My thoughts and hopes for The Rubbish Diet Challenge

It's the eve of the Rubbish Diet Challenge and I realise that part of me feels quite nervous but excited too. Who knows what will happen over the next few weeks as 8 households endeavour to slim their bins in public.

As four of these households are based in Suffolk, I will be officially launching the challenge live on BBC Radio Suffolk just after 10am, quite appropriately in an outside broadcast from our local Household Waste Recycling Centre in Bury St Edmunds. So if you get a chance, do listen into the Mark Murphy show, which is also launching its own Don't be a Tosser anti-litter campaign on the same day.

In the meantime, here's a video I made earlier today about my thoughts on The Rubbish Diet Challenge... warts and all.  See you again tomorrow for the first Monday Meeting, where I will send you away with your first set of mini-challenges.

Weight loss, Watt loss!

See that bin on the left?

That's our rubbish bin.

No, not the big one.

But that little one.

The teeny-tiny one on the left-hand-side.

Yes, I know it looks like an ordinary bathroom bin, but it actually is the main one for our household waste, and resides in the kitchen.

The bin on the right-hand-side used to be our rubbish bin, but during my very first zero waste challenge, it was promoted to handle our recycling.  As our rubbish gradually got lighter and the bin bag became slimmer, we didn't need such a huge bin, so downsized a little...or rather a lot. 


During the last few years we've also been doing the same with our energy usage.   However, unlike rubbish, it's much harder to visualise the impact if your energy source gets delivered through pipes and wires.

Wouldn't it be great if you could look at that small bin and pat yourself on your back with great satisfaction knowing that was all the energy your household used in a week instead of needing that huge bin.

Before I even begin to blow my mind with musings on the actual size of bin we would need to demonstrate that, there are simple tools that can deliver the kind of information needed for analysis, and that's in the form of an energy monitor. An energy monitor tracks how much electricity you’re using translates that into amount of money you’re spending by the hour.

We bought one several years ago and had so much fun. The children were even distracted from the TV and instead spent several evenings running around the house turning lights on-and-off and helping me to start the washing machine, dishwasher and oven.  I was just relieved they couldn't find the switch for the fridge\freezer or I really would have been in trouble.

But energy monitors aren't just fun for entertaining the kids, they're great for adults too, not that Mr A and I indulged in similar games of running around flicking the switches mind you!  STOP IT!  No, we'd look at the digital display and rub our hands together in a scrooge-like manner thinking 'Kerching' when pondering the savings made, while my mind distracted itself towards gorgeous vintage jewellery or shoes.  Wrong I know, and I've worked hard at improving my attitude since.

Soon everyone will be using them. The government has set a deadline of 2019 for all British households to have smart meters, gas and electricity meters that also monitor energy use. British Gas has already started upgrading its customers.

Since we've used our monitor, it's made me think twice about regulating the temperature of our radiators, making more efficient use of our hob & oven and even the amount of washing we do.  Where I used to bung everything in the washing machine after each wear, stuff now only goes in if it doesn't pass my quality control tests, i.e. having a whiff of it first. And we hardly use our tumble dryer these days, preferring to air-dry the washing instead.

But I know we've got to work harder.  Leaving on the various computers remains a problem for us (sometimes three can be running, talking amongst themselves, while we all sit down for dinner or are distracted by something on TV), which is why I've agreed to follow the Smart Mums Watt Loss Challenge.

Maybe I should get another bin, for recycling our Waste Electricals and if I see no progress, I can threaten to  bung the computers in there.  Ah, there's nothing like a spot of visualisation to inspire results.

And don't think I'm immune from my threat. If you don't see me again, you'll know my husband has read this post and has recycled my laptop for leaving it on when I should have turned it off!



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I’m a British Gas Smart Mums Ambassador, working with BritMums and British Gas to highlight energy issues in the home.

• Take part in the Smart Mums Watt Loss Challenge now!
• Meet the Smart Mums Ambassadors
• Grab the badge to show you’re a Smart Mum
• Find out how smart meters can save you money

The Rubbish Diet Challenge 2012 - And you're invited!

