Transition Island Blog

So often, you hear people say “Someone ought to do something about that”. Most of us have probably said it from time to time. But now someone is actually doing something about it!

This article from the Isle of Wight Council’s Press Office

Town Centre Managers Clean Up Lukely Brook
Date published: 08/02/2008

Newport’s town centre managers joined forces with one of Isle of Wight Council’s Community Support Officers to clean up one of the town’s rivers.

Armed with a grappling hook forged free of charge by local blacksmith, Vectis Armoury, Neil Perry and two town centre managers fished out five shopping trolleys from Lukely Brook as well as two roadworks signs and a bicycle.

The shopping trolleys were returned to B & Q and Sainsburys and the old bike was taken to the local tip for recycling once the clear up was completed.

Isle of Wight Council is currently drawing up a programme of works to clear up waterways on the Island as part of its on going “One Island” programme.”

More detail on the Council website:

Leading by example

Rudy Giuliani, Mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001, showed that dealing with relatively minor problems in a highly visible way brings forward community support.

He brought innovative strategies in for reducing crime, reforming welfare, encouraging economic growth, and improving the overall quality of life.

Crime was halved, welfare numbers were halved while moving over 640,000 individuals from benefits to the dignity of self-sufficiency AND creating a record 450,000 new private sector jobs.

Despite various criticisms of the type politicians always seem to receive, he was a highly popular figure, credited with making New York the City that other cities looked up to. As news of the City’s resurgence has spread around the nation and the world, tourism grew to record levels.

Our Island could do with some of that.
And rescuing dumped shopping trolleys might be the start of it!
Is it time to volunteer some free time to help clear up?

County Press shows off VentBag volunteers (8/2/08)

Eco-friendly bags are being snapped up by Ventnorians as the project catches towns imagination.

Sewing bags in a shop window in the High Street, they got attention and praise. The bags are made from recycled fabrics, doubling their positive eco-impact for the good of the Island.

We recently reported that Hawaii is surrounded by plastic bags and other non-biodegradable rubbish - we don’t want the Island to end up like that!

The project aims to make Ventnor the first plastic-bag-free town on the Island. They hope to make enough to deliver one to every household in the town. “People are already ordering bags” said Shiela, project volunteer.

Action: Get involved, help sew bags!

The reputation of Japan’s paper industry lay crumpled last month.

Market leader, Oji Paper, admitted it had lied for over ten years about the quality of its recycled products.

This follows the country’s second-biggest paper company, Nippon Paper Group, also admitted false claims. They claimed recycled fibre volumes as high as 50%, but it was actually between 5% and 10%.

(more…)