According to the BBC the Liberal Democrat MP Chris Huhne is now the environment and climate change secretary in Mr. Cameron’s coalition cabinet.

The new British coalition government has yet to announce the policies that Huhne’s department will now enact, but in their manifesto the Liberal Democrats pledged to:

• Reject a new generation of nuclear power stations “based on the evidence nuclear is a far more expensive way of reducing carbon emissions than promoting energy conservation and renewable energy”.
• Block new unabated coal fired power stations.
• Set target to generate 40 per cent of electricity from renewables by 2020, rising to 100 per cent by 2050.
• Invest £400m in upgrading shipyards to support offshore wind and marine energy industry.

The Conservatives are in favour of new build nuclear, but with a Liberal Democrat MP as energy secretary it remains to be seen if the UK’s current plans to build up to ten new reactors will be enacted.

The appointment will be just one of a possible five cabinet posts that Liberal Democrat will be in power of under David Cameron’s government.

Vince Cable is expected to be responsible for business and banks.

George Osborne has also been given the post of chancellor while Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg has been given the job of deputy prime minister.

We will continue to keep you updated when we get the information.

Deep in the heart of Pennsylvania, United States, there is a deep fire burning below the surface. This is coming from a coal fire that has been burning for a shocking 48 years and continues to burn on. Underground coal fires are almost impossible to contain and extinguish. Along with a vast amount of coal burning there are also large quantities of other green house gases like methane being released into the atmosphere. These fires can last for decades and decades.

Coal fires are considered to be a global catastrophe and rightly so. A town called Centralia, PA was once a coal mining town with a population of around 1,000, that has now sizzled down to a mere 9 people. The fire was started by the voluntary fire brigade in 1962 when they set fire to a rubbish dump as this was the way they dealt with waste (not exactly environmentally friendly), the fire wasn’t fully extinguished and spread through a hole in a rock pit and began to set fire to an abandoned underground coal mine. The most recent published report was on December 1st which confirmed the fire continues to burn to this day.

In 1981 the danger became all too apparent when a 12 year old boy fell into a sinkhole 42 meters deep that opened like the gates of hell beneath his very feet. Fortunately the boy was saved by his older cousin who managed to pull him from the mouth of the hole before he could fall to his inevitable death. After that traumatic event in 1984 the U.S congress gave more than $42 million to help relocate the town’s population.

The most shocking thing I found out whilst reading this article is that coal fires is quite common place all over the world. There are unwanted coal fires which continue to burn in the United States, South Africa, Australia, China and India. Coal fires around the world burn approximately 20 million tonnes of coal a year!

Fire fighters all over the world are fighting battles such as this every day, in these types of cases it’s the entire world that is losing with the destruction of our planet and the depletion of our resources. I just hope that these fires come to an end sooner rather than later.

If you are considering a new home for the future why not take a look at the eco friendly alternatives to living?  The BuilderScrap team have been looking into substitutes for conventional buildings which can be used for a variety of purposes including permanent homes, a holiday house, tree top dining or a hotel bar.  When I came across companies who specialise in building tree houses and eco lodges I was instantly enthralled with the idea of living Swiss Family Robinson style.  The tree houses are constructed in wood, and as implied by the name, are built in and around trees.  Many of the designs I’ve come across are beautiful and resemble something from a fairy tale, however I don’t know if I could bring myself to reside in one on a permanent basis, not only because of my fear of heights but also having lived in the UK all my life I know how cold and brutal our weather can be.  Trying to sleep in a tree house whilst one of the storms of the last winter are threatening to bring your idyllic castle in the trees down around you simply doesn’t appeal to me.  However, using the tree houses as holiday homes or as a relaxing part of a hotel experience are both appealing ideas and something I hope will become more available in the future. 

For those not quite radical enough to consider living in tree houses in the rather harsh and unpredictable climate of the UK there are other ways to help ensure your buildings are environmentally friendly.  Recycling is a great way to help the environment, whether you’re recycling your morning paper, old shoes or construction waste.  Research the best ways to ensure your home will be eco friendly for the future such as improving insulation and the use of solar panels.  And of course reusing as often as possible.  Using the builders exchange site BuilderScrap can help bring a stop to construction waste going to landfill and help to save our environment.  By seeing more building materials being reused by other contractors, charities and others in the third sector we are not only being more eco friendly but are also helping our local community.

Working for BuilderScrap gives me the opportunity to read up on every day environmental issues. I recently came across a very interesting article regarding the effect that glasses and contact lenses have on the environment.

Apparently this came in to focus during the big 3D cinema hype that has had the world drooling over the next incredible step forward in watching television. The film ‘Avatar’ created a demand for 42 million pairs of 3D glasses to be produced. The grand scheme to help counter the inevitable waste guaranteed to be left was to collect and reuse where it is possible, as I’m sure many people will have taken them home, and either lose or break them or simply put them in the bin (and probably not a recycle bin).