Next Monday on 23rd Jan, I am launching the Rubbish Diet Challenge 2012.

And I am inviting you to take part, along with your friends and family and even colleagues at work.

Your mission will be to find ways of slimming your rubbish bin and you will have 8 weeks to do it.  In the final week, if you want to push the limits and create a name for yourself, there's even the chance to attempt a Zero Waste Week.

Rubbish and waste management is still a huge problem in the UK and even though recycling targets and are being increased and often met by local authorities, we still have a long way to go in tackling the wider issue of waste reduction.

I believe that people power is a key component to tackling the country's waste problem.

The Rubbish Diet Challenge aims to empower average households everywhere to do something positive about waste reduction at home or at work, even if it's just taking the opportunity to learn that little bit more about local recycling, tackling food waste or encouraging your council or community to introduce a new recycling bank.

During the next 8 weeks I want to take you on a journey of discovery, and I know I'm going to learn a whole of host of new things myself.

And just with any other diet, there will be regular weigh-ins, starting on Monday, when I will be introducing some of the families, whom I will be personally mentoring over the course of the next couple of months.

But this will not be formulaic. I have no idea of the outcomes, which I confess makes me slightly nervous. At the moment I don't know much about their rubbish, or how low they will go, but I look forward to finding out more as we investigate different lifestyles and recycling issues from all around Suffolk, London, Lincolnshire, Buckinghamshire and even New York City.

So if you want to join in and be part of the conversation, come back on Monday and find out more. In the meantime, if you want to know more about the challenge itself and see what's going to be coming up week-by-week, take a look at the Rubbish Diet Challenge page on this blog, which features links to an online guide to the next eight weeks.

So are you up for it?

I hope so!

And if you want to join in the conversation on Twitter too, tweet @KarenCannard. sharing your results, questions and thoughts, using the hashtag #TheRubbishDiet

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Background info: The Rubbish Diet Challenge is based on my own experience of taking my local council's Zero Waste Week challenge in 2008.  As a result, our family's household waste reduced from almost a full wheelie bin's worth of rubbish per fortnight to what now is on average one carrier bag's worth per month.  Since then, The Rubbish Diet has been featured in all sorts of places including BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour and C4 Dispatches  It also inspired a national Zero Waste Week, which is the creation of Mrs Green over at My Zero Waste.

Disclaimer: If you're looking for picture of a perfectly empty bin, or an all-singing-dancing industry expert, I am not that kind of girl.  I'm simply an average woman, who still battles against her own family's rubbish habits, but who happens to know how to deal with it and has a passion for tickling people into wanting to find out more about theirs.  But I do confess to being a geeky waste groupie and poking my nose into the world of new technologies, meddling with my local council and talking rubbish at conferences.

For more info email: karen[at]therubbishdiet[dot]co.[dot]uk

Saving energy on the hob!

As part of the British Gas SmartMums campaign, looking at ways, to save energy around the home, I have been asked to illustrate some ideas on video.

So here's me, getting underway with Sunday dinner, demonstrating the advantages of using a steamer instead of a hob full of old saucepans.



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I’m a British Gas Smart Mums Ambassador, working with BritMums and British Gas to highlight energy issues in the home.

• Take part in the Smart Mums Watt Loss Challenge now!
• Meet the Smart Mums Ambassadors
• Grab the badge to show you’re a Smart Mum
• Find out how smart meters can save you money

Where will it end up? Tracking my mobile with O2 Recycle

Look! That's my scared face, which says, "I don't really want to let go of this phone, but now I'm here and I promised I'd do it, I suppose I'm going to have to let you take it."

Have you ever recycled a mobile phone? 

I hadn't until today, despite having owned six of the things ever since I got my very first phone in 1998.  Look, it was such a momentous occasion back then, we even captured it on camera!  It was so big, I almost needed two hands to hold it up my ear!

Christmas morning, 1998. I'd never wear that dressing gown with FaceTime!

