Well I have thought about moving to Cambridge with my Tetra Paks...

Enjoying The Big Weekend in Cambridge, earlier this summer.

Okay I'm not that obsessed that I would up sticks and move over the county border just because of new recycling facilities, but it is really great to hear the news that Cambridge City Council is the latest Local Authority to introduce kerbside collection for cartons. That's something we don't have the benefit of in Bury St Edmunds. Currently all our drinks cartons have to be taken to the local reycling centres for collection.

However since April 2007, Tetra Pak and the Alliance for Beverage Cartons and the Environment (ACE UK) have made significant investments in the carton recycling infrastructure in the UK. These days, cartons can be recycled in 86% of UK Local Authority areas, with one in five Local Authorities now collecting cartons at kerbside.

Fay Dashper, Recycling Operations Manager at Tetra Pak, commented:

"By enabling cartons to be recycled though kerbside collections, councils like Cambridge City are now at the forefront of recycling efforts in the UK. They are helping their residents to recycle even more of their cartons, more easily. We and our industry partners are committed to increasing the level of carton recycling in the UK and our work with local councils across the country takes us and people living in these areas one step closer to achieving that."

Of course, whether you're lucky enough to have a kerbside facility or have to deliver your cartons to your local Household Waste Recycling Centre, don't forget to wash and squash them first.

By flattening your cartons, lorries can carry at least three times as many, which means fewer trucks on the road.

And on that note, I could really do with your help now....

Do you remember I entered Tetra Pak's "How do you squash yours" competition. Well... the exciting news is that our family video, called With Tantrums and Tears, has made it to the shortlist along with some other fabulous entries.

But it's now up to you.

We really now need your vote if we're to be in with a chance of winning one of the super-dooper prizes that are on offer. The kids are very excited about having made it to the final and as for Mr A...he's already deliberating between the benefits of despatching me off overseas on a volunteer mission or enjoying the delights of a new Eco-TV should we win.

So please, please, please drop over to the competition website by clicking on the picture below and take a look at the top ten videos that have been selected by the judges revealing some whacky ways of squashing cartons.

If you like ours, select the "With Tantrums and Tears" button and click on the "Cast your Vote Now" post-it note. And to raise awareness of the campaign, please email, Facebook or Twitter your friends too. I know they might vote for someone else, but it's all for a good cause.

So, thank you dear readers. I hope some of these lovely videos help raise a heart-warming smile, especially ours..... And of course, we won't be moving to Cambridge quite yet. We're having too much fun squashing cartons in the Suffok countryside.

Voting closes at Midnight on 29th November!

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So how do you squash yours? Cartons not kids!

It's half-term week here in Suffolk, so what a perfect opportunity to not only indulge in the great outdoors but also to engage the kids in a bit of amateur dramatics for Tetra Pak's How do you squash yours? competition, which is encouraging consumers to flatten cartons before recycling them.

There were a few tantrums and tears, which led to a full-blown rugby tackle after I turned off the camera. My younger boy was calling for a rematch!

Mmmm, perhaps not.

The video is now published but before you check it out below, let me reassure you that no children were harmed during or after the event ... except for my eldest accidentally falling into a blackberry bramble.

Boys will be boys....bless 'em. They were great sports really and told me they actually did have a good time.



More information about Tetra Pak's YouTube competition can be found on the company's website, along with the latest news that the cartons are now also FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certified.

Don't forget, if you'd like an opportunity to join in the competition, you have until 1st November to enter.

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Day 6: If you don't ask...

So there I was doing a quick trolley dash around Waitrose last night, with my eldest in tow on our way home from Chess Club.

I normally avoid taking my children shopping because being such a positive person I really dislike saying "no" and trips out with the kids normally follow the same pattern...

"Mummy can I have....?"

"No"

"But Mummy, can I have....?"

"Oh no"

"Mummy, pllllllllllllllllllleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaase"

"Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo"

"Mu..."

"Not on you nelly and that's the end of it!"

And that's just in the second aisle.

But last night there was hardly a murmer. I was beginning to wonder if he'd taken some compliancy pills because we'd done most of our shopping without a hint of a demand or a whingy-woo.

That is, until we got to the juice section and then it started...

"Mummy can we buy all those?" Pointing individually to each and every type of carton he could find on the shelves.

WHAT!

Perhaps one type of juice might be a reasonable request, but the whole aisle? That was a different matter entirely

"Oh no, no, no, no, no." came my reply.

"But we can recycle all the cartons." he said in his defence.

"There's even a recycling bin at the back of the car park."

He's obviously been taking notice of everything that's been happening this week.

Well it might be Recycle Week, and I know I've been working hard on my pledge but I'm not that dedicated I'd buy a whole range of fruit juice worthy of a well-stocked cocktail bar, just so I could recycle the cartons at the back of the car park.

Besides we already had stocks at home that hadn't even been opened.

But while we were both admiring the range of drinks on the shelves and arguing the toss, I couldn't help notice that something was missing...

...and something so simple too.

There may very well be an excellent recycling bin at the back of the car park for processing empty cartons, but how does the customer know?

There weren't any signs in the store or in the car park to advertise. Even if they are well used by those in the know, imagine the potential if more people were aware.

If it hadn't been Recycle Week, I might have simply paid up and wandered back to our car - yes, even me with my dedicated rubbish reducing antics.

But it's interesting how a public pledge and the mighty hand of a national campaign can motivate a busy mum with an impatient son in tow, to stop off at customer services and put in a simple suggestion that might help raise consumer awareness.

So while I stood writing out my letter to the manager....in the form of "Dear Waitrose.....can I have.....?", I dearly hoped that my idea to include some visible signs to their carton recycling facilities would be taken on board, rather than a "not on your nelly".

And if they do...that's what I'd call a Recycle Week result!

So keep your fingers crossed and if you find a similar opportunity to help your community waste less, remember the old saying..."If you don't ask, you don't get". And like the mind of an opportunist seven year old, even if you don't get, at least you know you've made a step in the right direction.



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