Tory Green Proposals

The London Daily Telegraph on 24th Nov 2009 reported that the opposition Conservative Party or Tories as they are called are proposing a coupon or voucher incentive to encourage households to recycle. These vouchers could be claimed from Marks and Spencer and Tesco. It was expected that claims up to GBP130 could be accumulated by a household per year.


It is estimated that these incentives could encourage households to recycle and the national recycling rates will increase by at least 30 per cent annually.

If more people were to recycle, there will less pressure on the landfills as less rubbish will be created and dumped. Councils would spend less on filling up the landfills and thus the money saved on landfill taxes could go to finance the claim vouchers.

The recycling plan is part of several green measures that also include:

* cutting carbon emissions in Britain by 10 per cent within a year

* creating the country’s first ‘green investment bank’

* introducing Green ISAs, encouraging investment in green technologies

* making Whitehall energy consumption ‘transparent’.

The Conservatives have carried out a pilot scheme in the Tory-led council areas of Windsor and Maidenhead where recycling points are set up where the vouchers can be redeemed online and spent at hundreds of local shops.

The points are then uploaded onto a computer database which can be accessed by residents to collect and redeem the points. It has enabled residents to earn a maximum of £130 per year in vouchers and discounts.

At the moment, 37 per cent of household waste in England and Wales is recycled, up from just 7.5 per cent in 1996. But landfill taxes levied by the Government are still set to rise from £40 a tonne to £70 a tonne in the next three years.

The Conservative plans to increase recycling rates are likely to be welcomed by many Councils that fear facing swinging European Union fines if they the number of landfills are not reduced.

The ‘green’ bank would consolidate public funds that is divided across a number of current Government climate change initiatives. It would also bring in private sector funds which would be used to create jobs, encourage innovations and encourage companies to invest in Britain.

Green ISAs (Individual Savings Accounts) will also be used to encourage members of the public to invest in green technologies.

Under the new green Tory plans, details would also be published online of the energy consumption of every Whitehall department so that the public can hold ministers and civil servants to account for their carbon footprint.

Let us see how far the Conservatives' proposals will be taken by the Labour government and implemented.

When Less is Best

Thursday's Daily  Telegraph says it well. It is not something new.

Studies have shown that we can save the planet by consuming less and by cutting on our wastes. We are to go back and do as our forefathers did. Eat less meat and reduce, reuse and recycle.

The report by the UK Government agency in charge of cutting waste, WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme), pointed out that one third of what we throw can still be used. So they are suggesting that we do not buy new things but rent them because by doing so, less goods are manufactured and thrown in landfill, therefore cutting greenhouse gas emissions. Being thrifty always helps, especially when times are bad.

Items that you can rent include tableware, gardening tools, new electronic gadgets, ski equipment, clothes, telephones and cars.

It was reported that the UK Government is committed to cutting greenhouse gas emissions by a third by 2020. The research found that better use of resources, by cutting down on packaging and boosting recycling - as well as consumer lifestyle changes - could cut 254 million tonnes or up to 10 per cent of that target over the next ten years.

Changing consumer behaviour is going to be very challenging for any society. A lot has to be done to educate society that you can reduce greenhouse gases simply by using less and consuming resources more efficiently.

So eat less meat, wear used clothes and reduce,  reuse and recycle whatever and whenever you can.