Winning Food Waste Vehicle Names announced
Congratulations to the students across West Berkshire who won the Name our Food Waste vehicle competition. We had some fantastic entries (over 100!) and it was incredibly hard to decide. Our Waste Team and our partners Veolia surprised some of the winning students with the named vehicles over the last week. The winning names in no particular order are:
- The Hungry Recycler
- Composter Clemmie
- Sir Andy Curry
- Betty Banana
- Food Feaster 2.0
- Garbage Gobbler
- Pikachew
- Eva Egg Shell
Read more about it here.
We are pleased to announce the launch of our community repaint scheme at both of our household waste recycling centres (HWRC) Newbury and Padworth in partnership with our contractor Veolia!
Community repaint allows residents to drop off paint at either of our Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs) in the usual way. Householders visiting the HWRCs will also have the opportunity to take away paint free of charge for DIY jobs or local community projects.
*Paint can only be collected from Newtown Road HWRC, Newbury at the moment, collection will be available at Padworth HWRC, Padworth soon*
This is a great way to pick up some free paint. In addition this has benefits for the environment as the paint will be put to good use rather than being sent for recycling.
If community groups need larger amounts of a single colour paint for a project, please contact us to see if we can help.
To drop off or pick up leftover paint please make sure you have registered for a digital permit to visit the site and have an appointment booked before you visit. This scheme is only open to householders and we cannot work with traders, retailers or manufacturers.
 Did you know a terrifying 14.5 million pumpkins are expected to be left uneaten this Halloween? Pumpkins aren’t just for carving, the flesh can also be reused into many fang-tastic recipes for the whole family to tuck into! For recipe inspiration and more info on how to reduce your waste, take a look here.
If you can’t quite save it all, then once your pumpkin is carved and hollow you can use it for compost, or it can be chopped up and placed in your new kerbside food waste caddy where it will be turned into a soil conditioner.
 Watch our video below to see exactly how to use the new separate weekly food waste collection service when it starts next week for households with a kerbside collection.
For residents with communal bins, collections will start from 28 November.
By recycling your food waste you will help cut down the amount of food waste that ends up in landfill sites or incineration facilities.
Food waste that is sent to landfill doesn’t harmlessly breakdown. It has a big impact on the environment as it rots and releases methane – a greenhouse gas that is over 20 times more harmful than carbon dioxide.
Funding is available for household energy-efficiency measures for low-income and low energy efficient homes.
Sustainable Warmth is a new Government grant scheme designed to fund energy-efficiency upgrades to residents who are most likely to be impacted by the high cost of rising bills. These improvements will help residents to use less energy and spend less on their energy bills.
To see if you are eligible, please check the eligibility through the online application here.
Deadline to apply is 31 December 2022.
 We are looking to create a sustainable Christmas shopping guide for residents featuring local independent stores, charity shops, farm shops, craft stores, environmental events such as repair cafes and swap shops, and more.
With the cost of living crisis affecting us all, we want to help residents to shop local this Christmas. In addition, as shoppers also face increasing costs, we'll be encouraging them to ‘shop less but shop better’ or ‘upcycle’ by promoting sustainable options for them.
What is your business doing to help make West Berkshire a green district? This could include publishing a climate strategy or plan, achieving carbon certification, using renewable energy and recyclable packaging, or choosing a sustainable supply chain. Maybe you provide vegan or locally-sourced produce, or support environmental projects in your area. Tell us all about your business to be included in the online Christmas guide!
You can read about our own Environmental priorities in our Environment Strategy here.
The deadline for applications is 30 October 2022. We are aiming to publish the online magazine mid-November.
The festive season is coming, and this year you will have even more reason to leave your car at home as free bus travel will be offered on selected days during this time.
Following on from successful free bus travel last Christmas, this Easter, and for the Platinum Jubilee celebrations, bus journeys starting in West Berkshire, and the return journey if going beyond the West Berkshire border, will be free all day on the following days in November and December.
