Q. How much household waste do we create each year in the UK?
A. 35.1 million tonnes of household waste.
On the 29th April it’s Pencaitland’s Annual Litter Pick Up. The aim is to start at around 2pm. All kids taking part (and bringing parents with them) will be in with a chance of winning a digital camera.
It’s seven days to go…
Pencaitland Community Council
On the 29th April it’s Pencaitland’s Annual Litter Pick Up. The aim is to start at around 2pm. All kids taking part (and bringing parents with them) will be in with a chance of winning a digital camera.
 |
This year the Community Council is working much more closely with Pencaitland Primary School’s Eco Group and other community organisations in the village.
We would really welcome any families or groups, from the church to the brownies, who would like to help out on the day.
Apart from refreshments and litter-picking equipment and maps from our Litter HQ in Trevelyan Hall, all kids (anyone in Nursery/Primary or Secondary School) will be entered into our prize draw with the chance of winning a brand new digital camera, plus a 4GB memory card and carrying case to protect it.
The camera is the Fujifilm Finepix AV10. This handy little pocket snapper has a 10 megapixel resolution, 3x optical zoom, 2.7″ rear LCD screen and even lets you shoot HD film. You can also set it to snap when it detects someone is smiling or to avoid snapping if anyone is blinking as you click. All the cables and instructions for plugging it into your home PC are included.
 |
So don’t forget to collect your raffle ticket on the day to be in with a chance of winning the prize draw.
The draw will take place at around 4pm on the day, but don’t worry if you can’t stay as we will have your contact details if you collected a ticket.
We’re also looking for the best snaps of any rubbish you find in an odd or unusual place on your travels around the village. Send your snaps to website@pencaitland.org and your picture may be picked to be featured on next year’s Litter pick-up promotional poster.
Trevelyan Hall – come get your litter pickers (giant claws for picking up rubbish), bags and route maps.
The Pencaitland Litter Pick-up is from 2pm onwards. We only want an hour of your time! If you can’t make 2pm, come along later. WE aim to finish around 4pm.
Every day this week, in the run-up to Litter Pick day on the 29th, we’ll share a little litter fact with you. Here’s the first…
Fast food is the fastest growing litter problem we have. Ditched packaging has grown by 12%, with snack wrappers rising by 11% and ditched food such as pieces of pizza, half-eaten burgers and chips increasing by 7%. Although food is biodegradable (i.e. it eventually rots away back into the ground), our half-eaten kebabs, burgers and chips often don’t get a chance to decompose because they are eaten by pests such as rats, which thanks to our leftovers are thriving at an alarming rate (the rat population alone is up 25% in just two years). That makes fast food litter bad for our health and our environment.
Keep Scotland Beautiful – website.
National Spring Clean – website.
Eco-Schools Scotland – website.
The Scottish Government: Litter – website.
East Lothian Litter Initiative Community Information Pack – website [PDF].
Pencaitland Community Council
With recent news about the unwelcome closure of vital bus routes to Pencaitland and Ormiston this June, you may be interested to know that there are still ways to get from A to B thanks to car pooling.
The advantages of this approach are pretty clear. A car with four seats fully utilised will spread the fuel costs amongst four people. It also means just one round trip compared to four separate cars on the roads, each with just one commuter.
It’s not only a more economical and social practice, it’s also much more environmentally aware, reducing unnecessary road trips and pollution.
You don’t have to own a car to participate. If you do have your own transport then you can arrange to take turns driving, thus using your car perhaps 75% less than before. This reduces wear and tear and, of course, fuel costs.
Interested? Then find out more about East Lothian’s very own TripShareEastLothian service.
As the website explains, “Tripshare has been created so that you may actively search for other members who are doing similar journeys at similar times. Tripshare has the capability of matching all types of journeys. This scheme will not only allow members to share car journeys if you wish, but also to choose to share taxi journeys, and to choose to cycle and walk together.”
The website costs nothing to use and forms part of the UK’s National liftshare network. It is restricted to people aged 18 and over.
PS – Do you already car-pool from Pencaitland or other villages in and around the area? Please tell us about it below and whether it’s been a success for you?
Pencaitland Community Council
If some bus users were under the impression there wasn’t a lot left to cut from the remaining routes operated by First… you’d be wrong! It seems the bus company plans a further round of route cuts in a few months which will lead to further misery for people lacking private transport in rural East Lothian.
 |
Members of the local community have been contacted by the Edinburgh Evening News tonight, seeking their views on an announcement from First that it intends to kill the existing bus route covering Pencaitland and Ormiston.
This development could not happen at a worse time for the current ELC administration as many community members have previously expressed frustration at the lack of action from the controlling SNP/Lib Dem alliance over poor public transport policy and implementation.
Look out for the full story in tomorrow’s paper or read it here.
Pencaitland Community Council
Just a quick reminder to residents in and around Pencaitland that we’d really welcome anyone who can spare a little time to pop down to Trevelyan Hall on Saturday the 7th at 9.30am and join us as we drive to clear up that litter that never made it into the local bins.
 |
There will be refreshments on the day too.