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Over 100 postcards signed on Renewables
Day of Action
 On a busy
Saturday afternoon with
Cornmarket St heaving with shoppers, we managed to get over 100 “Tide,
Wind,
Sun” postcards signed by the public at our stall. The postcards will be
sent to
local MPs in an effort to draw attention to the support for renewable
energy in
our communities. This was part of FoE’s national Renewables Day of
Action to engage the public in supporting a campaign to
put
pressure on the Government to back a strong EU Renewables Directive by
sticking
to its commitment of generating 15% our energy from renewable sources
by 2020,
and also to support a robust UK Renewables Strategy to help achieve
this
target. Full
story...
Climate message takes flight at Cowley Road Carnival
 OxFoE members joined forces
with the Oxford World Development Movement Group to "fly" a giant
inflatable plane in the Cowley Road Carnival procession on 6 July,
bearing the message "Climate Change Kills". This was part of the
campaign to persuade the government to include international aviation
and shipping emissions in the Climate Bill. Oxford WDM have more photos
of the event and a short video on their website.
The OxFoE stall at the Carnival was also very successful, raising
£220 from the raffle. Many thanks to Tim & Fiona for
organising our efforts.
Oxford Groups ask politicians to stop
ignoring aviation
 On
Saturday 5 April 2008 in Carfax, passers-by saw a larger than life
Gordon Brown
covering his eyes while playing with an aeroplane - hoping that
aviation emissions will just go away. Oxford Friends of the Earth (FoE)
and World Development Movement (WDM) joined forces as part of the 'Big
Ask' National Day of Action to ask Gordon Brown and local MPs Andrew
Smith and Evan Harris to stop ignoring aviation. Full story...
Cameron's County chooses to incinerate 5 million tonnes of
waste
The Conservative controlled County Council for Oxfordshire, which
includes the constituency of David Cameron - Conservatives leader and
MP for Witney, has announced the preferred bidders for its municipal
waste treatment contract. Two companies, WRG and Viridor, have been
chosen to reduce about five million tonnes of waste to ash for disposal
at landfill over the course of a 25 year contract.
Environmental campaigners
condemned the decision as a waste of energy and resources; pointing to
alternative technologies and strategies which will increase recycling
and reduce waste while also producing less pollution (including
greenhouse gas pollution.) Full story...
County Cabinet expected to press ahead with incineration
On Tuesday 15 January 2008 at 2pm, at County Hall, Oxford, the Cabinet
for Oxfordshire County Council is expected to announce it will only be
considering bids for burning about 5 million tonnes of waste in an
Oxfordshire incinerator over the next 25 years (including landfilling
the ash). Environmental campaigners are calling for alternatives
including better waste and recycling provision for a 'low carbon
economy', and alternative waste treatments which produce less
pollution, especially greenhouse gas emissions.
Andrew Wood, from Oxford Friends of the Earth, who will be addressing
the Cabinet meeting said:
“Less waste, more recycling and the use of Mechanical Biological
Treatment are better choices for our environment, and a low carbon
economy. In a world of changing environmental and economic
conditions, flexible technologies are needed. Incineration is
inflexible, highly polluting in terms of carbon emissions, and with
carbon pricing expected it's likely to become an expensive
anachronism.”
County Council debates waste treatment
 There were
about about twenty
people
outside County Hall, Oxford on Tuesday 8 January, opposing the
shortlisting of
only companies proposing to burn Oxfordshire's rubbish in an
incinerator. We
held banners for a 'low carbon Oxfordshire', and propounding our
alternative -
Mechanical Biological Treatment. The County Council was finally holding
a
debate on the issue, about ten months into the procurement of its
residual
waste treatment – for the household waste which is not recycled. Full story...
Waste shortlist narrows but debate continues
On 20 December 2007, Oxfordshire County Council announced that
it has narrowed its shortlist of companies who are competing for its
residual waste treatment contract. No contracts have yet been signed
but
all the companies are reported to be proposing some form of
incineration. Oxford Friends of the Earth are calling for the Council
to
choose Mechanical Biological Treatment and high rates of recycling.
There will be a debate at the Oxfordshire County Council in County
Hall,
Oxford on Tuesday 8 January 2008. Full story...
