Just a quick summary; I am doing my CI project with Birmingham Friends of the Earth; and I am looking at the waste management strategy in Birmingham and how different/better this can be, so we can ask the city council to make a better deal when the current contract comes to the end. It seems quite logical to expect to benefit more from waste (‘waste isn’t rubbish’); and also get local companies to deal with it (so to keep the money in the region and more jobs, etc.)
I have had some joys focusing on investigation into two things. One is about what other similar (in size, demography, etc.) cities are doing that Birmingham is not and could learn from. There are other cities, like Bristol, that has been doing some quite nice and green initiatives to drive their waste prevention and minimisation; and also reuse and recycling. I am looking at various cities in the country to see what they are doing and what can be learned from them.
we all remeber to recycle, don’t we? 🙂
The other things is about local capabilities. Of course, the council will need to ensure the waste issue is looked after properly. And if it is to use the local companies to deliver the waste management, it needs to make sure there are capabilities to do this. I am looking at what we have in the region and whether it is possible (of course with required development when the time comes) to undertake the tasks locally.
These tasks have kept me busy for most of my time. But in addition to these, learning from the other volunteers and also workers here is the real learning for me. There are various people with different views and background, but all with passion for what BFEO seeks to achieve.
More is coming next week… 🙂