It's sad to think that phone is still packed away somewhere in my loft.  When recovered, it will be like an historic artefact from the days when phones were phones, not the mini computer devices that they are now.  Even though I have no use for it, it will probably be very hard to give up.  You see, I really do get attached to my phones for all sorts of odd reasons, whether they remind me of a time when I had a cool job, or contained the recording of my toddler telling me he loved me, or even symbolise the day I jumped into a swimming pool to rescue my drowning four-year old, with my phone in my back pocket.

There is one phone that I've not particularly been attached to though and that's my Nokia N97.  It might have been great at getting me onto Twitter and Facebook and juggling my multi-media usage, but I haven't half given it a good battering these last few years. Its time was definitely up twelve months ago, not least because the back-end would fall off at impromptu moments, It's also developed several other features that are noteworthy of its early demise, including the semi-detatchment of its silver fascia as a result of recent contact with the floor.  Then there's the way it would suddenly reboot while I was surfing the mobile net.

However, if it hadn't been for a discussion with some friendly folk from O2, this phone would be sitting in the drawer that's now dedicated to out-of-date gadgets and electronic leads, while I enjoy my more up-to-date technology.

I'd explained to O2 that given my bizarre attachment to old devices, I would only ever recycle one of my phones if I could be convinced that it was worthwhile.  After all, I'd much rather keep it in a drawer than go to the trouble of stripping off the data, just for it to be taken apart.

They then reassured me that just because my phone looked like it was due for the scrapyard, that wasn't necessarily the case and that it would most likely be refurbished and sold on as a reconditioned device, probably in an overseas market.

Suddenly I was interested in finding out more.

I wanted to know exactly where my phone would end up.

And I wanted to know the story of who would be using it.

I asked O2 whether we could do that, and after some phone calls around head office and to their recycling company Redeem, they said yes.  We could certainly track my old Nokia to its end market and depending on the privacy wishes and language capabilities of the new owner, it may be possible to discover the other information too.

And that got me very excited.

So, with all my photos copied, contacts deleted and messages stripped, I skipped off to our local O2 store this morning to do the deed.  Well, I say I skipped.  Actually, for some reason, I was very nervous.  I wanted reassurance that no sensitive data, or remote access to my emails or online accounts could be retrieved from my old phone, once I handed it over. 

Glendon, the Store Leader, reassured me.  In fact, one of the first steps was to restore the phone to its factory settings and ensure that everything had been deleted off.

The rest of the process was very straight forward, confirming that I should hopefully get around £32 for my old phone, which will soon be credited to my bank account, without me having to lift a finger.

It was really that simple, I'm now wondering what the fuss was about!  Look, I'm now looking much happier about letting go of that dodgy old phone and setting it free for refurbishment and onto pastures new.

By tomorrow, the phone will be somewhere in Scotland, being refurbished by O2's recycling partner Redeem, and once it's passed quality control, it will be despatched onto its journey, where it will be tracked all the way.

Apparently it should only take two weeks until it reaches its end destination.  Hopefully then it will quickly find its way to its new owner and I then hope they will get in touch.  It's risky I know, but I've sent them a message with my email and phone number.

Oh gawd, I could be opening up a whole new can of worms, but it would be exciting to find out with whom it ends up and to discover what really happens when a phone gets recycled.

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If you're interested in recycling your old phone for cash, there are many ways in which you can do it, but it you wish to use O2's service, you can recycle by post and fill your details online, or pop into a store near you.  You don't even need to be a customer.  More information is available at www.o2recycle.co.uk.  O2 don't make any profit from this service.  All proceeds from their sales go to their charity Think Big, which supports community projects that help young people.   Other gadgets such as iPods, cameras and even routers can also be recycled, although these are not processed on a cash-back basis.

My 5 year phone challenge....eeek!

I'm not sure whether this latest confession will demonstrate my inner lunacy or permanent state of wishful thinking, but eh oh, I'll show and tell and see what comes.  I'd be interested in the debate.

The thing is, I've just got a brand new spanking smartphone, an all singing and dancing top model iPhone.  It's been on my geeky-gadget list for the last 18 months and as my old phone began to fall apart / regularly freeze / randomly self-boot .... along with many other tedious failures, the seduction of the iPhone became more and more tempting, so much so that it looked as though finally it would make it to my Christmas list for 2011.

