Zero Waste Awards

    Who should enter?

    Entries(参赛作品) are welcomed from anyone who processes waste. While we expect

    most entries to come from the UK, we welcome international entries, too. Entrants have been split into the following groups: private sector, public sector, community sector and partnerships.

    What are the categories?

    There're five categories which are based on the Waste Hierarchy(层级). We appreciate that companies will have different strengths within those categories as they work towards Zero Waste. The broad categories are: waste prevention, re-use, recycle/recover, energy recovery, general.

    How do I enter?

    Submitting an entry is really easy! Just follow these few simple steps:

    1) Carefully read through the category information;

    ). Write your entry--it should be a maximum of 1,500 words and a word document;

    3) Arrange your supporting material into a single document--maximum six pages long;

    4) Complete the simple online entry form.

    Important dates

    While entries are welcomed all year round, these are key dates—this is to give the judges plenty of time to read through all the entries! These are listed in entry deadlines column below. Don't worry if you have just missed one of the entry deadlines, your submission will be automatically entered into the next session.

    You can submit a maximum of two entries per year—six months apart.

    Awards

    We understand that working towards Zero Waste is an ongoing journey and as such the

    Zero Waste Awards scheme offers organizations a structure to celebrate their progress along the way. The four awards are: Gold (76-100), Silver (51-75), Bronze (26-50), Highly Commended(0-25).

Mini Book Excerpts (节选)

    Biography

    When Salinger learned that a car park was to be built on the land, the middle-aged writer was shocked and quickly bought the neighboring area to protect it… The townspeople never forgot the rescue and came to help their most famous neighbor.

    J. D. Salinger: A Life by Kenneth Slawenski (Random House, $ 27)

    Mystery

    “You're a smart boy. Benny's death was no accident, and you're the only one who saw it happen. Do you think the murderer should get away with it?” The boy was staring stubbornly at his lap again.

    A thought suddenly occurred to Annika, “Did you... You recognized the man in the car, didn't you?”

    The boy hesitated, twisting his fingers. “Maybe,” he said quietly.

    Red Wolf by Liza Marklund (Atria Books, $ 25.99)

    Short Stories

    She wants to say to him what she has learned, none of it in class. Some women are born stupid, and some women are too smart for their own good. Some women are born to give, and some women only know how to take. Some women learn who they want to be from their mothers, some who they don't want to be. Some mothers suffer so their daughters won't. Some mothers suffer so their daughters won't.

    You Are Free by Danzy Senna (Riverhead Books, $ 15)

    Humor

    Do your kids like to have fun? Come to Fun Times! Do you like to watch your kids having fun? Bring them to Fun Times! Fun Times's “amusement cycling” is the most fun you can have in the United States right now. Why spend thousands of dollars flying to Disney World when you can spend less than half to that within a day's drive in most cities?

    Happy And Other Bad Thoughts by Larry Doyle (Ecco, $ 14.99)

    After years of heated debate, gray wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park. Fourteen wolves were caught in Canada and transported to the park. By last year, the Yellowstone wolf population had grown to more than 170 wolves.

    Gray wolves once were seen here and there in the Yellowstone area and much of the continental United States, but they were gradually displaced by human development. By the 1920s, wolves had practically disappeared from the Yellowstone area. They went farther north into the deep forests of Canada, where there were fewer humans around.

    The disappearance of the wolves had many unexpected results. Deer and elk populations — major food sources (来源) for the wolf – grew rapidly. These animals consumed large amounts of vegetation (植被), which reduced plant diversity in the park. In the absence of wolves, coyote populations also grew quickly. The coyotes killed a large percentage of the park's red foxes, and completely drove away the park's beavers.

    As early as 1966, biologists asked the government to consider reintroducing wolves to Yellowstone Park. They hoped that wolves would be able to control the elk and coyote problems. Many farmers opposed the plan because they feared that wolves would kill their farm animals or pets.

