You will have read in recent editions of Elstead Village News about the new allotments which were opened recently, thanks to the efforts of the Parish Council, I am pleased to be able to give readers an update on progress. Despite the wettest November since records began, a number of plotholders have been able to plant a few winter crops, including cabbages, broccoli, onions, and broad beans which are all doing well. The first fruit trees, raspberries, and gooseberries have appeared as well. At the end of November, the 14 plotholders who wanted a shed received delivery on a rare dry Saturday morning, although it rained heavily in the afternoon. After a lot of effort, and teamwork, we managed to get them across from the delivery point to the plots. At the time of writing, most of them are up thanks to many allotmenteers helping each other. No concrete bases are allowed, so there is a mixture of paving and timber bases. The sheds are making the site look more like an allotment area now. Water taps have been installed thanks to the generosity of Steve Lewis, who put in the connections free of charge. There is not much demand for the water just yet, but certainly will be in the summer.

All 31 plots have been taken and there is a small waiting list, but if any local residents are interested, we are very happy to add to the list. We plan to have a number of bee hives on the site as well. There is a requirement to have attended an approved bee keeping course before having a hive, and a few residents have booked spaces. There is a lot of water at the site at present, and some plots are very wet indeed, but do come along to see progress when the ground dries out a bit. In case you did not know, the allotments are adjacent to the Burford Lea recreation ground, with parking adjacent to the village tennis club. No dogs are allowed at the site, as access is only from the recreation ground where dogs are, of course, banned.

We have arranged our first AGM for 10^th February, and are confident that Elstead Village Allotments Association will thrive. We will keep you up to date with progress on the site through the pages of the Village News

According to figures from Defra the amount of waste sent to landfill in Surrey last year was down by a third compared to the previous year.  So "well done" to all you conscientious home recyclers however small your efforts may seem compared to factories, shops and hospitals.

2010 sees new EU regulations in force which will mean that our Government will require local authorities like Waverley to greatly reduce the amount of rubbish sent to landfill.  This in turn means that we will all be asked to make a much bigger effort to reduce, reuse and recycle.  If not, Surrey taxpayers will be hit with a heavy EU green tax.  County Hall has set a target of 207,000 tonnes of municipal waste to be put in landfill by the end of 2009/10 compared to 286,000 in 2008/9.  By 2013 Surrey County Council plans to put all its waste in energy or recycling plants.

It's hard to see at the moment what more householders could do without outside help.  For a start Waverley could make sure municipal recycling bins are emptied more often (its very off putting to find a bin full and surrounded by bags of bottles/plastics which won't be recycled), supermarkets could reduce packaging and I'm sure people would co-operate with the Environment Secretary, Hilary Benn's idea of re-filling our coffee jars at the supermarket!

To end on a positive note Thursley's pub the Three Horseshoes started recycling with the assistance of Sita last December and Elstead Parish Council has initiated a scheme to start a Recycling Exchange to operate in addition to my Bring and Take Mornings.