34 h. ago Composting for your garden? This ancient method requires minimal effort

Digging a trench alongside your vegetable bed is an easy way to dispose of food and plant waste, and enrich soil for next year’s cropsOn a visit to our friends’ house recently, the subject of food waste came up. They haven’t got a tucked-away spot to set up a compost bin or heap in their garden, and their local council doesn’t collect. They had put their effort into bokashi composting in the past, but with a baby on the way I suspect they’ll have more than enough to do without taking on the added responsibility of caring for a bucket of fermenting kitchen scraps.But as they’re already accustomed to burying their bokashi-ed vegetable peelings, it got me thinking about how low effort and high impact trench composting can be for those without room for a larger system. Trench composting is the simple process of putting your compostable matter – fruit and vegetable waste, plant material from the garden, grass clippings, leaves, etc – into a trench near where you’re planning to ...

Politics

3 d. ago Thames Water’s profits surge amid bill hikes and rise in complaints

Revenues rose by 42% thanks to the bill increases

Economics

3 d. ago Thames Water’s revenue surges amid bill hikes and rise in complaints

Revenues rose by 42% thanks to the bill increases

Politics

4 d. ago Bin collection changes announced over festive period announced for one Greater Manchester borough

There will be no collections on Christmas Day, Boxing Day or New Year's Eve

Politics

5 d. ago Bin collection complaints rise after £59 garden waste charge brought in

The council said the situation is improving after a peak of cases in June.

Economics

5 d. ago All Birmingham bin collections suspended as agency workers walk out

The agency staff were initially brought in to maintain services during the strike

Economics

5 d. ago Swiss prosecutors file charges against Credit Suisse and UBS over ‘tuna bonds’ scandal

Banks accused of ‘organisational deficiencies’ relating to scam that crashed Mozambique economy nearly a decade agoBusiness live –latest updatesSwitzerland’s federal prosecutor has filed charges against the failed bank Credit Suisse and its new owner, UBS, over the long-running “tuna bonds” loan scandal that crashed Mozambique’s economy nearly a decade ago.The Swiss attorney general said on Monday that it had brought money-laundering charges against an unnamed employee of Credit Suisse, but was also taking action against the lender and its rival-turned-owner UBS. Continue reading...

Events

5 d. ago Scots households hit with four week delay on bin collections at Christmas

Councils have announced a number of key dates.

Events

5 d. ago Birmingham bin collection services suspended as agency staff join picket lines

Unite the Union said around 40 agency workers had joined city-wide protests amid claims of bullying and health and safety concerns.

Politics

5 d. ago Birmingham bin collections suspended as 'mass protests' cripple service

Birmingham's bin collection service has been suspended due to widespread strikes

Events

1 week ago West Lothian residents advised over changes to bin collections over festive period

There will be no grey, blue or green bin collections on Christmas Day and Boxing Day and New Year's Day and January 2 due to the public holidays.

Politics

1 week ago Judge dismisses Comey, James indictments after finding that prosecutor was illegally appointed

A federal judge has dismissed the criminal cases against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, concluding that the prosecutor who brought the charges at President Donald Trump’s urging was illegally appointed by the Justice Department

Events

2 w. ago Federal prosecutors dismiss charges against woman shot by Border Patrol agent in Chicago

Federal prosecutors have moved to dismiss charges they brought against a woman shot by a Border Patrol agent last month amid a federal immigration crackdown in the Chicago area

Events

2 w. ago Bin collections under threat in some London boroughs from town hall funding cuts, warn business leaders

Bosses warn London will be particularly badly hit by the controversial reforms

Events

2 w. ago Bin collections under threat in London from town hall funding cuts, warn business leaders

Bosses say the capital will be particularly badly hit by the controversial reforms

Events

2 w. ago South Ayrshire brown bin charges scupper council's green waste plan

The introduction of brown bin charges has led to far less garden waste from homes, making an in house facility unviable.

Politics

2 w. ago 'Out of control' spending on 'overdiagnosed' special needs children threatens bin collections and pothole filling, claims Reform's Tice

Reform UK's deputy leader has warned that councils will soon be unable to afford to collect bins or fill potholes because of the 'out of control' costs of the system for children with special needs.

Events

3 w. ago When I met Craig he was 13 and homeless. I still thought his life might turn around. I was tragically wrong

I knew he was running away from something. It wasn’t until many years later that I discovered the truthCraig was a runaway when I first met him. Missing from a local children’s home, he spent his days hanging out in Nottingham city centre. He had just turned 13 and he was tall for his age, easily recognisable with his blond hair, but he seemed invisible to the authorities.No one was looking for him or the other dozen children who congregated on the market square. Most of them had absconded from care, some were dodging school. A few, like Craig’s mate Mikey, just didn’t bother going home. The youngest runaway, Mark, claimed he’d been missing from foster care for months and had spent his 12th birthday on the run. They were glad to have found each other and for a week or so they slept together in an alleyway. Craig organised bedding. He had picked up some tips from the experienced rough sleepers, he told me, as he collected cardboard he’d stored behind a bin. “Keeps the cold off your b...

Events

3 w. ago Jacob Zuma’s daughter goes on trial over deadly South African riots

Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla is accused of inciting terrorism and public violence after her father was jailed in 2021Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, a politician and daughter of the former South African president Jacob Zuma, has pleaded not guilty to incitement to commit terrorism and public violence over deadly riots in 2021.The trial, which began on Monday in the coastal city of Durban, is the first prosecution in South Africa in which terrorism‑related charges are being brought based on social media posts. Continue reading...

Events

3 w. ago Warning to households across UK as bin collections 'about to change'

It's likely to be happening across the country around now

Events