Liverpool Echo - Eco Warrior

Guest blog: Serena Tramonti says dinosaurs still roam the Earth...

2011-01-29T00:26:08Z

In the next of our series of guest blogs, Serena Tramonti from Oxfam Campaigns tackles the issues of sexism that face women across the world...

Dinosaurs still roam the Earth...

That's the comment writer Kathy Lette made about Richard Kyes and Andrew Gray, caught last week making sexists remarks about assistant referee Sian Massey who referred the Liverpool game.

The uproar caused by this incident is more than justified. In football or British society there really should not be any excuse for any type of discrimination, whether it is race, religion, age or gender based.

Are men and women equal?

Nevertheless, in the UK women still earn 20% less than men. There are only a handful of women in the House of Commons and only a few days ago the Government was reviewing maternity/paternity laws. With the recession and cuts to public services, women are hit first and worst. Men and women are not equal yet. And not only in the UK.

I come from a country, Italy, where most men, and possibly the Prime Minister, feel that it is absolutely fine to have a wife and a variety of underage lovers; where women look incredibly glamorous, petite and beautiful, but are also hugely overworked and rarely progress in terms of career ladder; where 1 woman in 3 suffer from domestic violence and abuse.

The bigger picture

Let's look at the bigger picture: women work 60% of the global working hours and earn 10% of the world's income. Women own only 1% of land on the planet- despite that the majority of farmers are women. Of the 1 billion people living on less than $2 a day, 70% are women. And when it comes to climate change, poor women are affected first and worst.

If temperatures rise by 4C to 6C by 2100, farming in poor countries is going to become more difficult for women, who are less likely to have alternative sources of income. Also, since women are more likely to be managing the households and caring for their families, they are less likely to migrate; and as a result they become more vulnerable to sudden weather-related disasters. For example when a drought strikes, women have to work harder to secure food, walk for longer to collect water and wood for fuel for their homes.

If men and women were equal, the world would look less hungry and more sustainable. It looks like women are the key when it comes to sustainable development and agriculture and climate change. And guess what? A great lesson comes from Malawi, a country that, in the last five years, has chosen to invest in small food producers- women. While in 2004 1.5 million people needed food aid in Malawi, in 2009 this number had dropped to 150,000 people. So, more food on the table for Malawians- and fewer dinosaurs please!

This year is the 100th anniversary of International Womens' Day. Here is a question I would like to ask all the bloggers out there: So, what would the world look like if men and women were equal?

By Serena Tramonti
http://twitter.com/OxfamNorthEng

Guest blog: Karen Podesta on environmentally friendly fashion

2011-01-29T00:08:17Z

In the next in our series of guest blogs, Karen Podesta, half of the super-stylish duo behind Liverpool's Club Geek Chic talks us through her favourite eco fashion labels...

Colin Firth may have been a (well deserving) winner at this month's Golden Globes ceremony but my applause on the night was very much directed towards his wife, Livia.

An unusual compliment you might think, in the midst of a room full of people who creatively contributed to the best films of the past year, but Mrs Firth was very subtly involved in a creative project of her own...

Those of you who don't read Vogue with religious fervour may not be aware of the 'Green Carpet Challenge', a mission that Livia, Creative Director at Eco Age set herself before last year's awards season - to wear only ethical and sustainable outfits to red carpet events.

Her passion and commitment to the cause has seen her at the BAFTAs, Oscars and numerous other ceremonies in ensembles by designers including Nina Skarra, Stella McCartney and of course this year's stunning Globes dress by Prophetik, made from vegetable-dyed peace silk.

This isn't to say we all need a multiple-Oscar-nominated husband and a Hollywood budget to be stylishly eco-conscious (although it would help!).

Take Livia as your inspiration and assemble your own outfits from some of my favourite online boutiques:

People Tree

Affordable Fair Trade and organic clothing and accessories for the whole family. A one-stop-shop for office essentials, weekend casuals, party dresses and gorgeous jewellery. With designer collections, quirky gifts and a fabulous online magazine, it's an everyday site for shopping sustainably. This month I've got my eye on their 'Stella' drape dress and 'Adele' skirt.

www.peopletree.co.uk

Annie Greenabelle

I've already added Annie's corduroy Kilt Wrap Skirt, Open Back Dress and Zinnia Trouser to my payday wishlist. You'll fall in love at first sight with the cute, design-led pieces in predominantly organic and Fairtrade certified cotton. You'll also find an Annie Greenabelle concession line at Topshop online.

