Tuesday, July 06, 2010

Bread and Bottles

On Sunday morning I heard news that the environment ministers from every State in the country would be gathered here in Darwin to discuss a container deposit system for recycling drink containers. OK maybe everybody already knew this... I don't have a telly!

There's a campaign promoting Cash for Containers and members of the Total Environment Centre had come especially to encourage the ministers to make a decision that would see the whole country committing to a recycling program. (You probably already knew this too I suppose!) The cash for containers idea works on the basis of 10 cents credit per container which would be refunded when the container is returned to a recycle depot... They have one in S.A. and I believe the NT will follow suit next year but this meeting has the potential for the program to be taken up Nationally.

Awesome idea I reckon. Besides keeping the streets a little cleaner I think a program like this will go a long way toward improving peoples awareness of the value of resources and need to recycle. Not to mention the business opportunities for enterprising youngsters... I remember collecting thousands of cans as a kid! Every football match, every public event me and my mates would be out scrounging cans... Of course this lead us to hang around in the less savory parts of the grandstands at the footie and cop the occasional abusive comment from punters who hadn't quite finished their beer before we stole the cans from between their feet but what a thrill it was to be out there earning our own cash! The kids have got some fun times in the great outdoors ahead of them! It'll be a great earner for a lot of people who could probably use a few extra dollars too. I wonder if Trev will bother cashing them in? He might find some competition out on the street when the program commences in Darwin!

The meeting was held yesterday; apparently the discussions were quite productive and there's a chance that the idea will get off the ground.
Unfortunately I got there a bit late and missed out on cheering, stirring, heckling, or encouraging the Environment Ministers, (whatever it was we were there to do... I wasn't sure actually) but I did arrive in time to see Bev the Bottle and some of her crew in action! They were great! Too bad I missed the main event!

Container Deposit Scheme
(Bev Bottle with some of the crew, me too)

Bev (I think that's short for beverage) and her supporters sang this great song that went something like this:

"Ten green bottles in the recycle crate,
Ten green bottles in the recycle crate
When you return those bottles
You'll get a dollar mate...

When we get cash for containers
In each and every State..."
I don't think the songs complete yet but it sounded great and Bev was an absolute blast, I wish I'd caught it on video!

Fresh baked bread ~ white
(Awesome bread... Lets see her try a sourdough)

When I got home from work last night I was told to check the oven, where I found another loaf of bread! This is my wife's second ever loaf of bread and it turned out perfectly! In fact it's better than every loaf I've ever baked! It rose enormously, had a firm crust, sounded hollow when I tapped it and cut like a dream, dropping very few crumbs. When I pressed down on a cut slice it sprung back up again! I can't believe how well this bread has turned out it's amazing... Sam's Grandmother taught her to bake when she was a kid! I think she must have been the Drysdale master baker or something!

No comments: