According to the latest statistics the number of carrier bags handed out in UK supermarkets has fallen for the 4th year in a row.

Since plastic bag monitoring began in 2006, 4.6 billion plastic bags have been cut according to the British Retail Consortium. (BRC) 43% fewer carrier bags were used in 2009-10 compared to in 2006, that’s a total of 6.1 billion against 10.7 billion 4 years ago.

BRC Director General, Stephen Robertson said “This is a great achievement by UK supermarkets, customers and staff especially as the amount of goods sold between 2006 to 2009 has risen by 6%.”

The figures have been achieved by supermarkets encouraging customers to re-use carrier bags, use bags for life or charging for each one.

The 7 supermarkets included in the statistics are Asda, M&S, Co-op group, Somerfield, Sainsbury’s, Waitrose and Tesco.

A UK designer is developing a plan to collect used chewing gum and recycle it to make plastic that can be moulded into products.

The designer, Anna Bullus left her job in 2008 to start up Gumdrop Ltd which promises to tackle the global problem of chewing gum litter.

She claims that every year in the UK there is 7000 metric tons of used chewing gum disposed of. Also that the UK government spends £150 million every year cleaning gum off the streets.

Anna says that the solution to the used gum problem is by recycling it to make gum derived plastic. This is currently being tested to be moulded into bright pink bins where people can throw their used gum in the future. When the bins are full the gum will be collected and recycled to make more bins.

In the future, Gumdrop Ltd also plan to produce other applications out of used chewing gum.

Do you have an old mobile phone you want to recycle and are a resident of the Republic of Ireland? If the answer is yes why not use the following two UK mobile recyclers who allow Irish consumers to get the most money for their old mobile phones:

Get up to €246 at Money4urMobile Ireland

Part of Redeem PLC one of the market’s leading mobile recyclers with more than 10 years experience. They offer cash payments of up to €246 per old mobile handset you send in via either cheque or bank transfer.

Recycle your old mobile phone for cash at Money4urMobile Ireland here

Get up to €474 at Envirofone Ireland

One of the largest mobile recycling companies who have operated in both the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland since 2006. Since launching they have paid out millions of Euros to their customers and recycled or re-used hundreds of thousands of mobile handsets. They will pay up to €474 per mobile phone you send in and payment is sent via Cheque, Paypal or gift vouchers.

Recycle your old mobile phone for cash at Envirofone Ireland here

A plug-in electric vehicle made by Geesink Norba has won the best new technology award at the National Recycling Awards.

The vehicle which is battery powered was first launched in the UK in 2009 after 6 years of testing and development. It won the award after beating stiff opposition with its ability to reduce environmental impact through sustainable management of resources and waste.

Since launching the electric vehicles have been used by local authorities and private contractors all around Europe. The plug-in vehicle has allowed its customers to save on fuel charges in excess of 20% and more depending on how they are being used.

The vehicle uses electric power to operate its lifting, crushing and operating systems. It has been designed to reduce diesel consumption and carbon emissions. It also reduces energy costs for operators.

Geoff Rigg, Geesink Norba UK Business Director said “It’s very encouraging to see our efforts in developing green technology being recognised well beyond our industry on such a prestigious platform as the National Recycling Awards.”

Tradeyourgames is a new and unique site that allows you to sell games, Blu-Rays and games consoles in return for a cash payment. They also allow users to trade in their unwanted games in return for credit on purchases of games from their site.

However many people are wondering why they should use this site to recycle their old games when they think they can get higher prices for selling on popular auction sites like Ebay and Amazon. The main reasons why this site should be used is listed below:

1. Tradeyourgames is much easier too use. When using auction sites first you must create a listing which takes time to do and then you must take a picture to go with the listing. Once your listing has been uploaded you will find that more often than not you are competing against many other people who are all selling the same game. By using Tradeyourgames all that you need to do is type in the barcode number and you are quoted a price, it really is that easy.
2. There are no fees to be taken off at Tradeyourgames. When selling on auction sites many people forget about the fees that they have to pay. If you are selling a game on Ebay you will have to pay the listing fee of 10p +, nearly 10% of the sale price, the Paypal fees to receive your money of 20p – 5% and the cost of postage and packaging. When selling your old video games at Trade your games there are no fees, no waiting for buyers to send payment, no uncertainty about the price you will get and if you are selling multiple games you only need to pay postage once.