http://anniegreenabelle.com/

Tara Starlet

A vintage-inspired boutique, Tara Starlet is an adorable dressing up box of pencil skirts, bodices, tea-dresses, sailor slacks, land-girl dungarees, faux-fur capes, Hawaiian shorts and much more! Clothes are made locally, often from 'end of roll' fabrics and original trimmings are incorporated into new designs. Ideal for those of us who yearn for bygone eras!

www.tarastarlet.com

Eco Age

You'll spend hours on the Eco Age site, there's so much to read, buy and discover. The fashion section directs you to designers own websites but you can also buy a selection of bags and jewellery (including Livia Firth's own designs) in their online store amongst a whole host of products, from aerogardens and hand carved dishes to grow your own salad kits and energy saving products!

www.eco-age.com

By Karen Podesta

www.clubgeekchic.co.uk
http://twitter.com/karenpodesta

Hot and cold: A guest blog by Oxfam Campaigner Serena Tramonti

2011-01-17T18:01:40Z

IN the first of our guest blogs for 2011, Oxfam Campaigner Serena Tramonti explores the issues facing our planet's changing climate...

Last week I learnt that 2010 was the warmest year since record began
according to two independent studies, by NASA and the US National
Atmospheric Ocean Administration.

Hang on a minute: I have just spent the week-end drenched hunting for good
bargains in Liverpool One. And just before Christmas, while I was walking
down Mount Pleasant it was snowing so hard that I had to shelter inside
Chicken Bazooka- and I don't eat chicken. Isn't it true that this winter in
the UK was the coldest in a 100 years? So it is, according to the MET.

But it looks like unusual cold weather spells here are the results of
heating up elsewhere. And that climate change is at the heart of them.
According to the Podsman institute, the melting of the ice cap is
affecting atmospheric circulation and could treble the probability of cold
spells in Northern Europe . What about global warming then?

The predicted global warming temperatures are averages - they include peaks of cold and hot temperatures around the globe. It makes sense. So, 2010 has been the
hottest year on record so far- despite we had a lot of snow on 0,5% of the
planet surface ( the UK).

We are really fragile, aren't we? We live on a planet which is a strange
ball of water and air. A few degrees more or less in atmospheric and water
temperature can change our lives forever.

La Nina, a climate phenomenon which cools down the Pacific Ocean waters,
with consequent more rain in the Western pacific, is apparently the cause
of flooding in Australia, the Philippines and even Sri Lanka. Only a few
weeks ago a Philippines Oxfam aid worker, Dante Dalabajan, had talked to
children in Liverpool about the lives he saved during hurricane Ketsana.
The bad news is that this Nina is the worst in a long time and it is here
to stay.

Water water everywhere but not a drop to drink...

Children, women and men in Brazil, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Colombia,
Australia, the Philippines, are fighting for their lives against extreme
and flash flooding. Hundreds of lives have already been lost in Brazil. In
Colombia the government has declared the situation a 'National Calamity'.
The damages caused by these extreme weather events are incalculable; the PM
of Australia has declared that the death toll caused by the floods is
likely to rise. In Pakistan 21 m people have been affected by the worst
floods in living memory, and in Sri Lanka hundreds of thousands are
displaced.

Relief agencies, which last week have been under scrutiny for the lack of
progress in Haiti, are working around the clock to bring relief and clean
water to millions. Oxfam alone has been providing, in the last six months
in Pakistan, clean water and toilets to over 1m people, whilst 1.8m people
have received precious hygiene kits which will protect them against deadly
diseases. Whilst the water recedes, the soil left cannot be used to plant
new crops. The farmers who worked the land in Punjab, Sindh and Kyber
Pakhtunkhwa, have lost any possibility of providing for their families.
What is their future looking like?

We can pretend not to be too worried about it. At the end of the day, in
Merseyside we are all used to a bit of rain and cold. But, if you think
that the tragedies of these countries seem so far away from our daily
lives, think again. Can we forget Cockermouth? Can we forget that what
happened there, according to the Environment Agency, could easily happen
in Merseyside?