And hooray, it actually did arrive, but not quite as I'd expected (there'll be more on that later).  However, with such a frivolous addition to my gadgetry, it arrived with a new personal goal that will definitely challenge the way I think about about new technology, especially mobile technology.

You see, I am a bit of a gadget girl and since the introduction of smartphones that don't just keep you connected to the whole social-media universe out there, but come packed with video functionality and access to multimedia entertainment, I have found it harder to step back to the days when a phone was simply a phone.  I have wanted to keep pace with all the shininess that such a mini-computer in one's pocket can bring. 

My new iPhone will be the third smartphone I've owned in five years - although admittedly the first one only gave up the ghost as a result of it being in my jeans pocket, when I saved my youngest son from a potential drowning incident a few years ago.

The second phone, its replacement, has been causing me nothing but bother for the last 15 months, mainly though collateral damage, but has also developed a very clunky feel about it compared to other touch screen technology.  Consequently, my shiny new acquisition already offers much hope of a more streamlined and much more enjoyable experience in keeping me connected to the outside world of work, rest and play.

But the challenge I've set myself is to try and keep hold of this phone and keep it functioning for FIVE WHOLE YEARS!

I know I've not set myself a very good track record so far.

But aside from my accident-prone ways and technological desire, I hope this self-imposed challenge will not only encourage me to focus on the longevity of possessions, but will also bring into focus the challenges we, as consumers, have in a constantly fast-moving technological world.  And this challenge is not new. For decades, built-in obsolence has been a key consumer issue as have opportunities for exciting applications only being realised as a result of hardware innovations becoming available.

And let's face it, I am grateful for such advances in technological science.  After all, watching movies on our smartphones would not be so gratifying if we had to plug in a portable DVD player to do so.

Of course, opinions vary.  There are many friends who have told me that I've got no chance, mainly thanks to Apple's proprietary systems as well as the company's speed of innovation and all round creator of consumer desire.

But then, there are others who say that this iPhone, with all its latest technology and mod cons should see me through the five year period quite easily. 

So I guess the proof will definitely be in the pudding -or rather the apple pie -  and I'll just have to wait and see.  But I am going to try damn hard, against a world of high-speed technological change, to remain satisfied and keep hold of this phone for five years.  And I will be delighted if I can do it.

But for those who know better than me, or indeed know me better than myself,  I'd love to hear what you think.

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Disclaimer.  In the spirit of blogger openness, I feel it right to declare that my lovely new phone was a surprise thank you gift that came out of the blue from the folks at O2, as a token of appreciation for the free-time I dedicated a few months ago to brainstorming a whole host of campaign ideas for a phone recycling project that's coming up soon.  There will be more on that next week, when along with other bloggers who have now signed up for the campaign, I will be relinquishing my old phone for recycling and tracking to see where it goes.  And would you believe, for many reasons, I have never recycled a phone before.  So watch out for all that comes with that next week!

Making the most of 2012. Happy New Year!

Well Happy New Year all!   I hope you enjoyed your New Year's Eve celebrations and are poised to take your empties down to the bottle bank at a decent hour.

Personally, I've been looking forward to the start of 2012.  Not that 2011 was a crap year.  In fact it was rather good to me, aside from the upsets of losing our beloved cat and having to rehome our chickens. 

Last year was most definitely one of opportunity, whether that meant understanding even more about the opportunities and challenges for Zero Waste, to interviewing Kevin McCloud about upcycling at his Grand Designs exhibition, or making an appearance on Dispatches and Woman's Hour, which both left ripples of amusement as a backdrop to the very serious subject of waste.

But there were three significant events that could solidify what 2011 was about for me.

The first was the Save the Children conference, which not only gave greater understanding of their amazing work and constant quest for support and funds, but asked us, the attendees, what we were born to do.  It was then, after many previous thoughts of ditching the blog and my incessant natterings about rubbish, did I make a personal commitment to carry on the challenge to encourage folk to reconsider their rubbish and think about the world outside their bins.  There is a great imbalance between the parts of global society that can 'afford' to waste and those which, for reasons of poverty or natural disaster, can't, and this creates a reminder of why as an international community we need to make the most of our resources and use them more wisely, both now and in the future.