OxFoE members join international climate action
 Several Oxford FoE members were
among the 6000 people who marched through a cold and wet London on
Saturday 8 December to call for tough action on climate change by the
world leaders meeting in Bali. This was one of many such demonstrations
taking place around the world, including, for the first time, many
developing countries. The destination of the London march was outside
the US embassy in Grosvenor Square, where the crowd heard speeches by Michael
Meacher MP, Caroline Lucas MEP and George Monbiot, among others. As
George Monbiot said, the fact that so many people came out in such foul
weather is a sign of the commitment we will need to win this campaign.
Thanks to Bob for these photos.
Oxfordshire County Council votes for waste debate
On the afternoon of Tuesday 19 June 2007 at Oxfordshire County
Council's meeting in County Hall, Oxford, councillors from all parties
(Conservative, Labour, Green and Lib Dem) voted for a debate on
Oxfordshire's new waste treatment (34 votes for, 0 votes against). The
county's new waste treatment contracts are expected to be broadly
similar to those of Cambridgeshire County Council, which signed a
£750 m 28 year PFI contract earlier this year. The motion
proposing the debate came from Councillor Val Smith.
The debate is expected in November 2007. Full story...
Gloucestershire resident warns Oxfordshire County Council
about toxic
incinerator ash
On Tuesday 19 June at Oxfordshire County Council's meeting in
County
Hall, Oxford, a Gloucestershire resident living near a hazardous waste
dump which takes toxic ash from incinerators addressed the 74
Councillors. If Oxfordshire County Council decides to burn
residents' rubbish in an incinerator then toxic incinerator ash could
be
transported to the hazardous waste dump at Bishop Cleeve,
Gloucestershire. Environmental campaigners believe the Council should
opt for high
recycling rates and Mechanical Biological Treatment of Oxfordshire's
waste, which produces no hazardous waste. Full story...
Groups unite in response to Climate Change Bill
Oxford FoE has joined with other local environmental and development
groups in calling for the Oxfordshire public to respond to the
Government's consultation on the draft Climate Change Bill. A coalition
of thirteen local organisations, including Banbury FoE, Chinnor &
Thame FoE, local groups of Greenpeace, the World Development Movement
and Oxfam, and faith groups, have written a letter to the Oxford Times,
which was published on 18 May. The letter welcomes the daft Bill, but
calls for it to be strengthened by increasing the emissions reduction
target from 60% to 80% by 2050, setting annual 3% targets and including
emissions from international aviation and shipping. People can respond
to the consultation, which ends on 12 June, by visiting the Friends
of the Earth website.
Cameron's green credentials at risk, say campaigners
Campaigners from the four Friends of the Earth groups in Oxfordshire
have written to David Cameron, MP for Witney, asking him to oppose
burning the future household waste from his constituents in an
incinerator. Campaigners believe that if the Conservative controlled
Oxfordshire County Council opt for incinerating Oxfordshire's waste
then it will damage the environmental credentials of the Tory leader.
The campaigner's letter
includes a
research report summary showing that incineration is more damaging in
terms of climate change than other forms of waste treatment. Full story...
Tony Blair & Tony Juniper in climate change debate
The Friends
of the Earth website has launched a debate between Friends of the
Earth director Tony Juniper and
Tony Blair on climate change. On this page both Tony Blair and Tony
Juniper have written statements on their positions. Anyone who visits
the site can post their comments until Wednesday 29 November when both
Tonys will reply with final statements. As No 10 will be monitoring the
comments, it would be great if as many of you as possible could post
replies, and mention that you are aprt of Oxford FoE or saw the
announcement here.
Gloucestershire residents ask Oxfordshire to reject
incineration
Resident's of Bishop's Cleeve near Cheltenham in Gloucestershire have written to Oxfordshire County
Council's cabinet
asking them not to incinerate Oxfordshire's rubbish. It's likely that
ash from Oxfordshire's incinerator would be taken to the toxic waste
dump near Bishop's Cleeve. Presently the waste dump takes ash from
incinerators in Birmingham, Coventry, Hampshire and London. The letter
comes in advance a Cabinet meeting endorsing a report which leaves the
door open to incineration.
Survey by Oxfordshire councils shows strong opposition to
incineration
A previously unpublished report of the public consultation 'No Time to
Waste' conducted this summer by the Councils in Oxfordshire who make up
the Oxfordshire Waste Partnership (OWP), is now available. The results
of the five week consultation this summer, which included a survey,
showed that of the 891 respondents to the survey then 430 were opposed
to burning Oxfordshire's future waste in an incinerator, while only 24
supported it. Better recycling provision was also strongly supported. Full story...
