Get on your R’s …

Recycle – Reduce - Re-use

Does 30 million tonnes of waste a year mean anything to you?

75% of our rubbish is generated by packaging – I’m now REDUCING this by refusing plastic bags in shops and taking my own ‘green’ bags sold at the supermarket, and RE-USING them over and over again.  I’m buying more frequently (because I’m no saint) loose fruit and vegetables from my local shops to avoid using the car.

You may be RECYCLING

• Glass 
• Newspapers
• Plastic

Or RE-USING

• Plastic bags/aluminium
• Donating electrical goods and DIY equipment
• Old mobiles
• Unused medicines
• Second hand clothes, furniture

Does your local council provide access to the right facilities to enable you to get on your R’s?  Please send in your suggestions for reducing waste – we’d love to know.  What do you do personally to recycle?

A chip off Sir Alan’s block?

Watching ‘The Apprentice’ last night on catch up TV, I had to ask myself of Sir Alan Sugar’s faithful colleagues - “Is this the way professional people interview potential candidates”?  I was appalled (or was it a case of manipulative editing) at some of the interviewers’ lack of listening skills and empathy, little attempt to put interviewees at ease, and a certain disdain for the success of the candidates in overcoming personal adversity.  Were the interviewers just a chip off the old ‘Sir Alan’ Block?  I have a healthy admiration for Sir Alan’s forthrightness (but in contravention of many of today’s good practice guides), but I’m sure many HR departments are horrified at his behaviour (for the cameras?).

Would you expect your staff to call you ‘Sir X’ or ‘Madam Y’ if you were honoured?  What kind of interview style do you respond to? Can you make up your mind within 2 minutes of meeting an interviewer whether you consider your prospects favourable with the company?  

A new demand to cut interest rates

I recently read an interesting article on Adfero’s website about how changing interest rates will increase the amount of homes being bought and this in turn will help the economy to do a u-turn.  This is what they had to say:

Rapidly deteriorating conditions in the housing market can only be averted by a 0.5 per cent cut in interest rates, said the Home Builders Federation (HBF).

The HBF said the slowdown in the housing market poses a serious threat to the economy as a whole and the situation needs a fresh approach.

John Stewart, director of economic affairs at HBF, said: “Previous economic crises have led to housing market slumps, but this time the cart is leading the horse, with the speed and depth of the downturn threatening a serious wider economic crisis.”

“We just cannot rely on lessons learnt and solutions based on past downturns as this is a completely new situation in which we find ourselves,” he added.

The Bank said in its most recent inflation report, released in May, that it must focus on returning inflation to two per cent in the mid-term to allow economic growth to recover.

It also suggested that a cut in interest rates would increase funds available for lending and help quell the current mortgage crisis.

Are there other ways to stop this credit crunch? Will it be a repeat of the ‘87 disaster? What else can be done?

Post your thoughts…