Recycling and Rainham MRF

Keeping recyclables separate, or separating them out when they've become mixed ("comingled") is something I've pondered. The Barking & Dagenham Post (26 Sep) carried an article about Rainham Materials Recycling Facility (owned by Veolia). All kinds of clever gadgets sort the waste out automatically into:

Quality paper
Mixed paper
Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) - eg soft drink bottles
High-density polyethylene (HDPE) - eg milk polybottles
Mixed jazz *
cardboard
plastic film (eg thin carrier bags)
aluminium
steel

The Post says "7 grades of waste are baled separately" but I make it 9.

It seems sensible that all these materials can go in our orange bags, and also that they should be kept separate "up stream" where possible - by use of bring banks. * - The Post article gives the example 'coloured bottles' for 'mixed jazz' but according to http://www.plasticsrecycling.co.uk/ it seems to be some kind of plastic recyclable material.

I think the plant can process black bag general waste, too. Presumably separately from the orange bag stuff.

Cycling Officer

I'm meeting B&D's new CO on Wednesday 3 October. There are a few things on the agenda, but I alos thought it would be a good time to refresh my long standing list of things that need fixing for cyclists. Do let me know if there's anything you want to add, especially in Dagenham / Chadwell Heath (B&D part only).

There's an Excel and a Word version. They should tie up, but it's been years since I worked on them. There are links to them on http://www.stibasa.org.uk (click "news")

Freewheel

The Freewheel event on Sunday 23 September was a massive success, with thousands taking part. Surely it must now be an annual event. The weather was superb, which will make the inaugural one stand out better.

17 people rode from Barking, most of whom I didn't know. I gave them each an LCC membership form. I hope they stay in touch - better still join LCC, but most of all keep cycling.

There are some learning points. The routes between the hubs (Victoria Park in our case) and the central motor free route were marshalled, but the general traffic was still jockeying for position with hundreds more cyclists than usual. The marshalls' advice at busy junctions was not what most LCC-ers consider best practice.

It would have been good to be in touch with those who came on the feeder ride before the event so that Doctor Bike (http://www.doctor-bike.org.uk) sessions could have been held and advice dispensed to novice cyclists. One of our riders had never used her bike's gears.

In fairness to the organisers, far more registered than they expected and could cope with. Organisation was overall pretty impressive on the day.

Next year's Freewheel will (presumably) be on Sunday 21 September 2008

Ticket machines on B&GO

On 11 September I said the machine at Harringay Green Lanes wouldn't issue pre-paid tickets (ie brought on line from Thetrainline, for example). The option is now there if it wasn't then. I couldn't try it out as some oik has presumably deiberately spilt some kind of fluid all over the machine and the touch screen wasn't responding.

Oyster reader at South Tottenham

There's a new Oyster card reader at South Tottenham station. It isn't working at the time of writing and there's no evidence of a barrier for it to control. Presumably the system will rely on the principle that PAYG passengers will be charged £4 (£5) if they don't swipe in and out.

Bite Card

This is a discount card for food and drink shops in certain stations. See http://www.bitecard.co.uk/. The application form asks for a promotion code. I'm not sure of the relevance of this but http://www.senior-railcard.co.uk/special_offers.htm, http://www.family-railcard.co.uk/special_offers_1.htm and http://www.youngpersons-railcard.co.uk/special_offers.htm give examples.

Oyster PAYG (Prepay) on Freedom Passes

TfL tell me that Oyster Pay As You Go (PAYG, formerly prepay) can't be loaded onto Oystercards containing Freedom Passes. Didn't make any sense to me - so I tried it online. www.oystercard.com recognised by its number that the card contained a freedom pass, but did not restrict what products could be loaded onto it.

This makes much more sense, but I can't accept any responsibility if this doesn't work properly. If it does, however, it means Freedom Pass Holders can access cheaper Oyster Fares outside the time that their Freedom Pass is valid.

New B&GO ticket machines

A new ticket machine is working at Harringay Green Lanes, so I take it others are. It does not seem to be Fastticket compatible (ie able to print tickets ordered on thetrainline.co.uk), neither does it offer any Oyster products, though there is a blanking plate which I suspect may be for an Oyster reader/writer.

The presence of these machines makes the notice on the trains even more nonsensical - it seems to suggest that you must buy your ticket in advance at Gospel Oak or Barking.

Mobile repairs service - Chadwell Heath

Jim Dalton, based in Chadwell Heath, has started a mobile bike repair service. This could be a real lifeline given the dwindling supply of bike shops in the area.

Contact Jim on +44 7949 883747 / jimdalton24@hotmail.com