Remembering Pete Postlethwaite, a passionate campaigner for climate change

2011-01-03T10:31:36Z

"PETE Postlethwaite is the best actor in the world". Not my words, although I wholeheartedly agree. It was Stephen Spielberg who proclaimed his talent.
From his early days in the Everyman's 70s productions, through a glittering TV career and roles in Hollywood's biggest films, Pete marked himself out as one of the finest actors of his generation.
As the world wakes this morning to the sad news of Pete's death, his loss will be felt around the world. But here in Merseyside, his passing will be felt particularly keenly.

Pete had a staggering list of film, TV and theatre credits to his name. From the Royal Shakespeare Company to an Oscar nomination, In The Name Of The Father to Last Of The Mohicans and The Usual Suspects, he was a global star.

But he was also a keen environmentalist, as I found out when I received a call one day from the Environment Agency. "Pete Postlethwaite wants to talk to you about a climate change campaign he's backing," they said. And who was I to argue. I'd interviewed him a year or so previously at the Everyman, and over a cup of tea in the theatre's foyer he'd talked passionately about his love of the place, and of Liverpool itself.

When the phone rang next, it was Pete. There was no mistaking his gravely tones and kind voice.

He talked enthusiastically about the Environment Agency's short film competition, and about working to combat climate change. He'd already made his own environmental film, The Age of Stupid, where he'd arrived at the red carpet premiere on a bike to highlight the importance of climate change and using cars less. He delighted in throwing off the trappings of showbusiness. He loved his job, but not the glitz that went along with it.

My favourite thing was when he talked about his wife, Jacqui, his son Will and daughter, Lily, and their efforts as a family to make a positive impact on the environment. I loved the idea of their kitchen full of recycling bins and pockets full of sweet papers.

He chatted happily, and before he said goodbye, he gave me his personal phone number in case I needed to ask him anything else. So many celebrities these days insist that all press enquiries go through an agent or a manager, but then that was the thing about Pete. He may have been one of the biggest actors in the world, but he steadfastly refused to become a celebrity.

Here's the interview in full. Farewell Pete, and thank you...

A SHORT film written by students at Liverpool John Moores University has won the Environment Agency's first-ever short film competition.

Emily Webber, Samantha Pickles, Jen Robinson, Karen Turley and Sarah Butler fought off close competition from universities across the region as they produced their winning film about water efficiency, titled Human After All.

Emily said: "We all felt that climate change was a really worthwhile topic to work on, as we're all going to have to live with the ongoing effects.

"It's great to know our ideas are going to be used to spread such an important message."

The film has now been professionally produced with voice overs from Celebrity Big Brother contestants Terry Christian and Coolio as a polar bear and a penguin, following their heated debate over climate change in the house.

It will premiere tonight at an awards evening in Manchester, and will be used in the Environment Agency's forthcoming campaigns.

The judging panel was made up of experts from the film industry, including Phil Redmond, and the campaign is backed by Warrington actor Pete Postlethwaite.

Postlethwaite said: "It's a great thing that they're doing with these films. It's the youngsters who will save the world. Us old fogies are no use.

"I'm pleased a Liverpool film has won, although I can assure you I had nothing to do with the judging. It's not a fix," he chuckled.

"It's a big year for the environment in Liverpool - you need to get it done on a civic level, too, along with education and things like these films."

Postlethwaite and his family have always been keen eco- campaigners.

He added: "I'm not an apostle for the green movement, but we've always done our best.

"My missus has always been ahead of the game. She was recycling before it was fashionable. Now we have more recycling boxes in the kitchen than anything else. People used to come in and say 'what's all this?', but in the last few years it's taken off. Everyone is doing it now.

"When our young ones were smaller, I remember teaching them never to throw litter. Their little pockets were always full of sweet papers.

"It's about teaching by example. Children do what they see their mums and dads do. It makes sense - and as much for economic reasons as ecological ones. If you insulate your house, you save money and the planet."

Rwanda special feature: final video

2010-02-27T17:29:44Z

Here is my final video blog from this Rwanda trip, with the children of Rwamagana, again taken by Alice McKeegan. The full features from the trip will be in the Liverpool Echo, the Liverpool Daily Post, The Southport Visiter, The Wirral News, The Formby Times and The Crosby Herald this week. Please do let me know what you think, and thanks for following me during this special investigation.

Rwanda special feature: day three

2010-02-23T15:48:23Z

Today I visited a women's co-op, set up to help those raped and widowed during the genocide. The women work together to grow and harvest bananas, and sell the ones they don't eat at a nearby market. They desperately need a cow to provide manure for the bananas. It made me humble and ashamed to realise that ÃÂ£300 would buy that, and help them to change their lives. I'm setting up a direct debit from my wages every month as soon as I get back.

In the meantime, here are some more pictures of the day. Just seeing them now makes me smile. What an inspiration,

Rwanda special feature: video two

2010-02-22T20:49:07Z

Here's another short video, this time of the children in Rwamagana giving me high fives.

Rwanda special feature: video one

2010-02-22T20:30:58Z

This is a little video, taken by the lovely Alice McKeegan, of some of the children we met today. In an environment of struggle and trauma among the genocide survivors, they brought a ray of sunshine to the day, crowding round to see the pictures I'd taken of them on my camera, and reaching to touch Alice's camera.

Rwanda special feature: video one

2010-02-22T20:30:58Z

Rwanda special feature: day two

2010-02-22T19:58:07Z

Today has been a serious and, at times, difficult day. We were talking about the genocide with woman who were raped and widowed during those terrible days.
My last interview of the day was with a woman who trained as a lawyer after her husband and children were kiled, and represented herself to bring the killers to justice. Rather than gloom, I feel inspired.

Tomorrow, I'm off to meet women in a bag making co-operative and orphans who keep chickens.

The children here are so lovely, I've made a million new friends!

Pics as soon as i get wifi again...

Rwanda special feature: day one

2010-02-21T20:22:48Z

As you may have guessed from the title, I'm in Rwanda, working on a special feature, or more likely a series of features. Firstly I'm looking at the work of CAFOD, one of the most popular charities in Merseyside. I'm following where your money goes, and seeing who it helps.
I'm also looking at the environmental work going on in Rwanda. It is one of the first countries in the world to ban carrier bags, and it's working to make itself a destination for eco tourism.
So today was all about finding out more about the country and putting its history in context...

We set off early doors to see as much of Kigali, the capital, as we could. The city is small and very clean, and the people very friendly. I've taken some pics - mostly out of the car window - to give you an idea.

Our first stop was the genocide memorial and museum. The Rwandan Genocide was the 1994 mass killing of a million Tutsis and Hutu political moderates by the Hutu dominated government. Over the course of approximately 100 days, or more, from the assassination of JuvÃÂ©nal Habyarimana on 6 April through mid-July, 20% of the population were killed.
The memorial is a quiet emotional place for people to reflect. Alongside the mass graves is written in gold the name of every man, woman and child who lies there. But there are many more never accounted for.

As well as a place of sadness, it was also a place of hope. Tomorrow I travel to the villages where money from Merseyside is funding projects to counsel the bereaved, find justice for victims and provide a livelihood for those left behind through environmental work.

Sir Paul McCartney takes his appeal for "people power" to Brussels in the fight against global warming

2009-12-02T11:06:44Z

Sir Paul McCartney has appealed for "people power" to make the difference in the fight against global warming.
In an article published this week he says cutting out meat consumption one day a week can have a major impact on reducing CO2 emissions.
Sir Paul, who takes his "Meat-free Monday" campaign to Brussels this week, uses an interview in Parliament Magazine to insist that halving UK household meat consumption would do more to reduce emissions than halving the use of private transport.

