Tuesday, 29 August 2017

The Island conversation - The Wight We Want

The Isle of Wight Council is starting a major regeneration programme to help create more jobs, better housing, and an even better quality of life for all residents of the Isle of Wight. In order to help inform the priorities for regeneration across the Island we would be extremely grateful if you could take part in our Island conversation, “The Wight We Want” by completing a short survey by 13th October 2017.


https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/the_wight_we_want_survey


The summary results of this survey will be published and will help confirm the specific needs of communities in different parts of the Island. This will then be reflected in the development of a ‘Regeneration strategy for the Isle of Wight’, to be published in Spring 2018.


As well as this short survey there will be local workshops and focus groups, held across the Island, over the coming months.  These conversations will help us to understand more about what our residents want to see in place for future generations of the Island over the next 10 years and beyond.

A “residents panel” is also being set up to both continue this conversation and to engage our community in future research and consultation. If you would like to be involved please provide your contact details at the end of the questionnaire.

Sunday, 30 July 2017

Wednesday, 26 July 2017

Northwood to become a "hedgehog friendly" village


Dear Northwood residents,

Northwood is home to reclusive creatures that eat our unwanted pesky slugs, like to swim in our ponds and have been snuffling and shuffling through our hedgerows for many millions of years. Unfortunately, the number of hedgehogs has fallen sharply for the third year running in the UK. Indeed, quite alarmingly in the national situation numbers are reported down to less than 1m down from over 30m in the 1950s.

Northwood Parish Council Action
At our July meeting councillors voted to join and support the work of the British Hedgehog Preservation Society and we are aiming to become the first "hedgehog friendly" village on the Isle of Wight, and one of the first in the UK.
Councillors would welcome public support with this campaign. It is an ongoing commitment and the Parish Council are looking to organise events within the Parish to live up to our aim for Northwood to attain "hedgehog friendly" status. What residents can do to help in the meantime isn't such a prickly issue.

6 Quick Tips to Help a Hedgehog
1.   Hedgehog highways: 15cm x 15cm gaps in hedges and walls to aid hedgehogs, which roam 1-2km each night.
2.    A wild corner in your garden: leave a corner of your garden uncut and add a log pile to it for good measure.
3.    Pond exits: hedgehogs indulge in pond dips but need a slope on the edge to be able to exit or risk drowning.
4.    Kick your slug pellets: are toxic and along with chemical lawn treatments which kill worms and other insects aren't necessary in a well managed garden.
5.    Keep down garden litter: polystyrene cups, plastic litter and elastic bands are all common offenders of injuring hedgehogs when left under hedges in gardens and drives. 
6.   Food and water: provide meaty cat or dog food, hedgehog food and chopped unsalted peanuts with water only, particularly in dry weather

For more information please visit the British Hedgehog Preservation Society website or contact me, Cllr William Bossman on 294944 or email wdbossman@gmail.com


The Parish Council meeting on 5 September will hopefully host our guest hedgehog aficionado so do please come along with your questions, stories and find out more on how you can help us get involved in making Northwood "hedgehog friendly". 

This is our Parish taking the lead on an issue close to the hearts of many. Please contact us with details of any action you take. Your councillors would love to know.

Tuesday, 4 July 2017

Rotten Rubbish Recycling Rascals

Isle of Wight Council
Press Release
Release No: PR 15918
03 July 2017
ROTTEN RECYCLING RASCALS
 Are you one of our rotten recycling rascals, putting the wrong thing in wrong bin or gull sack?

The Isle of Wight Council is asking for your help in improving the quality of recycling on the kerbside and is launching a social media campaign to support you in making sure the right things are put in the right bin/ gull sack. This will support the resident’s information booklet that went out earlier this year, which has advice and information about your recycling collection.

Raising recycling quality by cutting contamination levels in recycling receptacles collected at the kerbside can generate valuable benefits, not just for local authorities but for us all, as ratepayers too.

Incorrect (i.e. non-recyclable or non-targeted) materials included in boxes, sacks or bins set out by householders for recycling results in:
• an increase in collection, sorting and reprocessing costs;
• a reduction in the quality and quantity of materials destined for recycling; and
• lower revenues for local authorities to use on essential services, as a result of paying increased landfill charges to dispose of contaminated recycling.

Recent examples of non-recyclable items to be found in green bins/ gull sacks on the Island include oil cans, paint tins, black bags of rubbish, veg peelings, cushions, duvets, uneaten pizzas and even dead chicks.

Please remember to separate:

• Plastic / Glass / Metals (clean) go into the big green bin, green gull sack or mixed recycling communal bin.

• Paper, magazines and card go into the insert box, blue gull sack or paper/card communal bin.

• Textiles and shoes go into a bag alongside (not in) your recycling bin/bags. Please make sure the items are not in a black bag, as it could be confused for black bag waste.

• Food waste goes in the food caddy.

• Excess recycling will be taken as long as it is separated as above and in clear or white bags / tidy bundles of card alongside your recycling bin/bags. Any excess paper/card must be kept separate from other items. Large amounts of cardboard can be bundled together.

The Isle of Wight Cabinet member for procurement, waste management, special projects and forward planning, Councillor Michael Murwill, said: “Contamination describes items not belonging in the recycling bin/ gull sack. When incorrect items are included in the recycling it can cause a number of problems, including causing a halt in operations at recycling processing plants.

“Unwashed or oily food packaging can contaminate an entire load of recycling, resulting in needing to divert the load to costly landfill. These problems can result in higher processing costs for the Island and an increase in solid waste tonnage.”

Amey manager for the Isle of Wight, Paul Southall, said: “A new bin hanger, which tells homeowners their bin is contaminated is being introduced as part of the contamination campaign and contains images of the most commonly placed wrong items in bins or gull proof sacks, such as food, polystyrene, wood, contaminated food packaging and garden waste, with directions on where they should go.

“Any recycling bin or green gull proof sack found to have items that cannot be collected as part of the recycling service will not be emptied by collection crews."

Recycling correctly is really important as waste has a huge negative impact on the natural environment. Harmful chemicals and greenhouse gasses are released from rubbish in landfill sites as oxygen is unable to break down the waste, even if it is food, when it is buried.

The home recycling collection system can handle only items that can be reliably sold to buyers for use in new products, so as a result, items that can’t easily be processed on existing machinery or things that are contaminated with food or other substances should stay out of your home recycling bin.

The social media campaign will give information how to recycle correctly, what happens to your recycling and why it is so important to make sure you put the ‘right thing in the bin’ and avoid having your recycling bin or green gull proof sack not emptied due to contamination on your collection day.

So keep your eye out for our daily top tips, facts and info on what goes where, why and what happens to your recycling afterwards, over the coming months, beginning in July.

The Isle of Wight Council’s Facebook page is found at
www.facebook.com/isleofwightcouncil and the Twitter feed is www.twitter.com/iwight

Further information about recycling and waste service can be found at
www.iwight.com/waste
END