Considering the reasons above Tradeyourgames offer a hassle free, easy, cost effective way of selling your old console games at better prices than many auction sites or on the high street.

Sell your old console games at Tradeyourgames here

UK Flooring Company, Karndean International Limited has recently been fined £29,700 for not recycling and recovering its packaging between 2006-2008.

The case was brought to court by the Environment Agency under regulations which aim to cut the amount of waste going to landfill. The luxury flooring company which exports their products around the world said that they take their environmental regulations very seriously and would comply with the laws in the future.

Louise Goatcher who investigated the case for the Environment agency, told the court that the agency contacted the company in 2009 after they didn’t register with the annual compliance scheme. After investigating further they found that the company also hadn’t registered in the years 2006 – 2008. She added that it wasn’t fair for the Environment too suffer because of companies like Karndean.

Pat Mcdonald, Managing Director of Karndean said the company accepted the court ruling and that the correct procedures will be followed in the future.

USBCELL is a revolutionary award-winning new rechargeable AA battery. As the name suggests these new eco-friendly batteries can be recharged via any USB port.

USBCELL can be used in any device that requires AA batteries. Simply open the cap at the positive end to reveal the connector and plug them into any spare USB slot on your PC, laptop, monitor or even an XBOX or PS3. They even have an LED light that indicates when they are fully charged.

These USB batteries are extremely handy and in the long run will save you lots of money. They are also great for the environment as they will save energy by not needing a charging cradle plugged into the wall and will help to reduce the number of alkaline batteries that are disposed of incorrectly each year.

Eco-friendly USBCELL Battery won the 2007 National Energy Efficiency Awards for consumer products.

A pair of USB AA rechargeable batteries can be purchased from Nigel’s Eco Store for just £10.99.

Buy USBCELL batteries here

The London Environment Committee is going to investigate why there are such wide variations in household recycling rates amongst the capital’s 33 boroughs.

The investigation will examine the financial incentives used in each borough to promote recycling, the methods used to manage waste and London resident’s attitudes towards recycling.

In 2008/2009, London’s recycling rates were amongst the lowest in the UK with only 29% of waste being recycled or composted correctly. Its hoped that the investigation will help to improve recycling rates in the future and also help reveal the impediments to using waste as a resource.

According to figures from the Environment Department, the London borough of Newham got the lowest household recycling rate of just 15.4% in 2008/2009 whilst the best performing council was Bexley with a rate of 50.25%. According to the figures 4 other London boroughs got over 40% and nine more got over 30%.

The UK government has recently announced a new code of practice that will require mobile recycling companies to check whether a mobile handset has been stolen before reselling it.

Under the new code of practice, mobile recyclers will have to check the National Mobile Phone Register when they receive a mobile. The National Mobile Phone Register is connected to three databases which include a Police database of stolen phones, a reporting system called Immobilise and a database of blocked handsets. Companies will also have to record the date and time a phones is received, a brief description, the IMEI number, the name and address of the seller and the date when they checked the National databases.

Any mobile recyclers that don’t follow the new code of practice could face sanctions. Up to now around 20 UK mobile recycling companies have signed up which represents about 90% of the industry.

Its estimated that around 100,000 old mobiles phones with an average value of £50 each have been sent in for recycling in the past. According to the Police around 10,000 mobile handsets are stolen per month with 2/3’s of victims being teenagers aged thirteen to sixteen.

New research that has been carried out by the Travel Foundation and ABTA has found that although many British people recycle at home they are completely forgetting to recycle when they are on holiday.

Of the people in the survey 90% of them said that although they recycled paper, cans and bottles at home only half of them would consider recycling on holiday. 1 in 5 people even said that they wouldn’t consider the environment at all whilst they are abroad.

A new national campaign ‘make holidays greener’ is being run by The Travel Foundation to try and make people aware of the environment whilst they are away like they are at home. Ideas that will be promoted to tourists include shopping in local markets, not having towels washed everyday and taking short showers.

A third of respondents in the poll said accommodation abroad did not provide information about how to protect the environment whilst there. People also said that they were confused about what is meant by green or sustainable travel.