The estimate, by Compassion in World Farming, is central to a crusade Sir Paul began last June and will continue on Thursday at a European Parliament conference also being attended by UN climate change chief Dr Rajendra Pachauri.
Just days before the marathon UN climate change conference begins in Copenhagen, the former Beatle's involvement ensures maximum exposure for a "Less Meat = Less Heat" initiative which is gathering momentum.
Writing in the Brussels-based Parliament Magazine, Sir Paul says: "Whilst we press politicians to pass global laws to reduce carbon emissions, we should not forget our individual capacity to act in ways that will help to fight climate change - such as limiting the eating of meat.
"Having one designated meat-free day a week is a meaningful change that everyone can make."
He goes on: "Making just one day a week a meat-free day really is the little thing that can make a big difference.
"On December 3 I will take this message to the heart of Europe, to a major international conference at the European Parliament.
"I will appeal to world leaders converging on Copenhagen for the climate change talks to remember that sustainable food policy is an essential weapon in the fight against global warming. Each should remember that eating less meat can stop global warming and help to feed the world."
Sir Paul says global livestock production currently comprised about 18% of annual global greenhouse gas emissions and could double by 2050.
The world's population had doubled since 1961, but meat consumption had quadrupled - and poultry consumption had increased tenfold:
"From farm to fork, the more meat we produce and eat, the bigger that carbon footprint will get. We simply cannot go on consuming like this."
He points to a joint report by Friends of the Earth and Compassion in World Farming - "Eating the planet: Feeding and fuelling the world sustainably, fairly and humanely" - which claims that if the industrialised world halved meat consumption it would be possible to feed the world in 2050 without massive agricultural expansion, intensive crop and animal farming, or any further deforestation.
"Western countries currently eat meat at least seven times a week, but using a series of projected world diets, this latest report recommends reducing that to twice or three times a week."
Sir Paul calls on governments to back individual action with "the right policies", adding: "There is too little joined-up planning to ensure a consistent approach across the local, regional, national, European and global levels.
"Too often ministers spend their time defending vested interests rather than seeking a strategic solution that bridges entrenched departmental thinking and historic divides."
Sir Paul adds: "But people power can always win out over government inaction. By making a simple change in the way you eat, you are taking part in a world-changing campaign where what's good for you is also good for the planet."

Special report: the effects of climate change on sub-saharan Africa

2009-10-23T20:33:10Z

I'm currently in Mali doing some research for a special report ahead of the Copenhagen climate change talks.

I'm looking at some of the work Christian Aid is doing to help the people here, and what we can all do to make a difference.
If there's anything specific you'd like me to investigate while I'm here, or any questions you'd like me to ask to the people here, please let me know.

Vanishing honey bees: An update

2009-10-06T16:16:07Z

Next time you sit down for a good meal, thank the honey bees who made it possible for you to eat it.
If it sounds too ridiculous to be true, then you don't know much about the plight of the honeybee. Because if they keep dying at their current rate, Britain will lose a third of all the food we normally see on our dinner plate.

Onions, cucumbers, pears, raspberries, leeks, avocados and macadamia nuts all depend on the honeybee for pollination, as do mustard, tea, fennel, kale and gooseberries.