The second event was my 1000 bins campaign, a 12 week challenge to raise awareness of the often overlooked on-street recycling bin. The aim was to promote Recycling on the Go through the summer of 2011 and draw attention to two significant waste related events, making a connection between Recycle Week, which took place in June and Zero Waste Week, which provided the finale in September.  Led by the bespectacled, curly-haired Welsh bundle of gorgeousness, Shedwyn, who was outed as my newly acquired alter-ego, the campaign taught me a number of things:  People will actually do things if you ask them to (demonstrated by self-embarrassment when taking photos of bins in public) and that the serious world of recycling and waste could do with a bloody huge injection of comedy that tickles people into rethinking waste.

The third event was the energyshare project, where I was sponsored to help raise the profile of the Hexham River Hydro project in its bid to win the funding. This brought me into a community of people who demonstrated not only the appreciation of protecting its foundations but illustrated the power of innovative thinking in moving forward, how making use of a renewable energy source could harness future opportunities for energy creation, generating much-needed income and knowledge sharing to inspire others.  2011 ended with Hexham River Hydro successfully winning their category, which was fabulous news.  However for me, the icing on the cake was how not only did I make some new friends, but it unexpectedly brought me back into contact with an old work friend too. A wonderful surprise, which illustrated not only what a small world this is, but how connected we all are, even if we don't actually realise it.

So, onto 2012 and looking to the future.

Drawing on lessons of 2011, I've decided my theme this year is going to be Making the most of what I've got!

Some could say it's enforced.  I confess to spending far too much money on clothes and shoes in 2011 and I've been forewarned by my husband that I need to tighten my proverbial belt.  However that picture provides an image of doom and gloom.  Friends who know me well, know that I'm stubborn in nature and never like being told what to do.

However, I refuse to consider 2012 to be a year of austerity, even if it's defined as such.  Instead, I'm going to make it into a year of opportunity, and here's a taster.

In 2012 I endeavour to:

• Make more use of my culinary talents, instead of eating out so often (yes, they are still buried deep inside, if I dare to look). Who knows, I may even throw a party, so watch this space for invitations!
• Make far better use of my clothes, by repairing them myself, or taking them to one of the many alteration shops that are starting to pop up in town.  The latter is already sounding a more realistic option.
• Make better use of my space: do I really need half the stuff that's cluttering up my home? No! Especially as it clutters up my head too.  So this is the year I am going to be brutal and set things free. Oh such bravado!
• Make things last longer, whether it's a glass of wine, an item of clothing or a gadget.
• Make do with what I've got and borrow what I need.

And finally, yes finally, I'm going to make the most of what I've learned over the last few years and work harder to share that knowledge in 2012.  I know I've got to overcome my natural shyness first - don't laugh, I really am that shy!

I've realised, it's no good keeping my enthusiasm and jolliness about reducing waste to myself.  Other people should be entitled to a good giggle too, so that's what I'm going to do this year, get more folk laughing about their rubbish and in doing so, hopefully encourage ambitions to reduce it.

So watch this space. 

In fact, you won't need to wait long.  In a few weeks time, I'll be rolling out the 2012 Rubbish Diet Challenge and revealing a handful of bloggers, Tweeters and Facebook friends who have decided to have a go and I can't wait to see them poking about their bins!  I hope you'll join in too, or encourage your friends to have a peek.

In the meantime, I'll be back over the next few days, chatting about how I'm making the most of my gas consumption as well as my new mobile phone - but not at the same time of course.  Tut tut, that would be far too dangerous a combination.

So here's to a brand new year ahead of us and ensuring we make the most of it.

I do so hope you'll join me.

Happy New Year to you.  I hope you have a fabulous 2012!

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P.S.  That hat, yes THAT HAT, is not mine, but a frivolous item that can be found amongst the treasures of the Theatre Royal wardrobe department in Bury St Edmunds.  Hat hire is available for a small donation only, whereas you can hire a whole costume for just £12.  I definitely think I'll be making the most of that this year.  As Miranda Hart would say.  "Such Fun!"