KROWN JEWELS

THE NEWSLETTER OF THE
KENT REDUCTION OF WASTE NETWORK

Issue 3 - June 1998

Editorial
Welcome to the summer issue of the KROWN Newsletter, especially to members who have joined since the last edition. These include community project Necessary Furniture, recycling company Industrial Reclamations, and educational body the Kent Christian Ecology Group. KROWN membership now totals over 30 organisations and individuals, covering the whole spectrum of views on waste.

The primary aim of KROWN - to achieve environmentally sustainable and safe solutions to waste in Kent - is receiving ever greater attention from the public and media. This is reflected in the large number of events in the 'Diary Dates' listed below. Get along to as many as you can, and take a friend or local politician (or even a friendly local politician!) along too. As the saying goes:

If you want to think one year ahead, plant rice
If you want to think ten years ahead, plant trees
If you want to think one hundred years ahead, educate people

A Household Waste Strategy for Kent
As you will be aware, a consultation draft of this document by KCC is currently in circulation. As part of their response the KROWN Executive are putting together a shadow strategy, of which all KROWN members have received a consultation draft. To ensure the final version, to be submitted to KCC, reflects the views of the KROWN membership, the deadline for comments from members has been extended to 19 June. If you have not already done so, please send in your comments to KROWN by 19 June (the same date that comments are due in to KCC on their strategy).

At the time of going to press, members of the KROWN Executive are preparing to attend a KCC seminar on their waste strategy at County Hall. A report on this will be given at the next KROWN meeting in July.

Kerbside collections in London
Haringey London Borough Council has demonstrated a unique approach in its current process of implementing a borough wide kerbside collection. As the first large scale kerbside scheme in Britain to use electric Pedestrian Controlled Vehicles (PCVs) for collections, the Haringey project is leading the way to what could be the future of materials collection in urban areas. And the scheme has proved so successful other London Boroughs are queuing up to order them. The electric-powered vehicles are similar to the mailbag carts used by the Royal Mail and have been purpose-built for materials collection. The main advantage of carts that can use the pavement over existing collection vehicles is that they do not block the already congested streets of London. PCVs are believed to be more efficient than any other collection system to date. For further details: Keith Collins/Kathy Killinger, London Recycling Consortium 0171-431-0236.

Diary dates
11 June The Burning issue of Kent's waste. The All-Kent Community Waste Interest Group invite you to this meeting at 7.30 pm, Maidstone Community Support Centre, Marsham Street. We hope that you will join us for this potentially very valuable meeting. County, District and Parish Councillors and officers and all Kent MPs have been invited, together with NGOs and community and Agenda 21 groups throughout the County. Andrew Rowe MP, Member for Faversham and Mid-Kent and Co-Chair of the Parliamentary Waste Management Group, has agreed to chair the meeting. David Plumstead 01303-265757.

27 June 'Recycled Content of Newsprint Bill - Day of Action'. Canterbury Friends of the Earth will have a Day of Action in Canterbury High Street, volunteers needed. Take part in this day of action and help to persuade your MP to support this vital bill. The Newsprint Bill aims to increase the recycled content of newspapers to 80% by 2010. This will bring environmental, economic and employment benefits. At the moment 40% of newsprint is recycled, the rest is virgin newsprint. The virgin newsprint is predominantly manufactured in Scandinavia (Sweden and Finland). Because of our enormous demand for wood and paper, over 95% of the old, wildlife rich forest in these countries has already been felled and replaced with intensively managed cultivated forest. The loggers are now moving to Russia and Canada. This bill will help stop these countries suffering the same fate as Sweden and Finland. The UK is the world's fifth highest consumer of paper - we have to take action now! Michelle Asbury, CFoE waste campaigner 01227-464719

1 July Medway & Swale Waste Minimisation Project, County Hall, Maidstone. A one day seminar and exhibition promoting the results of Phases 1 and 2 of the project. Hear about the economic and environmental benefits created by 22 companies in Kent. Identify opportunities for your company to save money through resource efficiency and improving environmental performance. Pick up practical information from Environment Agency project reports and Environmental Technology Best Practice Programme case studies. Details from: Stephen Rees, Sustainable Business Partnership Co-ordinator, KCC, 01622-696188.

12 July 'War on Waste', Fort Pitt Grammar School, Chatham, 2.30-6.00 pm. Organised by the Medway Waste Forum, this seminar is guaranteed to be one of the most stimulating, educational and entertaining seminars you will ever have the opportunity of attending in Medway. This is your chance to learn about the vital role that the community can play in protecting Medway's environment for future generations. The waste that we all produce will end up being incinerated in Medway unless we all play our part! If you are interested in setting up a community business, or just interested to see how Europe and America manage their waste don't miss it!

Professor Paul Connett, Professor of Environmental Chemistry, New York, will be flying in to Medway to give another of his world famous presentations on sustainable waste management. He has experience of systems throughout the world, especially in Europe and America, areas where waste management is 10 years more advanced than Britain. Bob Marshall-Andrews, MP for Medway since May 1997, will be explaining the role of government and the impact that Medway has already had on Westminster. Richard Boden, Director of WyeCycle, one of Britain's leading community-based recycling businesses, will explain how the initiatives featured by Prof. Connett can be implemented in Medway. Tickets £1.50 Ian Hargraves 01634-717287.

12-13 September Community Compost-ing Network annual conference, Unstone Grange, Derbyshire. The highlight of the year for all community composters, with talks, workshops and lots of informal networking, in a beautiful and relaxing venue. The CCN is a fast growing network comprising over 90 members across the UK involved in community composting. The role of CCN is to promote the social, environmental and economic benefits of community composting. We provide support, advice and information to Community Composters and would-be Community Composters across the UK. Contact Dave Middlemas, Co-ordinator, Community Composting Network, 67 Alexandra Road, Sheffield S2 3EE Tel/Fax: 0114-2580483. E-mail: heeleyfarm@gn.apc.org

All correspondence to: The Editor, KROWN, 18 Scotton Street, Wye, Ashford, Kent TN25 5BZ Tel: 01233-813298.
Next issue: September 1998. Newsletter copy deadline 15 August.
Next meeting: 21 July 1998 at 7.00 pm, Friends Meeting House, 170 Union Street, Maidstone.