May 10th, 2012

Fed up with the food waste scandal

by Tristram Stuart

 

On Saturday 12th May, Bristol will be the first city outside London to host a Feeding the 5000 (F5K) event. Between 1pm and 5pm, anyone who comes to visit College Green will have the chance to disprove the old adage – there really can be such a thing as a free lunch, thanks to the support of local charities, businesses and volunteers, including some of Bristol’s top chefs such as the Fabulous Baker Brothers, Tom Hunt and the Thali Café.

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December 12th, 2011

We can’t afford to waste phosphorus

by Thomas Vergunst

 

Demand for it is expected to rise by at least 50% by 2050. China, Morocco, the US, South Africa and Jordan control 85% of global reserves, which, according to some sources, are only expected to last another 50-100 years. The price in the EU rose by 800% in 2008 and the UK imports over 600,000 tonnes each year, at a cost of over £100m. But this isn’t a fossil fuel or a rare earth metal – it is phosphorus, an essential plant nutrient and an element for which there is no substitute. Therefore, as supplies of rock phosphate start dwindling there will be no possibility for shifting to alternatives – we will be forced to improve both the efficiency with which we extract/use the material and the rate at which we recover it from our waste streams.

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November 30th, 2011

Slurry seems to be the hardest word

Peter Jones

by Peter Jones

 

A talk by Helen Browning, CEO of the Soil Association, on 2 November left me pondering the problems of farming and waste.  Helen is a compelling speaker and, despite battling the after-effects of a cold, tackled a lot of topics with energy and thoughtfulness.

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