September 2007

Recycling in Somerset

The July meeting of the Group gave us an insight into what Somerset was doing to improve recycling in our county.

 

Most impressive was the news that Somerset recycles 47% of its waste at present against a national average of 21%.

 

Of an average Somerset bin 17% is paper and this is sent to Kent Recycling 1 tonne of paper saves 30,000 litres of water and enough electricity for a 3-bedroom house for a year.

 

5% is card and this is sent to a mill in West Somerset 1 tonne of cardboard is the equivalent of 17 trees You can now recycle card using the bin in the Village Hall car park in North Curry.

 

8% is glass and this is sent to Essex.1 glass bottle saves enough energy to run a TV for 11/2 hours.

 

2% is plastic bottles sold to recycling companies in the UK You can recycle bottles with the 1, 2 or 3 mark in the bin in the Village Hall car park. Remove tops and crush first, please.

 

28% is kitchen waste and this is sent to Dimmer, Castle Cary where it is turned into compost.

 

8% is garden waste and this is sent to one of 8 composting plants in Somerset. It is turned into soil conditioner.

 

3% is metal cans and tins sent to a plant in Carmarthenshire 1 aluminium can saves enough energy to run a TV for 3 hours.

 

4% is textiles which are sent to Wiltshire and separated into wearable items for use in developing countries, wiping cloths for industry, shredded to use as filling materials or reclaimed to make new yarns and fabrics.

 

For more information see: www.recyclesomerset.org.uk

 

ENERGY SAVING LIGHT BULBS

What are Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFLs)?
Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFLs) are a modern type of light bulb that will fit into a standard light fitting, usually a bayonet fitting but they are also available with screw fittings. Most CFLs either consist of a number of short glass sticks or two or three small tubular loops. Sometimes these are enclosed in a glass bowl or made to look like a traditional bulb. CFLs work
in much the same way as a fluorescent strip light: the inside is coated with a phosphor that gives off the light and there is an electronic ballast to start the lamp operating. CFLs are often called low energy lamps because they use less energy than the traditional incandescent bulbs. As they plug in directly to the normal light fittings they work off the UK's standard 230V supply and should not be confused with low-voltage lamps that do not offer significant energy or cost savings.

The savings
Energy saving light bulbs last around 10 times longer than ordinary light bulbs and can save you £9 per year in electricity (and 38 kilograms of C02) or £60 over the bulb's lifetime.

 

How the savings add up
If everyone installed just one energy saving light bulb the C02 emissions saved would fill more than 1 million double-decker buses. And if each house installed three energy saving bulbs, it would save enough energy to run the country's streetlights for a year.

 

The future
You can now also buy low energy light fittings that will only take low energy light bulbs. These use a ballast or transformer fitted into the base of the light fitting. It controls the supply of electricity to the bulb, allowing for a small surge of power for a millisecond to light the bulb and then reducing the electricity flow to a very low level. Low energy fittings require a pin-based energy saving bulb. This is a different fitting to a conventional bulb but will ensure that the bulbs you buy in future will always save energy, money and the environment.

 

The myths

Should I leave CFLs on when I leave a room to keep saving money?
No! There used to be a general belief that because fluorescent strip lights used more power in their warm-up phase, then it was better to leave them on all the time. This was never true - an old style strip light only uses as much energy in the warm-up phase as it does whilst operating for a minute or so, and modern electronic ballast CFLs use even less energy at the start. Although CFLs do not use much electricity it is still best to keep them switched off when not wanted - why throw money away on anything that is not needed?

 

Energy saving bulbs contain mercury - bad for the environment.
True - about 4 milligrammes per bulb - but 3 times less than the mercury released into the atmosphere by burning the coal to power incandescent bulbs. The mercury is sealed and could be recycled but a recommendation on recycling energy saving bulbs is still in the pipeline. Watch this space!

 

Energy saving lights are too big and bulky to really be an option.
Energy saving bulbs have improved considerably and you can now get ones that look just like their non efficient counterparts. In addition to look-alike products they also come in stick, candle and halogen options

 

Energy saving light bulbs are much more expensive.
The prices have come down in recent times - see table below - and many of the major supermarkets and retailers sell them even more  cheaply. Because they use less energy they will lower electricity bills, a saving of up to £9 per year per bulb is possible.

 

Energy saving light bulbs take a long time to turn on.
There have also been improvements in technology allowing 'instant start up' (as opposed to the traditional warm up period associated with low-energy bulbs), and warmer tones from the light itself that avoids the harsh white light traditionally associated with these bulbs.

 

The wattages of energy saving bulbs are lower, does that mean the light is not as bright and which one will I need?
Energy saving light bulbs use up to four times less electricity to generate the same amount of light. See the table below:

 

Ordinary bulb	Energy saving equivalent	Ordinary bulb	Energy saving equivalent
25 W	6W	60W	13-18W
40W	8-11W	100W	20-25W

 

You can't use energy saving bulbs on dimmer switches
Manufacturers are working to solve the problem of eco friendly bulbs that work on a dimmer switch. Two that are available are Megaman 11 watt dimming energy spotlight £14.95 mail order from The Green Shop 01452 770629 or ww.greenshop.co.uk or DigiFlux dimmer bulb from £8.50 www.e-tradecounter.co.uk

A recent article in The Guardian was critical of the information given on the boxes of low energy bulbs, which is not standardised. The writer, Dr Matt Prescott, provided the following table:

 

TRADITIONAL STYLE ECO LIGHT BULBS

Brand

Warm up time*

Light quality*

Looks*

Lifetime (hours)

Cost

Tesco 60W**	9	9	8	6000	81 p
GE 60W	9	9	8	6000	£24x6
Phillips 60W**	10	10	10	8000	3.99
Phillips 100W	9	10	6	8000	3.99
GE 100W	9	10	4	6000	£24x6

 

STICK STYLE ECO LIGHT BULBS

Brand	Warm up time*	Light quality*	Looks*	Lifetime (hours)		Cost
Tesco 60W	9	8	9		6000	81 p
Morrisons 60W	9	8	8		6000	1.99 x2
Osram 60W	8	7	10		10,000	1.99
Osram 100W	9	9	8		10,000	1.99
Morrisons 100W screw fix	9	8	8		6000	1.99 x2

 

* score out of 10
 ** Best Buys
Wattages are equivalent output of incandescent light bulbs GE bulbs available from www.energysaving world.co.uk,
Phillips bulbs from Homebase, Currys, Clarkes Electrical, Osram bulbs from Sainsbury, Co-op, BHS

 

USEFUL ADDRESSES/WEBSITES

Junk mail To stop junk mail contact The Mailing Preference Service, Freepost 29 (LON20771) London W1E OZT or email mps@dma.org.uk
Furniture and appliances To get rid of unwanted household items ring the Home Furniture Trust 01823 253053 - they will collect free
Compostable bin liners To order ring 0870 849 4858 or buy them in the Post Office Stores - 52 mini caddy liners cost about £4.50
Garden composting A series of free events are being run to provide help and advice on all aspects of home composting.
Sat. 29th Sept - Hestercombe Gardens (nr Taunton, TA2 8LG) - please note, usual entry fee to the Gardens applies,
Sat. 27th Oct - Montacute Gardens (Montacute, TA15 6XP).