The Book of Rubbish Ideas

Yesterday morning, I did my stint on a BBC News Panel and I had a great time.

My fellow pundits were great fun - one was a Henry 8^th lookalikie (yes, really) and the other, a volunteer for St Margaret’s Hospice, a wonderful little charity who also run one of my favourite little charity shops in Chard, Somerset.

I digress.

We get into the studio early and are flung a coffee and the day’s newspapers to trawl through and ideally we have to seek out a story that pertains to our line of work.

That’s never difficult in my case as sustainable living and related elements of it touch just about every story you can imagine these days.

Yesterday, I went for ‘Killer Compost’ a feature in the Daily Mail about a bad batch of week killer infested compost that’s been responsible for blighty potatoes and bad crops, illness and all sorts (solution: make your own…I’m digressing again aren’t I - sorry…)…

But I was drawn to a great story that I’d read on the BBC’s own website whilst burning the midnight oil the night before.

It was about an innovative pair who,

Spent three months collecting and recycling litter to pay for their honeymoon flights.

John and Ann Till, from Petersfield, in Hampshire, took thousands of cans and bottles to a recycling centre at a nearby Tesco supermarket.

For every four recycled items, they earned a reward point, which was then converted into BA air miles.

They amassed 36,000 miles, which they used to fly back in business class from their US honeymoon.

Genius!

But it raised the question in my head as to whether this, or similar recycling schemes for money should be rolled out around the country?

I am old enough to remember R Whites Lemonade and I can still see that bloke coming down in the middle of the night for a crafty glass in his stripy pyjamas and Buddy Holly glasses, looking like Jarvis Cocker’s dad..

When you took the empty bottle back to the shop, I seem to remember you got 10p or thereabouts.

Whatever happened to those great ‘return yer empties’ campaigns?

I know my kids would pop back to the shop to collect a few pennies in return for dropping off their bottles. The problem now is that so few drinks actually come in glass! They are all bloomin’ plastic aren’t they!

I just wondered if any of your local shops or supermarkets were running a scheme like the Tesco’s one mentioned in the story, or if you know of anything on a smaller scale?

Is the age of getting a few scheckles back on your empties really dead and buried?

And furthermore, if it had a revival, would you use and support it?

Rubbishly yours,
TSx

PS:  Did you enjoy the movie?  It had me in creases!

Read the BBC news story in full.

Go to BBC Somerset and click on ‘Listen Again’ on the right hand menu bar. Select ‘Monday’ from the ‘Morning Jo’ show to listen to the news panel programme, available on archive for a week. We are on from 9-10am.