Campaign success: household food waste collections from
2009
New proposals for the management of Oxfordshire's household waste were
disclosed for the first time on Monday 4 September 2006 when the
Environment Scrutiny Committee of Oxford City Council met to review the
proposed Oxfordshire Joint Municipal Waste Strategy. The document
suggests similar collection arrangements for waste and recycling,
including a fortnightly collection of refuse, throughout the
five districts in the County. Oxford Friends of the Earth welcomed
improvements for recycling services, including the collection of food
waste for municipal composting, but said targets for waste reduction
and recycling were inadequate, and that the strategy left the door open
to burning Oxfordshire's waste in a polluting incinerator. Full story...
Oxford City Council says Yes
to recycling, no to incineration
At the Oxford City Council
meeting on Monday 26 June a timetable was announced for the
introduction of improvements to Oxford's waste and recycling. A motion
was passed reaffirming the City's opposition to burning household
waste in an incinerator by the County Council. The motion also
called on the County to provide municipal composting for
food waste. Oxford Friends of the Earth welcomed the initiatives. Full story...
County Council says it will break government waste targets
Oxfordshire County Council, Oxfordshire's waste disposal
authority, says it does not expect to meet Government targets to reduce
dumping unprocessed rubbish into landfill. The previously undisclosed
admission comes in documents distributed to potential bidders for
Oxfordshire's future waste contract, a process called a 'soft market
test'. Oxford Friends of the Earth is calling on the Council to work
with Oxfordshire's city and district council's to collect and compost
food waste (about 20% of household rubbish) to lessen any fines the
County may receive, as seen in Somerset. Full
story...
Oxford MP joins photo-petition against incineration
 Oxford
East MP Andrew Smith joined a 'photo-petition' being collected by
Oxford Friends of the Earth on Saturday 29 April at an arts & music
festival in South Park, Oxford. The innovative photo-petition, which
features cheeky photographs of people holding a cardboard speech bubble
with the words 'No to incineration; Yes to recycling', was presented to
Oxfordshire's County Councillors in an email asking them to view the
website at www.oxon-incineration.com
on Wednesday 3 May. Full
story...
County Council has received at least 1700 objections to
incineration, campaigners say
 Oxford Friends of
the Earth estimate that Oxfordshire County Council
has received at least 1,700 objections to the use of incineration in
Oxfordshire's future municipal waste strategy (2010-2035). The Council
has received objections in the form of 'no-incineration' postcards,
signatures on petitions, and letters of objection. Full story...
Almost 100 attend Towards Zero Waste conference
 Almost 100 people
attended a
major conference called Towards Zero
Waste on 25 March in Oxford. The conference was organised by
the Zero Waste Chartists
and hosted by Oxford Friends of the Earth. The varied programme, put
together by the Zero Waste Chartists, included experts in kerbside
collection,
recycling and
composting, councillors from Zero Waste local authorities and community
groups. Full
story...
Oxfordshire faces huges fines for waste mismanagement from
2009/10
Documents
obtained under the Freedom of Information Act by Oxford Friends of the
Earth show that Oxfordshire County Council is facing possible fines of
£4.4 million in 2009/10 for dumping unprocessed rubbish into
landfill. The
fines are imposed if the County Council fails to reduce the
biodegradable materials (paper, cardboard, garden waste, kitchen waste,
textiles and wood) in household waste going to landfill. Full story...
Oxford Councillors
visit innovative composting facility
 Oxford
City Councillor John Tanner, Executive member for Environment, and
Craig
Simmons, a City and County Councillor visited part of the solution to
Oxfordshire's waste problem on Friday 21 January 2006. The visit,
arranged
by Oxford Friends of the Earth, to West London Composting near
Harefield in
Middlesex showed how 'in-vessel' composting was being used to safely
compost
organic waste including food and garden waste to produce a fertiliser
for
agriculture. Full
story...
Santa presents no-incineration gifts to County Council
 Maureen Dyroff from
Thame & Chinnor Friends of the Earth, dressed
as Santa Claus, presented gifts to Councillor Roger Belson, Cabinet
Member for Sustainability, at County Hall on 20 December 2005. Gifts
included– a decorated box of petitions and a placard with a picture of
a municipal 'in-vessel' composter saying 'One of these, please!'.
In-vessel composters safely compost both garden and food waste. Full story...
