The Thames Barrier in East London was closed for the fifth time in three days on Tuesday morning to protect the capital from high tides, following extreme weather over the weekend.
There are now 20 flood watches in place across the Thames region. However, the government’s Environment Agency said the risk of flooding across England and Wales was easing, with the number of flood warnings expected to decrease.
Martin Moore, duty controller at the Thames Barrier, said: “This is the fifth time we have closed the Barrier in the past three days, which only serves to reinforce just what a vital asset it is in combating the risk of tidal flooding in the capital.”
He added: “We monitor the risk of flooding constantly, and the forecast levels require us to close the Thames Barrier to perform its role of preventing London from flooding.”
At this time of year high spring tides are normal, but heavy rainfall has resulted in large flows coming down the Thames as water drains off the land. This combined with surge activity in the North Sea has resulted in the Barrier’s closure to keep the tide from entering the capital and to maintain the river at a safe level.
The barrier reopened later on Tuesday although the agency said it would continue to monitor the weather levels and tides closely.
“This is the 119th time we have closed the Thames Barrier, and it serves as an important reminder to us all that living in the flood plain is never without risk,” said Mr. Moore.
The closure of the Barrier follows a week of strong storms across France, Spain, Portugal, Germany and Belgium, which have killed 51 people.
To find out the risk of flooding in your local area, The Environment Agency website has information on flooding. Alternatively call the agency floodline on 0845 9881188.
Parks in Tower Hamlets should be blooming in a particularly special way this Spring, thanks to 15 tonnes of compost recycled from local household and garden rubbish being spread across the borough’s flower beds.
The environmentally-friendly waste has been collected at the council’s recycling centre at Northumberland Wharf, and then taken by contractors Veolia to its recycling site at Rainham in Essex. It took around 12 weeks to transform the waste into high quality compost, before being used in the borough’s parks.
Councillor Abdal Ullah, Lead Member for Cleaner, Safer, Greener at Tower Hamlets Council, said: “We’re always encouraging residents to reduce, reuse and recycle their waste, and it’s fantastic to see this hard work has paid off. By taking things like grass clippings and flower cuttings to Northumberland Wharf, residents have helped to provide good quality compost for the borough’s parks.”
But figures show that too few local people are supporting recycling. Food waste accounts for half of the weight of all household rubbish in Tower Hamlets, yet according to the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the borough achieved a household recycling rate of just 19.3% for 2008/9, compared to the national average of 37.6%.
In Victoria Park, EastLondonLines spoke to local people about their views on recycling. Amy Ward, 26, from Tower Hamlets, perhaps captures the majority feeling: “I really should recycle but I just don’t, I usually find I’m too busy during the week. The idea of keeping my rotting food waste in my flat is a bit too much to think about as well!”
Karl Taylor, 20, of Tower Hamlets agrees: “I’m a student. Me and my housemates try to recycle a bit, but definitely not leftover meals or anything like that. I’m all for doing my bit though.”
Simon Openshaw, 42, of Lewisham, said: “I work in Tower Hamlets, and it’ll be nice to see the flowers in bloom on my way to work. My wife always tries to recycle what we can and tries to get me to help, but I usually leave it all to her. It is important – more people should recycle really.”
The Reuse and Recycling Centre at Northumberland Wharf is a disposal point providing residents with the facility to recycle a wide range of materials or drop off waste.
Items that can be taken to reuse or recycle range from aluminum foil, books, cans, cardboard and clothes to green garden waste, textiles, white goods, wood and timber.
The Centre is located on Yabsley Street, close to Blackwall DLR station.
Sainsbury’s recycling facility at their Sydenham branch is one of the first stores in the country to collect energy-saving light bulbs in addition to portable batteries.
The supermarket has partnered with light bulb recycling specialists Recolight. Sainsbury’s is the first retailer to offer joint recycling of batteries and bulbs, following a successful pilot in late 2009. The scheme has been rolled out across 200 of the company’s larger stores nationwide.
Sainsbury’s Environmental Affairs Manager Jack Cunningham spoke of his hopes for the scheme: “We’re going a step further than most retailers by offering to recycle energy-saving bulbs in addition to batteries.”
