Ideas for greener tourism in Myanmar [Relevant to other countries too] (Apr18)
There are over 3,000 temples in Bagan… Aureum Palace Hotel in Bagan claimed that 99% of clients want their sheets changed daily “99% of people like to have their bed linen changed at hotels at least once a day”. Really? I wondered how this assertion could be validated. But, I haven’t been able to respond […]
A lot of rubbish is talked about plastics… (Jan18)
The phone was ringing, the dog was barking and the builder was wanting my attention – when I was connected live to the BBC Radio 2’s Jeremy Vine show (11jan18). What prompted me to call? Plastics. More specifically, my husband had phoned from his car suggesting I might like to go on the programme. Everyone […]
Behind the Scenes in Paradise (Feb17)
I’m hoping that my eco-footprint, on our luxury holiday staying at the Six Senses Hotel, Zil Payson, in the Seychelles – is considerably less than other guests! How so? It comes mainly from my aversion to air conditioning. Our residence was one of 30 beautiful villas nestled in the hills and rocks of Felicite Island. We […]
Christmas cringe over disposable baking tray (Dec16)
Sometimes you hear something on the radio which makes you cringe. Just before Christmas this happened… A woman rang the radio programme to say that something dreadful had happened. What calamity could this be? It was that she’d forgotten to buy a disposable baking tray for roasting the Christmas turkey… Aaaargh… Even more sickening to […]
The Shocking thing about helium balloons (Nov16)
Filln’away – essentially means fill the balloons and chuck the whole gas canister away afterwards – as well as leaving balloon waste to wash up on the beach as litter…… I love giving parties and try to make them quite spectacular too. I’ve got a birthday tea party coming up and […]
Speech disaster to Bathroom Manufacturers… (Oct16)
My speech went down the plug hole! I spent ages preparing my speech. Had an inspirational idea on how to pull it together. And, I thought it was pretty good on the day! But apparently the audience – at least most of them – were not so impressed. And the Bathroom Manufacturer’s Association – the […]
Raw Foundation Making Waves about Waste (Jan13)
I was rather impressed by the Environment Agencies initiatives to reduce waste – as relayed to an audience pulled together by the Raw Foundation, at Bristol’s Create Centre. Did you know that the government organisation used to drive as many miles as the AA? Now they’ve reduced this by 21 million miles a year, as […]
E-Waste Poem – with help from Dr Seuss (Dec12)
I’ve always been a fan of Dr Seuss’s books. Green Eggs and Ham, Hortense the Elephant and The Sneetches are just some of his gems. And they all have a message – often quite subtle. The most environmental of his stories is the Lorax – ‘I am the Lorax, and I speak for the trees, which you seem to chopping […]
10 tonnes of e-waste an hour at SWEEEP (Dec12)
The huge grabber hand plunged into the pile of e-waste waiting below. You could see irons, toasters, kettles, hairdryers – all sorts of household electrical detritus on its way to oblivion. Or perhaps I should say reincarnation. Almost all of it is recycled in one form or another. The sorting process separates as much of […]
Meeting Giraffe (Nov12)
80% of all product related environmental impacts happen at the design phase. That’s key to Giraffe’s work. Melinda Watson and I, with our E for Good hats on, went to talk to Rob Holdway and Celena Fernandez about e-waste issues. We discovered that we had a lot in common. Rob was involved in creating the […]
Which? on plastic bags (Aug12)
I’ve done a lot of speaking and writing about plastic bags! I’ve even written a poem on the subject, for one speech I made. Which? asked me to give them an expert view for an article in entitled ‘Plastic bags at breaking point‘. As well as being interviewed on the topic, I wrote a […]
FT Article written on Eco-renovating London flat (Apr12)
My article on eco-renovation was published in the House & Home section of the FT on 21st April, 2012. It’s explains how I set about greening my London flat – and the challenges I faced, despite being an eco-expert – see below for the original copy as written, followed by a pdf of what was […]