Be Eco Friendly

Buying an electricity plant to halve the bills on your property has meant one Cotswolds pensioner can stay in her 19th century property

Faced with having to give up her treasured family home of 21 years, a Cotswolds pensioner has come up with a thoroughly Green-and original-solution to the financial burden of running it, and has nearly halved her power bills. Christine Shine now owns and manages her own Ofgem-accredited renewable electricity plant, which powers not only her home, but others in the area.

The power station comprises a series of 390 photovoltaic panels, which cover an area roughly the size of two tennis courts and are concealed in the grounds of Mrs Shine’s Gloucestershire home. The construction sits only 60ft from the 19th-century manor house, but is discreetly hidden by a raised bank and housed in a purpose-built pit.

Read more: http://www.countrylife.co.uk/news/article/446159/Halve-your-bills-buy-a-power-station.html

”Biodegradable” plastic bags used by major supermarkets do not break down as quickly as believed and may not be as environmentally-friendly as they sound, according to Government-funded research.
A study into ”oxo-degradable” plastics, often labelled as degradable or biodegradable, found there was uncertainty about their impact on the natural environment.

The carrier bags, bin bags and flexible packaging, made from common plastics with small amounts of chemicals to speed up their breakdown, are also not suitable for recycling with other plastics, reuse or composting, the research by Loughborough University found.

Read more: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/earthnews/7422006/Biodegradable-plastic-bags-may-not-be-as-eco-friendly-as-thought.html