Your Environment

Litter

Here are some basics statistics to get you thinking:

30 million tonnes of litter is collected from the streets of the UK annually
99% of all towns and villages have cigarette litter
£56,000,000 is spent annually clearing chewing gum
Local authorities spend £1 billion annually clearing litter, this represents:

33,000 NHS nurses or
32,000 Firefights or
38,000 Social care workers

Please try not to drop litter, take it home if you’re not near a bin.

Litter is one of the first signs of social decay. If we don’t care about litter on our streets, we are unlikely to care about other environmental issues.

Recycling

The contents of 170 wheelie bins from Bolnore Village are sent to landfill sites each month when it could be recycled. Each household can make a difference by just thinking differently – one piece at a time.

In a one month survey, 10% of Village recycling bins were not emptied because they had the wrong items in them. This is a key issue that we must address over time.

There’s plenty of places to find out if you’re doing it right.

Burgess Hill Household Recycling Site and Recycle for West Sussex provide relevant information about what can and cannot be recycled.

Renewable Energy

The Bolnore Village Community Interest Company is looking at ways to promote renewable sources of energy. These include solar photovoltaic energy systems that generate free environmentally friendly electricity.

For example

A typical four bedroom house would need between a 4 to 4 ½ kW solar panel array at a cost about £6,500 including VAT for a good quality system. Other alternatives are available at a lower price. The generation will be dependent on the roof orientation, but a steep south facing roof being the best option.

Typical payback depends on site usage, but usyally takes about 6 to 10 years. There are plenty of south facing roofs in the Village that could take full advantage of solar power and the benefits that it offers.

How can we make apartment blocks more energy efficient?

The main use of electricity in apartment blocks takes place at night and so solar panels are not necessarily the right solution. There are other options available which could provide some benefit to residents.

Other

Some other possibilities being considered include:

Electric car charging ports in the Village Square
Food waste sites
Other opportunities for recycling different types of goods
Formal or informal ways for car-sharing