You will have noticed that there is a lot of litter about – not only along the verges and roadsides but around the commons and recreation ground. Some thoughtless people ( surely not locals) have even dumped bags of rubbish in various locations . We intend to have a real purge to clear this litter and have arranged to hold a litter blitz on Saturday, April 24^th. and Sunday April 25^th. We hope to get more helpers this year – please come along for a couple of hours on these days. Report as usual at the car park by the Church Hall at 10a.m.

Bags will be provided but you should bring gloves. Do try and come – it isn’t unpleasant and the result is always very satisfying.

None of us likes to grass on other people but when we learn that £2 billion pounds of public money is being stolen by benefit cheats each year , it gives room for thought. That money would provide  28,681 doctors – 63,812 nurses- 63,210 teachers or 45,279 police officers

So fraud must be treated as a high priority. If you suspect that someone is making a false claim for benefit you should contact a special fraud line which is available 24 hours a day. Your call will be treated in strict confidence . Ring 0800 169 5716

If you prefer you can e-mail [email protected]

Have you heard of the Anchor Trust ? They are a non profit making agency who offer a small repair service for older and disabled residents in South Oxon. They work in partnership with S.O.D.C., O.C.C., primary care trusts, the local police and the fire service. Door and window repairs, minor joinery work, minor plumbing repairs, fitting locks, security chains and smoke alarms and many other smaller jobs. Sometimes there is a small charge but this is only a fraction of commercial costs. If you would like more information or a quotation for a job please write to:
Anchor Staying Put- South Oxfordshire, c/o S.O.D.C., Crowmarsh Gifford, Wallingford, Oxon.OX10 8BF or phone 01491 823895

Would you consider fostering a lad who has lost his mum and has been unable to be fostered with his brother ? If you can help or if you would like more information , Andy Clipson on 01993 201514 would love to hear from you For further information please contact him at  Familyplacement com, 85, High Street, Witney.OX28 6HY

Deer Every year deer are believed to cost the country £10.5 million in road accidents and cause 15 deaths. In view of the explosion in the number of deer, plans are afoot to reduce the numbers by having an annual cull. Culling does take place locally. In the event of any of us being involved in an accident resulting in wounding or killing a deer, we are asked to notify the police who know the procedure to follow.

New Bus Service There is a new bus service which will interest folk without a car who wish to go to Henley or Marlow. It is a smart 12 seater bus run by Bucks County Council and provided you phone two hours before your proposed journey, they will pick you up near to your home . One way fare -£2.00, return fare - £3.00 Under 16 and concessions – half price. For further information ring 0845 082 0845

Re-cycling You will remember that at our annual meeting last year we had an illustrated talk on recycling, which followed a visit made by some of our Councillors to one of Grundon’s recycling centres at Beenham. Most of those attending were given a small wheelie bin. In view of the interest shown we thought you would find the following article on recycling of interest- we did.

In Oxfordshire, residents throw out over 300.000 tonnes of rubbish each year .- 470kg. per person. In SODC only 23% of our rubbish is recycled – the rest is buried in large landfill .sites As the rubbish in the landfill rots, it produces harmful gases( which contribute to global warming) and toxic liquids called leachates which can have disastrous effects on habitats and wildlife if it reaches waterways. It is essential that we reduce the amount of rubbish going to landfill, by recycling more.

As you are aware recyclable items – paper, plastics, cardboard, tins and cans are collected weekly in the green boxes which the Council provides. When the vehicle is full of recyclables from the green boxes, the load is dropped at a bulking depot at Ewelme. All the materials for recycling are then packed into a larger vehicle prior to being taken away for sorting. By bulking up the materials, it saves energy and pollution. Fewer vehicles are required and fewer journeys are made to the materials recovery facility where the materials are separated and sorted

The Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) can separate paper, cardboard, plastic, tins and cans by using a series of conveyors, a trommel  (similar to a large rotating drum), magnets and eddy current. The MRF can sort 50,000 tonnes of rubbish every year.

The materials are first unloaded and fed onto conveyor belts which travel up to the trommel which is over 15 metres long. The trommel has different sized holes to enable the various sized materials to fall through The cans and tins which fall through the holes are taken by conveyor belt past a large magnet. The magnet and eddy current separate the steel cans from the aluminium cans

Card, paper and plastics fall through different holes in the trommel and are carried by another conveyor belt to a picking station. At the picking station, a team of hand sorters, pick out the plastics which are then separated into their different types. They also pick out the paper and card.

Once the materials have been separated and sorted they are packed and compressed into bales. The baled materials are then sold to
re-processors to make new products..

The paper is taken to a paper mill , which turns old paper into new paper and cardboard is recycled to make the filling for corrugated cardboard. Plastic collected from recycling boxes is used to make pipes for gas and water mains and steel cans are made into steel wire , whilst aluminium cans are recycled back into cans again.

Recycling a material like aluminium to make new cans uses 95% less energy than when starting from scratch, it also produces less pollution.

Lots of products can be made from recycled materials – plastic bottles can be recycled to make fleece jackets or new plastic packaging. Paper can be recycled to make toilet rolls or writing paper.