Green News

Their aim is to improve the environment in the local area. With this in mind they have a number of projects aimed to help us reduce waste and recycle more. But...some things are really difficult to recycle, then what? Well Now that lockdown restrictions have been relaxed you can take the following to Yeadons: Empty crisp packets (min 30, flattened), used pens and markers, used toothpaste tubes and toothbrushes, empty, clean and dry baby food pouches, empty, clean and dry coffee pods this now includes Lavazza eco caps, used, empty medicine blister packs. In order to protect the staff and volunteers please store your recycling at home until you’ve got a good quantity to drop off e.g. minimum 30 crisp packets, hand your recycling over in a used plastic bag (which will be recycled) and make sure all items are empty, clean and dry. What about larger things? You could take it to the recycling site on Thorp Arch trading estate. They will even take some things that still work and pass them onto to organisations that can reuse them.

Perhaps you have a bike that your children have grown out of? Or that you would like to replace with a more up to date one? The Boston Spa Big Bike Fix has received one hundred bikes since it was set up in January! It has donated over 50 fixed bikes, into mostly inner-city Leeds to children and adults who couldn’t afford to buy one. So what about reducing waste? Did you know that wasted food is responsible for 6-8 % of global greenhouse gas emissions, with 1.3 billion tonnes of fruit, vegetables, meat, dairy, seafood and grains being wasted annually? In the UK, approximately 6.5 million tonnes of food is thrown away annually from homes – 4.5 million of which is actually edible.

Make smarter lifestyle choices e.g. buy food with less air miles (and packaging) or which is more sustainable

Grow your own where possible Educate ourselves to avoid waste – by learning about food storage and preservation, planning meals and using up leftovers Think complete fruits and vegetables (and meat) – since food has become more abundant, we’ve become picky and often discard parts of plants (and animals) which may not be as tender or attractive or take more effort to prepare – often these parts contain the most valuable sources of nutrients too!

Eat less meat – this can greatly reduce our food footprint as less land and water is needed for production. Compost what we really cannot avoid wasting – this cuts down our food footprint as wasted food not efficiently dealt with releases methane – a greenhouse gas much more potent than carbon dioxide.

If you would like to know more visit their website bostongreengroup.co.uk, attend the next meeting on Zoom and the next meeting is on Monday 24 May 2021 at 7.30pm or join the group.