Westmill Wind Farm share issue launched
Westmill Wind Farm
Co-operative Ltd is seeking to raise £3.75 million to build
the first community owned wind farm in southern England on the
Oxfordshire/ Wiltshire border. It is doing this through a Share Offer
that will close on 28 February 2006, open to individuals or
organisations. The minimum investment is £250, the maximum is
£20,000 (unless you are a Co-operative ). It is being supported
by and is modelled on Baywind Co-operative Wind Farm in Cumbria that
has 1300 members and been running successfully since 1996. Westmill
also has widespread support from its local community including:
businesses, academics, religious leaders, environmental organisations
(both Oxfordshire and Wiltshire Friends of the Earth) and the
overwhelming majority of local people. Construction is due to start
Spring 2006, commissioning is planned for December 2006. The five wind
turbines are predicted to produce 12.6 GWh/yr - equivalent to the
domestic electricity consumption of over 3000 average households.
G8 climate alarm sounded in Oxford
 Oxford Friends of
the Earth gathered at Carfax, Oxford at
13:45 on Thursday 7 July 2005 to demand that the G8 deliver climate
justice as
part of an unprecedented world-wide "climate alarm".
The
campaigners rang bells
to send a wake-up call about climate change to the G8 leaders. They
were sounding the climate alarm to remind the G8
leaders meeting in Gleneagles that time is running out to tackle
climate
change. The alarm highlights the urgent need for strategies to address
climate
change, which tackle the unequal impacts of climate change on the
planet’s
poorest people. Full story...
Anti-incineration dance outside County Hall
 Sixteen young people
in costumes made from rubbish performed an
anti-incineration dance outside the entrance to County Hall, Oxford on
5 April against the backdrop of a large banner reading 'Incineration -
what a rubbish idea!'. Councillors, Oxford Friends the Earth and
supporters provided an audience. They danced to express their concern
that Oxfordshire County
Council may burn Oxfordshire's rubbish in an incinerator as part of its
future waste strategy. A petition, in the form of signed 'No
incineration' postcards, collected by Oxford Friends of the Earth, was
presented to the full Council meeting later the same day. Full story...
Oxfordshire Against
Incineration petition presented to Council
Oxfordshire County
Council Executive member for
Sustainability, Councillor Anne Purse, received a petition and a
specially commissioned illustration at County Hall, Oxford on 11
January. The large illustration, which is A1 size, and a board saying
'No incineration for Oxfordshire' signed by hundreds of people,
together with the paper petition signed by almost 600 people was
presented to the Councillor by
members of Oxford Friends of the Earth. Full story...
Online anti-incineration petition launched
Oxford Friends of the Earth has launched a website at where people
can show their opposition to the inclusion of burning Oxfordshire’s
rubbish in an incinerator as part of a future waste strategy. The
electronic version of the petition will be printed-out and delivered to
Oxfordshire County Council in 2005.
Andrew Wood of Oxford Friends of the Earth said "We hope the online
petition will mean many more people will be able to voice an opinion on
the County Council’s future waste strategy. We’re already collecting petitions on paper and this
modern version of the petition will help to demonstrate the public
opposition to the polluting and wasteful practice of burning valuable
resources in an incinerator."
He added "The online petition has been made possible due to the
voluntary work of local people working in the IT sector. Thank goodness
Oxfordshire is blessed with such talent."
Anti-incineration petition a
hit at Green Fair
 Visitors to
the Oxford Green Fair on 11 December showed a huge amount of interest
in OxFoE's Oxfordshire
Against Incineration petition. Over 200 people signed the petition
at our stall, and many of them also signed the giant petition card
(pictured) which will be presented to Oxfordshire County Council. If
you have not yet signed the petition, you can download or print it as a
PDF file.
Meeting hears calls to fight incineration
 A
public meeting organised by Oxford FoE on 8 November heard impassioned
pleas to fight any plans for incinerating domestic rubbish in
Oxfordshire. Georgina Bloomfield, waste campaigner at Friends of the
Earth, outlined the rationale behind the Oxfordshire Waste Charter,
while Alan and Elizabeth Finnis of the Guildford Anti-Incineration
Network (GAIN) told the inspiring story of their campaign against the
plans for three incinerators in Surrey. Full story...
Bigger wind turbines get go-ahead
A four and a half hour meeting of the Vale of White Horse District
Council planning committee on 27 October ended by finally approving 5
Bonus wind turbines for the Westmill
Wind Farm, near Watchfield. These will be built instead of the less
efficient and noisier Vestas turbine, for which permission had already
been given. This is great news for Adam Twine and the co-op he has set
up to run the wind farm, and comes after a hard fought battle over many
years.
Adam has thanked all those who have supported the campaign over the
years, including OxFoE, and expects a share issue to take place early
next year, with construction starting in the late spring.
