Recently in Tony Hitchens Category

The Woodland Trust is once again collecting Christmas cards and using them to fund tree planting.

They are hoping to raise enough money to plant 12,000 trees.

You can help by taking your old cards to either W H Smith, T K Maxx or Marks & Spencers stores and dropping them into the special bins.

The scheme runs until the end of January.

Students on the 3D Design course at Newcastle College have showcased their own range of innovative and sustainable products designed with recycled or reusable materials.

The exhibition is the culmination of a term long project in conjunction with Premier Waste Management.

Twenty eight students from across the North East, all studying a National Diploma in 3D Design, were challenged by Premier Waste to construct sustainable design products out of recyclable materials that solve recycling problems, in a competition to determine which designs are best for the environment and will protect the planet in the future.

The health food chain Holland & Barrett is set to become the latest to ban plastic shopping bags from its stores. This might make it the first national retailer to do so. Peter Aldis, the chain's chief executive is also calling on government to impose a charge on plastic bags similar to the action taken by the Irish government.

At last one yogurt maker is taking some action against difficult to recycle yogurt pots.

The most recent news on the war against plastic bags is an announcement from Wales (where an estimated 480 million bags are used every year). Environment Minister Jane Davidson is proposing that shoppers pay between 5p and 15p for each bag they use.

Walesonline described the plan as radical - which suggests to me that the writer needs to get out a bit more. I hardly think forcing a charge for plastic bags counts as radical. After all some shops already charge for carrier bags, some towns have successfully banned them, Ireland has levied a tax on them and we are paying for them anyway in the price at the checkout - a shop does not give anything away for free!

As part of their course I recently made a presentation to 3D design students at Newcastle College about the part played by designers in producing sustainable products.

Premier Waste Management is challenging the students to design sustainable products, or items that solve recycling problems, or promote recycling, in a competition to determine which designs are best for the environment and will protect the planet in the future.

The Alternative Fashion Show is a collaborative event organised by Fairtrade Durham and Climate Durham, to be held next Wednesday 21 October, 6.30pm in Durham Town Hall, tickets on sale at tourist office, £5.50.

At the start of 2008 when I was investigating way to reduce my waste, one of the things I started doing was using less "stuff" to shave with.

A couple of weeks went by and I had managed to reduce my waste weight substantially and I forgot about the shaving angle. Then last week when I was getting my hair cut I looked up at a display of shaving brushes which got me thinking about the changes I had made to my shaving regime and how much my changes had reduced my waste.

Wow, look at this great packaging for strawberries.

It is made almost entirely out of cardboard apart from the cellophane window in the outer sleeve. The dish container is made out of the same cardboard as egg boxes; perfect for putting in the compost bin or in the hamster's cage (and then in the compost bin).
The outer sleeve can be recycled using established cardboard recycling methods.

Sometimes you just need to get off that upgrade cycle and realise that as long as your device is working you DON'T ACTUALLY NEED THIS YEAR'S MODEL.

The LAST YEAR'S MODEL website has been built by people who love new technology and cool gadgets. but realise that the constant upgrades and built-in obsolescence of today's devices is not really the way forward.