“People want to recycle light bulbs but are often unsure of where the nearest recycling facilities are. Our recycling points will be visible to millions of customers every week, and we hope that this will help to increase recycling rates in the UK.”
The partnership is an important move towards providing consumers with a wider range of options to make recycling low-energy light bulbs as easy as possible. By combining the collection of both batteries and light bulbs, Recolight can use the same transport infrastructure for both products, helping to reduce CO2 emissions.
Petra Holden, 34, of Sydenham, is delighted the scheme is running at the Sainsbury’s Savacentre: “It’s really handy they’ve started running the facility, otherwise I know I’d just throw them away. It’s always good to do what you can for the environment.”
Jamie Taylor, 48, of Catford, also hopes the recycling facilities will be successful. He said: “I’m glad Sainsbury’s have taken the lead, hopefully the other supermarkets will follow. I’ve just disposed a load that I had – maybe Sainsbury’s should advertise it a bit more so people will know about it.”
The scheme uses specially-designed collection containers, situated in the recycling areas of larger stores. All light bulbs and batteries collected will be sent for recycling at approved treatment facilities.
Nigel Harvey, the Chief Executive of Recolight, a non-profit organisation, said: “We have already had considerable success keeping commercial lamps out of landfill. Working with Sainsbury’s will help us to significantly increase the number of consumer lamps that are recycled. Research has indicated that consumers will recycle energy-saving light bulbs if they have access to suitable drop off points. Sainsbury’s stores provide an excellent location for these joint collections.”
Actress Joanna Lumley leads park visitors up the garden path with her audio guide
Visitors to Mile End Park in Tower Hamlets will now be able to stroll the grounds accompanied by actress and Ghurkhas campaigner Joanna Lumley.
As patron of the award-winning open space, Lumley, who is best known for her role as Patsy in the television series Absolutely Fabulous, has recorded an audio tour of the park.
The recording that covers a 1.5 mile route from the north end of the park to the south can be downloaded as a podcast for MP3 players and mobile phones. It could potentially help partially sighted visitors explore the area, as well as disabled, the infirm or those with prams.
Michael Rowan, the Director of Mile End Park, said he was delighted that Lumley had become involved: “It’s fantastic, she’s always been a good supporter of the park and we’re lucky to have her on board.” Rowan explained how the audio tour is broken down into sections, so visitors don’t have to walk the whole route at once.
Members of the public said how much they enjoyed the audio tour. Christine Reece, 23, of Lewisham, is a huge fan of Joanna Lumley: “I loved her in Absolutely Fabulous, I’d definitely recommend it [the guided tour] to my friends as a way of getting fit as well as learning more about the park.”
Similarly Alex Keithly, 38, of Tower Hamlets, was pleasantly surprised: “It was pretty good. My wife told me about it but I was a bit reluctant to go with her. It was interesting to listen to, it’d be good if they did it with more parks around London.”
Mile End Park was created in the 1940s, as part of a plan to offer city dwellers access to green spaces. Formerly home to industrial buildings and residential areas; sections of the park are separated by roads, waterways and rail links.
Situated in the heart of East London, Mile End tube station is the closest tube link. Buses 25, 277, D6, D7 and N25 pass close by and there is a dedicated cycle track through the park.
City airport expansion would be just plane noisy say Tower Hamlets. Photo: Juan Garcia
Tower Hamlets has joined neighbouring borough Redbridge in opposing expansion of London City Airport.
The move, which was made to restrict noise disturbance to those living on noisy flight paths in Poplar, Bow, and the Isle of Dogs, came after a council vote last Wednesday.
With children to entertain, food to cook and presents to hunt down, recycling may seem like one task too many. Fortunately this Christmas it’s easier than ever to re-use waste in Tower Hamlets. (more…)
700, 000 tonnes of disposable nappies are dumped each year. Photo: Steph Laing
Real Nappies for London invited Tower Hamlets residents to their second Nappucino event last week.
A Nappucino is an event hosted by a local nappy retailer that allows parents to make an informed purchase in a cosy, caffeine fuelled environment. Nappucinos are held in Hackney and Lewisham on a monthly basis.
