Petition Tag - eco

Under proposed reforms of feed-in tariff payments social landlords are to be hit by higher cuts than other sectors. The changes means social housing solar photovoltaic schemes will be classed as ‘aggregated’ schemes because they cover multiple installations so will only receive 80 per cent of the full FIT rate. This is being cut from 43.3p/kilowatt hour to 21p/kWh, meaning social landlords would receive just 16.8p/kWh.

In addition social landlords face being excluded from the fuel poverty part of the energy company obligation, which will be used to subsidise retrofit measures in the governments green deal.

Both the FIT and ECO is paid for through consumers’ energy bills meaning social tenants are contributing to the subsidies but don’t stand to benefit from them – despite the fact that they are among the most vulnerable and poor section of society.

Inside Housing magazine is campaigning for social landlords to be given a fair deal so they can reduce fuel poverty among their tenants. We are calling for installations of photovoltaic panels carried out by social landlords to be classed as community schemes and subject to a higher FIT payment.

We are also seeking a commitment from the Department of Energy and Climate Change to give social landlords equal access to ECO funding so that they can deliver the benefits of the green deal.

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Do you find that when you go to the supermarkets and shops that packaging could be minimised?

Bananas in packed in plastic bags for instance, or Herbal tea bags individually wrapped, fruit wrapped in cardboard and hard plastic (special (posh?) packs of 2 or 4 fruits) Tetra packs!

And so many more unnecessary packages, I am just naming a few.

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Did you know Australians use approximately 10,000 tonnes of domestic batteries each year? Almost all of these will end up in landfill and have the potential to contaminate soil and groundwater.

Even more importantly, batteries are RECYCLABLE. They contain valuable components such as cadmium and zinc, which, if recovered, can be reused in different products and diverted from landfill.

BatteryBack was set up by Sustainability Victoria to gather battery waste-stream information for the Australian Battery Recycling Initiative (ABRI), who aims to develop an industry-wide, national level recycling programme for batteries funded voluntarily by the manufacturers themselves.

Battery recycling in Australia is not free – BatteryBack forwards on the collected batteries to the AusBatt Recycling service. AusBatt does not process enough batteries to fund their activities purely through the reclaimed materials as Australia is not a large enough supply. It is fiscally cheaper to produce batteries from virgin materials, however environmental and social costs are not considered and dumping used batteries in landfill is costing our environment dearly.

Batteryback is scheduled to terminate at the end of June 2011 (though you can still recycle your batteries through Battery World (http://recycling.batteryworld.com.au) and IKEA.) BatteryBack varies to other programs that recycle battery waste in that it aims to play a part in informing industry on the costs and operational requirements associated with running a take-back scheme. This is why it is vital we act to keep this programme going to support the ABRI in developing a national strategy to make battery recycling easily available to all Australians.

We believe, as the ABRI does, the costs involved in battery recycling should be covered by battery manufacturers. By asking manufacturers take environmental responsibility for their products we will be strengthening the most important part of the campaign for a national recycling model. If manufacturers do not believe people are concerned about battery recycling it is less likely they will voluntarily fund these programmes. It is by far the most powerful message we can send.

If manufacturers supported these measures, it would provide a sealed loop, protecting the environment and creating a higher initial battery cost, encouraging consumers to source out battery free alternatives or long-life, rechargeable battery electronics (for example, a camera that uses L-ion rather than 4 double a's).

Show your support by signing the petition below.

Learn more about the programmes here:

http://www.environment.gov.au/wastepolicy/consultation/submissions/pubs/058-abri.pdf
The ABRI's submission to the Waste Management Policy.

http://www.resourcesmart.vic.gov.au/for_households_3797.html
BatteryBack website hosted by ResourceSmart (a government website for Victorians containing information on how Victorians can minimise their impact on the planet).

http://www.ausbatt.com.au/
AussBatt Recycling are the company through which Sustainability Victoria processed the batteries collected through the BatteryBack programme.

http://www.sustainability.vic.gov.au/www/html/1517-home-page.asp
Sustainability Victoria. Select the 'Find A Service' Tab to locate BatteryBack (take a minute to check out the other programmes they run too.)

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIjanhKqVC4

The video that all meat-eaters should watch and every vegetarian should own, "Meet Your Meat", narrated by Alec Baldwin, covers each stage of life of animals raised for food.

No PETA videos are copyrighted, so copy them for everyone you know.

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28.4 million Yellow Pages per year (official)
22 million Thomson Local per year (official)

How many are used? and at what environmental cost?

This delivery system comes with at massive environmental cost. Not only with the printing and paper used but with the distribution to every home and business.

How many of use just pick them up and put them straight in the bin? or save them and never use them.

With Global Warming being such a huge problem its time to stop this system of waste. We need to create an 'op-in' delivery program. This is we the printed versions are only delivered upon request therefore eliminating pointless waste.

Join this Protest and help us to live in an environmentally cleaner UK.

This is the first protest from 'The Waste Project'. A project looking for a sustainable world.

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Due to the need for urgent environmental action. We have occupied an island in The Thames.

In these times of rising tides and melting ice shelves, we thought we should get a bit closer to studying the watery world and its rise.

Ravens Ait Island is a unique wedding and conference centre with halls, many rooms, workshop spaces, kitchens and gardens. On an enchanting island in The Thames near Kingston, (opposite Hampton Court). Which we are transforming into an Eco Conference Centre.

Come visit, help, book in to run a skill sharing workshop and put it on the timetable. Network it. There will be an ongoing discussion here “how do we find SOLUTIONS to the environmentally critical situation we face?”

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Carr House is a historic rural building which has been repaired in a environmentally responsible way. It is ‘Off-Grid’, generating its own energy, and could provide affordable housing to local people.

Eden District Council has ruled to disallow planning permission at Carr House and enforce its partial demolition. The Council’s and Planning Inspector’s rulings indicate that both the current and emerging planning policy framework is worded and/or interpreted in a way which prevents sensible proposals like Carr House.

We consider that Eden District Council’s LDF Documents, including the Core Strategy which is currently out for consultation, should be amended to make clear that proposals like Carr House are supported by policy and the Council.

You can read more about Carr House and the Planning Application at http://www.edenrecycling.co.uk/?Eco_Living_-%26nbsp%3BCarr_House

You can read about the Council’s Core Strategy Development Plan at
http://www.eden.gov.uk/planning-and-development/eden-local-development-framework/development-plan-documents/core-strategy-dpd/

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