That isn’t the only waste caused by visual impairment; disposable contact lenses obviously have a clear environmental fault. It also doesn’t help that they arrive in sanitized blister packs and come with plastic bottles of solution. Single use lenses may not have the same size ecological effect as long term lenses, but still have an effect all the same.

So as it stands glasses are seen as the environmentally conscious person’s choice of sight enhancement. The problem with glasses is the frame, the heavily laminated acetates which is made from non renewable oils, which causes the creation of them to be highly damaging to the environment.

The opticians clearly don’t see this as a problem as ‘BOGOF’ offers are often the lead for their campaigns. A current pair of glasses is expected to last on average 2.2 years. So next time when you go to pick up your new spectacles why not ask for eco frames which contain recycled acetate, and show that you’re not short sighted when it comes to the environment.

Last week BuilderScrap celebrated it’s first official birthday!  And what a year it has been.  This post looks at some of our highlights of last year.

I asked a few members of the BuilderScrap team to give me a paragraph each about their highlights from our first year.

Mike Close

 Mike Close, Project Manager, wrote ‘Having only joined 3 months ago, it has been an exciting time to join the team, there is so much going on and it is obvious how far BuilderScrap has come even over the last few months, yet alone the year as a whole. It has been a quick learning process and I now feel very much part of the team that is ready to take BuilderScrap to the next level. My high points without doubt have been spreading the message at the various road shows and trade shows; Eco build was a particular favourite. I look forward to continuing to help to develop and drive things forward over the coming year, there are some fantastic opportunities both in the UK and overseas, just not enough time in the day.’

Paul Jones

Paul Jones, our Digital Marketing Assistant, ‘I’ve been working for BuilderScrap for roughly 7 months, it has been quite an experience, and some of my highlights of the past few months have been the trips to Birmingham and London. I also enjoyed watching the user numbers consistently grow thanks to the work of our marketing team and the early mornings at Huws Gray.  Looking back on my time here I have enjoyed working with everyone especially the users who continue to support us.’

Dannii Owens

Dannii Owens, Marketing Assistant says ‘Having worked for BuilderScrap before graduating last year I was really excited to be offered a position as Marketing Assistant.  Ten months later and I have experienced a great year with the company, particularly enjoying the opportunity to meet and speak to new people through user surveys, trade shows and our road show!  I know from personal experience that people asking to do a short survey can be time consuming and rather annoying but all of our users so far have been talkative, helpful and friendly.  I was also one of the lucky team members who got to attend EcoBuild this year, another brilliant experience with a variety of people to speak to and lots of interesting companies displaying their businesses.  The road show at Huws Gray yards was also great fun, who wouldn’t enjoy free sausage and egg butties three times a week?’

As for me, the highlights have been growing our small team of me, the MD and a couple of consultants to include Dannii, Paul, Mike, and the six new staff who have joined us this week from the future jobs fund.  It’s also been great to receive recognition for what we are doing, through winning and being shortlisted for several prestigious awards, including the Green Apple Award, Construction News Quality Awards, Rushlight Awards and Wirral Investment Network Awards.  It has also been great to see our memberships rise dramatically, which they contimue to do!

Well this week has been as exciting as it comes, firstly and to be perfectly honest most importantly I have been promoted (hold for applause) to Digital Marketing Assistant. So all week my step had a certain spring in it. So thanks to the powers above, I will be much more involved in the digital side of things which means our loyal blog readers will have plenty more of me! I have also triumphed in my customer management exam which has also put me in a rather giddy mood.

There has been a dark cloud hanging over us this week, sadly one of our most valued staff has decided to start a new chapter in her life with her boyfriend in London, so we all wish Dannii all the luck in the world, she will truly be missed. It’s always been a life long dream of hers to live in the big city.

We have also expanded the BuilderScrap team with the addition of 6 new people; Katie, Ben, Ash, Daniel, Liam and Steve have all joined the ranks and they’re all eager to start working long hours for low wages (!) just so we can give our devoted users the care and attention that you deserve. We have also welcomed Robert into the fold, who will be looking after the BuilderScrap accounts.

This week we also achieved our target of 3, 500 users on the site so we celebrated with a variety of muffins and cookies. We are growing every single day now and hope to reach our next target of 5,000 by August. We’re all thrilled with the response we’ve had since the company has taken off, and we’d like to thank you all for helping us to grow!

Else-where our inspirational leader Mr. Brendon Kenny has been speaking at Grand Designs Live about the benefits of reusing construction materials, as well as how BuilderScrap can help to meet the Code for Sustainable Homes.

This week has seen growth across the spectrum; from user numbers, work force numbers, amounts of responsibilities or the growth of Mr. Kenny’s fame it has all had a positive impact on BuilderScrap. Long may it continue.