There are no time restrictions on the public buses, so why not take the opportunity to go Christmas shopping, look at festive lights, attend the panto at the Corn Exchange, go for a bite to eat in the local eateries or do a round of Pre-Christmas visits to family and friends.
Additionally, we will put on a free pre-bookable Christmas service for selected villages around West Berkshire on Saturdays starting from 19 November through to Christmas Eve.
Further details about free bus travel and the Christmas service will be made available on West Berkshire Council’s website.
We're delighted to announce that our third round of grants for local infrastructure projects is open. We would like to welcome environmentally-focused projects that tie in with our Delivery Plan.
This funding stream is open to community groups, other infrastructure providers/partners in West Berkshire, Ward Members, Town and Parish Councils and organisations that wish to deliver infrastructure to benefit the residents and businesses of the area, primarily helping support and deliver the Council's development plan.
We're now allocating a further £500k from our budget and are inviting bids from community groups to bid for the cash. We'll be accepting bids from £10,000 to £100,000 until 5pm on Monday 14 November.
The Environment Delivery team has been hard at work pulling together our Environment Strategy Annual Report for July 2021 – July 2022. It includes
- A summary of actions and achievements from July 2021 - July 2022
- 'You said, we did' which shows how we've acted on feedback from residents
- An update on West Berkshire Council and District carbon emissions
It is due to be reported to the Executive on 3 November 2022. You can read the Annual Report here.
The Road Safety Team at West Berkshire Council has a fantastic app available to help make sure you get home safely after a great night out or day trip.
The Get Your Coat app provides intelligent travel planning, reminders and support for a night out on the town including the ability to:
- Choose a designated driver from the contacts list in your phone. When the time comes to go home you can call them at the press of a button, or send them an automated message which includes your location to say that you’re ready to be picked up (as long as you have your GPS system turned on).
- Pre-programme your preferred taxi number and assign it to a hot key so you can contact them instantly. Not able to get through or visiting a different area? No problem, use the ‘Find Taxi Numbers’ function to find companies local to where you are.
- Set a reminder. If you’re relying on public transport the GYC app can send you a reminder 30 mins before your last train or bus. It also provides a helpful countdown timer so you know exactly how much time you have left.
- Find alternative travel altogether.
- Discreetly let a loved one know you have arrived safely using the hot key.
- Keep in touch with your friends on a night out. If you lose your friends or feel unsafe at any point our app will allow you to send a message at the touch of a button and it will include your location.
- Keep a track of your alcohol consumption. The GYC drinks tracker helps you to keep track of how many units of alcohol you’re consuming and how that translates into calories, and how many steps it would take to burn it off. It will also remind you when you have reached your recommended daily or weekly allowance of alcohol (as defined by the UK Chief Medical Officer).
- Finally, the advice section provides direct links to help and support as required including alcohol and drugs and Frank- should it all go wrong!
The Get Your Coat app is entirely free to download and is available through both iTunes and Google play stores. Just search for ‘Get Your Coat’ in your app store. Or you can visit www.getyourcoat.app
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If you are a regular visitor to our open spaces at Almond Avenue/Shaw Riverside, Linear Park, Northcroft & Goldwell Parks and Snelsmore Common, you may have noticed the installation of some new dual use bins. These bins are suitable for both litter and bagged dog waste and are part of a pilot project to help keep our open spaces looking beautiful.
The benefits of dual use bins are numerous but the main bonus is the capacity of the new bins is over twice that of the old bins and therefore they shouldn’t fill up so quickly and the rubbish will stay within the bin. Initially our contractors will empty the bins at the same frequency but they will monitor the situation to see if we can reduce the frequency to save money.
Where we previously had a dog and a litter bin, we now have a single bin. This makes disposing of your litter or dog waste easier and helps our contractor with the emptying process.