Breakfast rally highlights alternatives to the car
 Over
200 people met in Broad Street, Oxford on the morning of Wednesday 22
September
to celebrate another European Car-Free Day with a free breakfast. In
cities
all over Europe, traffic was stopped while people walk, cycle and get
the
bus instead of going by car. Dozens of city and county councillors
joined
the hundreds of cyclists and walkers united under the banner “In town,
without my car”. Despite the blustery weather, throngs of breakfasters
enjoyed a lively hour in Broad Street finding out about Car-Free Day. Full
story...
Oxford residents demonstrate against incineration
 Members
of Oxford Friends of the Earth and other local residents attended
Oxfordshire
County Council's public waste strategy consultation on Wednesday 15
September
at County Hall, Oxford, after demonstrating outside the meeting
beforehand
with placards saying "Zero Waste Strategy Now!" and "Oxfordshire
Against
Incineration", as part of our new campaign against incineration of
waste
in the county. Full
story...
Andrew runner-up for Earthmovers Award
OxFoE's food campaigner, Andrew Wood, was joint runner-up in the
Campaign
of the Year category of this year's Earthmovers Awards at the annual
Friends
of the Earth local groups conference, held on 10-12 September. He was
nominated
for his fantastic work on our successful GM-Free
Oxfordshire Campaign from December 2002 to February 2004. A display
about the campaign was on show during the conference and attracted
interested
from many delegates.
Mike Woodin
 It
is with great sadness that we report the death of Mike Woodin on 9
July.
He had been diagnosed with secondary cancer of the lungs last autumn
and
had been undergoing chemotherapy at the Churchill Hospital. Mike was
the
leader of the Green Party Group on Oxford City Council, having first
been
elected to the Council in 1994. He was also, with Caroline Lucas MEP,
one
of the Green Party's two Principal Speakers on a national level. Mike
was
an effective proponent of environmental policies within the Council,
and
won respect from councillors of all political parties. He was a great
supporter
of Oxford FoE campaigns, including, as the Green Party parliamentary
candidate
for Oxford West & Abingdon in the 2001 election, the "Green X
Code",
a set of pledges that candidates were asked to sign up to. He will be
greatly
missed by everyone in the environmental movement in Oxford, and we
extend
our deepest sympathy to Mike's wife Deborah and their children.
Bikes win again in Commuter Challenge
Cyclox (the Cycling Campaign for Oxford), OxPA (Oxford Pedestrians’
Association)
and OxFoE did a Commuter Challenge from the Bingo Hall on the corner of
Cowley and Magdalen Roads to Oxford railway station at 8.15 a.m. on
Tuesday
15 June.
We timed everyone travelling from Cowley Rd to Oxford railway
station
to see how quick each mode of transport is. This year’s results match
almost
exactly the times recorded on Botley Road last year. Again the cyclists
came first, taking only 10-11 mins; a motorised wheelchair user, the
bus
riders and a unicyclist all took 20 mins; but the biggest surprise was
that the walkers arrived in just 35 mins, only 1 min after the car
driver
who came via Longwall St / Banbury Rd (34 mins). The car driver who
drove
via Donnington Bridge / Abingdon Rd arrived in 26 mins. Full
story...
Smaller wind farm given green light
At a special meeting of the Vale of the White Horse District Council's
planning committee on 19 April 2004, a decision was made to refer the
planning
application to the Secretary of State to decide the fate of the more
powerful
wind turbines at Westmill Farm, Watchfield, on the
Oxfordshire-Wiltshire
border. The good news is that the five Vestas 850kw machines finally
got
the all clear for development along with the small electrical
sub-station. Full
story...
Kidlington FoE planned
Plans to form a new FoE in Kidlington are underway. Kidlington FoE are
looking for people who want to be part of the action in Kidlington.
Your
input and ideas are needed - from tree planting to waste to development
issues (and lots more)!
If you are interested in being part of this group, please
contact Kate
Aydin at foe_kidlington@hotmail.com,
saying what you would be interested in doing as part of Kidlington FoE.
Oxfordshire goes GM-free
 After
more than a year of campaigning by Oxford FoE, the Executive of
Oxfordshire
County Council passed a resolution on 17 February for a package of
measures
to stop the commercial growing of GM crops in the County and to ensure
the County Council's catering, including school dinners, will contain
no
GM ingredients. The resolution was passed without objection.
Oxfordshire
is the seventh County Council to become GM-Free, joining over
twenty
other local authorities. Full
story...
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