New Garden Waste Recycling Service (click to enlarge)

I need to hear your voice

I am interested in what you are thinking, how you feel about things, and what I can do to make this a better place for you.

Summer Newsletter on Waste (click to enlarge)

Turkey 07

Just enjoyed an amazing 10 days in Turkey. It is an incredible place of paradox, and I love it. A secular democracy where the main political topic is religion. A Muslim country saturated with Christian history. Caught in the East but with its heart in the west. A friendlier people you could not meet - a terrifying foe you would do well to avoid. History is full of people that underestimated Turkey from the well disciplined ancient Roman Legions to the modern well armed western military powers. It sits quiet, self confident and alert with hands extended east and west. Show respect and these hands will embrace you, show hate and they will become a fist of iron. The more one sees the more one cannot help loving it and its people.

Its also a fantastic place to learn to wind surf .....

One of my few moments upright on the surf board riding the wind. And yes - those white legs are brighter than the white surf board.
I came across a sculpture of a very unpopular roman governor in the region, known for his huge ego and poor diplomacy and failure in politics. The name escapes me but the ugly face rang a bell, and scared small children .....

The beautiful Ephesus, of which only 25% has been uncovered, close to the last earthly home of Mary the Saviours mother, a place now cared for by devoted French Nuns - I felt a strange peace there. The altar had a cloth with a woman's name embroidered in italic writing - and it wasn't Mary! Maybe a name that isa name to represent all women. The question however, is why did she choose here. Because John the beloved was posted here? Who was given charge of her by the Saviour as he hung on the cross - or some other reason? If only the hills and stones could talk - what stories they could tell. In time.

Where your recycled rubbish ends up....

The process (click to enlarge)

Bearing in mind the recycle debate going on I asked our Waste Szar for a visit to the local MERF (Materials Recycling Facility) located between Alton and Farnham. This is not to be confused with the tip in ElImoor Road in Farnborough (pictured above). I will try and explain and show with pictures what takes place.

You fill your blue bin and it gets taken to the MERF and emptied - paper, board and plastic

Plastic and paper is then loaded onto a conveyor belt together....

The machines and labourers sort it....

For the paper a huge industrial magnet takes out from the paper all metal like staples...

The paper is then further cleaned and refined and finally spills off the end of the conveyor into areas to be collected and recycled into newsprint:

While the plastic is collected and bailed in another part:

So do not listen to people who say it just gets put in with the rest of the waste - they are talking a load of rubbish!!