The bins look smarter, are simpler to use and are animal proof. Special flaps stop animals getting in and rubbish getting out!
Finally, whilst the bins are robust and durable, when they are ready to be replaced, they can be recycled.
We also hope to look into the provision of bins for recyclable litter in some of our open spaces and hope to provide an update in New Year.
If you have any comments or questions regarding the new bins please email: Groundsmaintenance@westberks.gov.uk
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Sovereign’s community development team recently gathered in Goldwell Park, Newbury to plant over 1,000 spring bulbs in amongst the existing trees at Lockdown Woods. Colleagues came from the Isle of Wight, Bristol, Dorset and Basingstoke to spend some time together in the autumn sunshine and support this environmental project arranged by us.
Some of the trees which are part of the Lockdown Wood were planted by Sovereign and Ground Control back in 2020 and it felt only right that the team came together to plant bulbs to complete their involvement in this project.
The bulbs, supplied by the Council’s Countryside Team, included daffodils, hyacinth and crocus and will add a splash of colour to the area when they come up in the spring.
The morning was organised by Rachel Peters, Community Development Officer, who was leaving Sovereign after 17 years. Rachel said: “It was a great way to spend time with my colleagues planting here today, and I look forward to seeing these bulbs come up in the spring. It will be a lovely reminder of my time at Sovereign and the wonderful colleagues I’ve worked with.”
New eCargo bikes are being offered to local businesses in the district to try out as part of a new environment scheme.
Under the trial we have three eCargo bikes available with cool boxes. These are eye-catching vehicles that can be branded with vinyl if the business wishes to, so long as they are removed on return. Ideas for their use could include:
- Static / mobile promotion - indoors or outdoors, at summer fayres or events etc.
- Sale of goods or foods, where allowed, in streets or parks - one will be available with a cool box.
- Local deliveries, in place of small vans, demonstrating a commitment to zero-carbon transport as they have a range of about 30 miles on one charge.
- Carriage of tools and equipment by trades' people.
These are classified as bicycles so no driving licence is required to ride them. Insurance is not compulsory, but we would recommend any business check that they have cover for employees and public liability etc.
In the last few weeks a number of projects have been completed on the Rights of Way network. Unusually these have all been in Urban or Urban edge settings.
A well-used route, the path behind McDonald’s at the Newbury Retail Park, was crumbling away in places. This vital link is actually a Bridleway, although it’s rare to see a horse along this route.
The Rights of Way team commissioned some work to be completed as a priority to restore this bridleway to its former glory. In a number of places tree roots had disturbed the path and made it un-even. In other places the edge was starting to give way due to age.
The results speak for themselves, it’s now smooth and smart and fit for purpose, ideal for the hundreds of people that use the path every day.
There are a number or Urban Public Rights of Way, but not all are as Friendly or Urbane as they could be. A useful local link in Tilehurst had become potholed and boggy, and in places was slipping away. It has now been restored to its former glory after being treated to some new surface, and some shrubs reduced in size. Locals should once again be able to get to the shops without muddy feet. When we last visited the squirrel seemed to approve!
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Elsewhere in Tilehurst a vital link between town and country had become a quagmire of mud. From the urban fringe of Little Heath Road, Kiln Lane provides a vital link to the refreshing green of the countryside, and a wooded Hillside Dell. The changing patterns of lockdown meant many more had discovered the joys of “explore local”, and this path paid a heavy price. Deep dense mud and surrounded by vegetation, this route had become a challenge to even those with wellington boots. Assorted objects had been added to the mix in an attempt to help get across.
We removed the objects, cut back the vegetation and laid where needed a solid foundation of recycled rubble suitable for the area. Over this a soft, golden path of gravel has been lain to get all to the top of the hill. Wide enough to walk two abreast a bright mud free route is now in place. Drainage has also been added so that the route should remain water free in all but the heaviest of rains. There are plans to improve the next section, but that is for another day.
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