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The environment in Hammersmith

Friends of the Earth highlights of 2003.

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Paula White, Hammersmith and Fulham Friends of the Earth, said: "We are delighted that the curb side recycling scheme has been rolled out in the borough and that rates have started to improve but more people need to recycle or better still create less waste.

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The average person in the UK throws out their body weight in rubbish every three months. Friends of the Earth believes that 80 percent of our waste could be recycled or composted. Why not make a new years resolution to recycle and compost your waste in 2004 or if you want to get more involved you could join your local Friends of the Earth group and make a difference locally"

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Waste
A new curb side recycling scheme is rolled out in the local borough and improves recycling rates from 8.5% to 13.3% at the end of June. Since June a new curb side recycling scheme is rolled out in the local borough and
improves recycling rates from 8.5% to 14.25% in 2003.

After much campaigning by Friends of the Earth , the Household Waste Recycling Bill has become law. The Doorstep Recycling Bill itself requires that by 2010 every household in England must have at least two types of recyclable waste collected from their home.

Transport
In February Congestion Charging is introduced in London. Friends of the Earth accuses Transport Secretary Alistair Darling of political cowardice for failing to back the scheme.
More money will be spent on roads and transport in Hammersmith & Fulham than ever before, with a 45 per cent increase in grants from the Mayor of London. We welcome this extra funding and would like it to be spent encouraging pedestrians, cyclists and use of public transportation in 2004!!
Children at Brackenbury Primary School have produced 'the ultimate walking leaflet' to promote healthier, greener ways of getting to school
Thanks to campaigning by Hammersmith and Fulham Friends of the Earth a new pedestrian crossing has made crossing the 4 lane highway that is Goldhawk Road - less of a life-threatening lottery. The new crossing will enable local residents to walk easily to Hammersmith - through Brackenbury HomeZone , and for children going to Brackenbury school at last there is a safer route! Two children have previously been injured on Goldhawk Road, but with a new Puffin crossing, Goldhawk Road will be a safer, nicer and more relaxing place to shop, eat and walk along.

Climate Change/Energy
In August smog levels break Government health limits at 76 out of 80 Government pollution monitoring sites.
In November Kings Rd, Hammersmith named by a study produced by Kings College University London as pollution hotspot equal to 27 cigarettes a day!! Energy White Paper - Goodbye nuclear…Hello wind! A significant victory for environmentalists as the Government launches the Energy White Paper and in it rejects calls for new nuclear power plants and announces plans to cut climate-changing emissions of carbon dioxide by 60 per cent by 2050.
In July 2003 the Government announced the UK's biggest ever expansion in wind energy with plans for huge off-shore wind farms to be built in three areas off the UK coast, expected to power 15 per cent of all UK households, and create 20,000 new jobs. A new wind turbine was also installed on the south bank to power the lights and more are planned in the Thames Estuary.
Boycotts cost petrol retailers. The Co-Op bank studied consumers over a 6-week period and calculated that people who boycotted petrol retailers cost the business £454 million this year. Given that there's only one real petrol boycott in the UK - StopEsso - we can guess that a lot of that cost has been shouldered by Esso!

Real Food
After campaigning led by Hammersmith and Fulham Friends of the Earth and supported by other London Friends of the Earth groups Ken Livingstone has expressed support for the GM-Free London initiative. The London biodiversity plan states that "The Mayor will oppose commercial or experimental release of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) into the environment in London". In addition the GLA catering contracts insist on organically certified produce.
At time of writing over 30 local authorities and national parks had become GM-free, joined by Britain ' biggest farmer, the Co-op, and an overwhelming vote from the National Trust's members for the Trust to follow suit. Local authorities all over the country are passing resolutions, with many more in the pipeline. This is sending a very clear message to Tony Blair that the people of the UK do not want GM crops and food!
Hammersmith and Fulham Farmers market restarts.
In October this year for the first time the local council fully confirmed their GM policy, to our knowledge this information had not previously been made public. They announced that Direct Catering Services have the following policy statement :"It is the policy of Direct Catering Services not to use Genetically Modified in ingredients in any of our products. Direct Catering Services do not knowingly serve any foods that contain Genetically Modified ingredients.We have informed our suppliers that we will not accept any ingredients know to have GM Material.We have received confirmation from our suppliers that none of the items supplied to us knowingly contain GM additives or derivatives"
We have also had confirmation that Direct Services caters for Education Catering, Hammersmith Town Hall (including functions), Social Services and Lunch Clubs

Biodiversity
Local Nature Reserve Launch Event 12th April 2003 Wormwood Scrubs Park is a vast open grassland situated in the north of the borough. The LNR Launch Event was organised to officially recognise the new status given to parts of Wormwood Scrubs. It has always been recognised as a special site due to its sense of space, rugged feel and variety of plants and animals. Part of the 'Scrubs', as locals affectionately refer to it, was designated as a Local Nature Reserve, the first in the borough. This acknowledged the valuable wildlife in the area and the need to manage it positively for the enjoyment of people.