breathing difficulties, and should not be touched.”

https://www.newsbreak.com/news/2602005258609/how-to-spot-bark-beetles-and-deadly-fungus-the-uk-s-new-tree-saving-lab-needs-your-help

 Counting on …day 184

16th May 2022

Most plastics can now be recycled especially as much plastic packaging is what is known as ‘soft plastic’. Soft plastics can be recycled at various supermarkets including the Coop and Amazon Fresh. To check what counts as soft plastic, the Coop has a good listing- https://www.coop.co.uk/environment/soft-plastics/packaging-list

Want to know what happens to the plastic that goes into the recycling bin? https://greentau.org/2022/02/10/green-tau-issue-33/

Counting on …day 183 

15th May 2022

An update from DEFRA reported that only 44% of the 2.5m tonnes of plastic packaging waste produced in 2021 was recovered for recycling. This compares with 73.6% for glass. (https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/uk-waste-data/uk-statistics-on-waste )Plastic can seem harder to recycle because it comes in so many different categories each with its own recycling protocol. Greenpeace’s plastic survey – The Big Plastic Count – which starts tomorrow will collect data that can be used to ease/ resolve this problem. https://thebigplasticcount.com/

Counting on … day 181

13th May 2022

Eating less meat is good for the environment, for the climate and for releasing resources to ensure everyone across the globe can be fed. An environmental newsletter, The Conversation, provides tips  to help people reduce the amount of meat they eat, based on research by the LEAP team (Livestock, Environment and People) at the University of Oxford. 

  1. Make at least one of your main meals vegetarian.
  2. Double the veg, halve the meat in your meals.
  3. Set a maximum number of animal products to eat today and stick to it.
  4. Try a new vegetarian recipe.
  5. Make your lunch and dinner vegetarian.
  6. Eat only plant-based snacks throughout the day.

https://theconversation.com/uk/newsletters/the-daily-2

Counting on …day 180 

12th May 2022

“Make do and mend” reduces the amount we consume, making our lifestyles more sustainable. Repairing a pair of trousers so that they can be worn for a couple more years makes good sense. 

Repairing sheets – https://greentau.org/2021/09/20/count-down-58/ 

Darning –  https://greentau.org/count-down/

 Counting on …day 179

11th May 2022

One victim of the war in Ukraine, is the global supply of wheat. Ukraine is usually a major exporter of wheat but this year will only produce a fraction of their normal harvest. This short fall in wheat supplies will affect many countries across the world – eg Lebanon, Egypt, Somalia and Laos. Across the globe wheat is grown not just for human consumption but as animal feed too. If more people followed a plant based diet, we would be better able to feed everyone. 

 Counting on ….day 178

10th May 2022

In a world where resources are limited, we need to avoid waste them.  One way is  to ‘make do and mend’. By repairing and maintaining and repurposing things we can prolong their useable lifespan before recycling them. This skilfully repaired dustbin belongs to a neighbour. The less skilfully repaired coffee filter is mine – gaffer tape can mend a lot of things.