No Blue Flag for Hove beach this year
Council officials have decided not to apply for the award this year because seawater tests from last summer registered ‘good’ rather than the ‘excellent’ EU rating required for the flag.
Southern Water has told the council that the most likely cause of the reduction in water quality is heavy rainstorms washing material from the land into the sea.
Blue Flag organisers Keep Britain Tidy say it is likely last summer’s washout weather could cause some resorts across the country to lose their Flags.
It is expected Brighton’s main beach between the piers will keep its Blue Flag, first secured in 2007 along with Hove.
Cut Price Composting
With prices going up and the recession hitting hard - it’s good to know there are still some bargains to be found.
At just £3 (plus delivery) compost bins have never been cheaper - and just months after installing one in the garden, householders will be producing their own free compost.
Brighton & Hove City Council has joined forces with the Recycle Now home composting campaign to offer bins at their lowest ever prices.
Just £3 buys you a 220 litre bin, and £8 for a 330 litre bin.
The bins, which are made from recycled material, will be delivered to your door for just £5.
Residents can order their bins and find out more about home composting by visiting an exhibition at the Jubilee Library which runs until April 15. Representatives from WRAP will be available to answer any questions and to give advice.
There’s never been a better time to start home composting. It’s one of the best ways to help the environment, and is a habit that can be quickly incorporated into your regular kitchen and garden routines. You’ll be surprised at how much you can compost - from grass cuttings and vegetable peelings to scrunched up cardboard, teabags, coffee granules and even shredded confidential documents.
Composting provides a constant source of free, nutrient-rich fertiliser for your garden and will drastically cut down the amount of household waste sent to landfill.
Since 2005 residents in Brighton & Hove have diverted more than 5,000 tonnes of garden and green waste from landfill by home composting.
And with the £3 bins, this year looks set to be the best yet.
To find out more, visit www.recyclenow.com/compost or call 0845 077 0757.