The honeybee is slight in size but massive in economic and nutritional power. In the UK alone, bees contribute ÃÂ£200m a year to the economy through pollination, according to the British Beekeepers' Association (BBKA). Worldwide, they pollinate some 90 commercial crops, including soya, corn, cotton and wheat.
But in just the past winter, 20% of all the honeybee hives in Britain have simply disappeared. In the United States, there's already a name for it - Colony Collapse Disorder - as two million hives (or one-third of the total) have been lost in just the past two years.
It's a problem that one beekeeper termed 'the bee Holocaust'. At these current rates, America is expected to be honeybee-free by 2035.
This trend has been noted from all over the world, from America to Australia, Italy, Greece and Brazil. And no one knows why it's happening.
VANISHING INTO THIN AIR
So where are all the bees going? It's a question that has puzzled scientists for the past few years, and it's one that filmmakers George Langworthy and Maryam Henein set out to answer in a new documentary on the subject.
The Vanishing Of The Bees, which hits British cinemas on October 9, investigates the origins and future of Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) through captivating interviews with researchers, beekeepers, farmers and academics.
Characterized by large-scale disappearance of bees from a hive, CCD was first noted in the autumn of 2004, when Florida beekeeper David Hackenberg took a look inside one of his hives and realized that his bees had simply vanished.
All the worker bees were gone. And not in just one, but in 75% of all of 3,000 of Hackenberg's hives.
Oddly, the queen bee and baby bees were still present, a practice common to CCD but completely "unheard of" in nature, says Henein.
"You never see mothers abandoning their young in nature. This, to me, represents humans abandoning Mother Earth and showed me that we needed to do something to stop it."
Henein and Langworthy were immediately drawn to the mystery of the abandoned hives. No one single cause has yet been attributed to CCD, but scientists believe that pests (such as mites, viruses and bacteria), bad weather, pesticides, the importation of non-native bees to fill gaps in pollination, poor beekeeping (whereby bees are transported thousands of miles to pollinate crops from California to Maine and back again) and loss of natural habitat all play a part.
It's often said that whatever begins in America soon crosses the pond. But CCD is a phenomenon that hasn't yet hit the UK, says DEFRA, the Department for Environment, Farming and Rural Affairs.
Yet just why Great Britain is seeing such a large loss of its honeybees, compared to typical yearly losses of around 5-10%, is unknown.
As for the beekeepers themselves, some think that it's the pesticides that are posing the problem.
THE BEE KILLER
"If a pesticide is supposed to target the immune system of an insect in order to kill it, then what do we think is going to happen to a bee?" asks Hackenberg, one of the unwitting stars of Henein and Langworthy's documentary.
Hackenberg was CCD's whistleblower. The first beekeeper to present the disorder to researchers at Penn State University, he is convinced that a particular strain of pesticides - called neonicotinoids - are to blame.
"The scientists believe that something is breaking down the immune system of the bees, which is causing them to get sick, lose their memory, lose their way back home, and die off in their millions," he says.
"Now, do I think it's because of the pesticides? Well, I've been beekeeping for 40-something years and I never saw this problem before the neonicotinoids."
Neonicotinoids are recently introduced systemic pesticides that tend to be sprayed over huge monocultures and, for that reason, are "toxic in their parts per billion", says Langworthy.
"You put one drop in a swimming pool and the whole pool becomes lethal."
As honeybees fly from plant to plant collecting nectar, they ingest small amounts of the pesticide that become concentrated over time and slowly kill them, says Hackenberg.
"You never know where a bee is going to fly to collect food, because they can fly off for miles in every direction. So if there's bad food out there, they'll bring it back into the hive.
"They'll protect the hive from contamination by leaving home to die. But the thing is, the hive is already full of the infected nectar."
These toxic pesticides aren't just a problem for the bees. If that toxic nectar is turned into toxic honey, then what kind of effect is that having on human populations all across the world?
"Some scientists think these pesticides might be related to the increases in learning difficulties, autism and asthma we're seeing," says Henein.
"People really need to start thinking about where their food is coming from and how it's grown."
Certain countries, like France and Italy, have outlawed these pesticides because of the effect on the honeybee. But red tape and big business are holding the US back from doing the same, Hackenberg thinks, as "big monocultures like corn and wheat are much bigger industries than beekeeping by a long shot".
Bees work together as one giant animal. And the work they do is tremendous. The BBKA estimates that if people were forced to take over the bees' job of pollination in the UK alone, a workforce of 30 million would be required.
It sounds unimaginable, but it's already happened in southern Sichuan, China, where pear trees are now pollinated by hand after the uncontrolled use of pesticides in the 1980s killed off the honeybee population.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
You can encourage bees into your garden or allotment, or even just onto your windowsill, by planting wildflowers, which bees can feed on for nectar, and by planting grass, which they can use to shelter from the rain.
You could also become a beekeeper; there are already 40,000 registered in the UK, most of whom treat it as a hobby rather than a profession. You can find out more at www.britishbee.org.uk.
The Co-operative, which is supporting the Vanishing Of The Bees, also has loads of tips on how you can help the honeybee. See www.vanishingbees.co.uk/planbee to learn how.

On the bins: Talking rubbish with Environment Minister Dan Norris

2009-10-06T15:51:40Z

ENVIRONMENT Minister Dan Norris made sure Merseyside stays clean and green into the future.
The Minister for Rural Affairs and Environment visited Derby Park to help youngsters pick up litter and did a round on the bins in Knowsley...

"I'm really heartened to see how involved the young people are in keeping their environment clean," says Dan.
"This isn't a one-off litterpick - the children are here week in, week out keeping the area looking fantastic.
"I'm really impressed by the park too - I represent a rural constitiency, so it's been a surprise for me to see how green the area is."
Earlier in the day, he had joined refuse collectors to see how household waste is recycled.
"Effective waste collection is vital to the health and happiness of everyone," he explains.
"It is not sustainable to continue sending the majority of our waste to landfill, which is why it is so important that we all do as much as we can to reduce the amount of waste we create, and recycle as much as we can.
"Most of us don't think about what happens to our waste once it leaves our homes, but listening to and seeing the refuse collectors at work has given me a real insight into that journey.
"Today I have seen the full 'lifecycle' of waste, the action people have taken to pick-up waste to make their environment better, and how innovation can be used to turn waste into a valuable resource."
Mr Norris's visit is part of a three day tour of England to see the waste and recycling industry, and to look at how people engage with the environment.
"I'll feed back to central government all the positive steps you're taking to make the environment a better place."