    The government spent nearly 30 years coming up with a plan to reintroduce the wolvers. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service carefully monitors and manages the wolf packs in Yellowstone. Today, the debate continues over how well the gray wolf is fitting in at Yellowstone .Elk, deer, and coyote populations are down, while beavers and red fores have made a comeback. The Yellowstone wolf project has been a valuable experiment to help biologists decide whether to reintroduce wolves to other parts of the country as well.

    In the movie Alice in Wonderland, Alice comes across a Cheshire cat and asks the cat which road she should take. The cat responds, “Well, that depends on where you're trying to get to.” Alice replies, “I don't know.” The cat responds, “Then any road will do.”

    You see, knowing where you're going increases your chances dramatically of getting there, and there is no better way of “GETTING THERE” than setting your goals for the upcoming year. Think of your goals as destinations and the action steps as your GPS guiding and directing you. If you are like many other people, for years you have resisted the need to set goals and even laughed at the thought that setting goals and, even more importantly, committing them to writing have positive effects on your life. However, a closer look might convince you that setting goals is a sensible thing to do.

    In 1979, a class of Harvard MBA students was asked: Have you set clear, written goals for your future and made an action plan to accomplish them? The following will astonish you. Only 3 percent of the class had written goals and a plan in place, 13% just had goals, and an amazing 84% had no specific goals at all.

    Ten years later the numbers of the class were interviewed once again and the following results will no doubt give the reason for our setting goals. The findings were that the 13% who had goals were earning, on average, twice as much as the 84% who had no goals at all. And the 3 percent who had clear, written goals with a plan to achieve them were achieving ten times as much as the entire 97% combined.

    Goal setting will increase your chances of arriving successfully at your destination. Remember, always set SMART goals. Goals should be: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound!

    Agatha Christie used to go out at night. She will never forget the night when she met a robber(盗贼) many years ago.

    That evening, she was invited to a birthday party which lasted till 2 o'clock in the morning. Without company, Agatha walked home along the quiet street. Suddenly from the shadow of a dark building, a tall man with a sharp knife in his right hand ran out at her. "Good morning, lady," the man said in a low voice, "I don't think you wish to die here!" "What do you want?" Agatha asked.

    "Your earrings (耳环). Take them off!" Agatha suddenly had a bright idea. She tried to cover her necklace with the collar (衣领) of her overcoat while she used the other hand to take off both of her earrings, and then she quickly threw them on the ground.

    "Take them and let me go." she said. The robber was uncertain. He saw that the girl didn't care for the earrings at all, only trying to protect the necklace. He realized the necklace would cost more, so he said, "Give me your necklace."

    "Oh, sir. It's not worth much. Please let me keep it."

    "Stop talking rubbish. Quick!"

    With shaky hands, Agatha took off her necklace. As soon as the robber disappeared, she picked up her earrings and ran as fast as she could to her home.

    The earrings cost 480 pounds and the necklace the robber had taken away cost only six pounds ten shillings (先令).

"Don't get dirty!" was once often shouted by parents angrily watching their children ruin their best clothes. It was unavoidable that children's whites would turn brown before the day was over. 

Today, many parents may secretly wish their children had the chance to pick up a bit of dirt. With the rise of city life, and the attraction of video games and social media, contact with nature is much less than in the past. For many, there is simply no opportunity to get muddy. According to recent research, the dirt outside is teaming with friendly microorganisms (微生物) that can train the immune (免疫的) system and build the body against illnesses, such as anxiety. 

These findings show that outdoor exercise is not only beneficial because of the chance to run around free—but that certain natural materials, such as soil and mud, also have powerful microorganisms which have positive effect on children's health. Outdoor play can also offer valuable learning experiences. For example, the act of rubbing and shaping materials like mud or sand can help children develop their senses and movement. 

Such activities—away from the house or classroom—may also help children to find ways to deal with emotions that may be hard to explore in other environments. So-called "Sandtray Therapy (沙盘疗法)", which includes using sand to express one's thoughts and feelings, is an accepted form of guidance for children who are struggling to speak out their inner emotions. 

Surprisingly, people who spent most of their childhood in the countryside show a better reply to stressful events like public speaking compared with those who grew up in cities. "The people who grew up in cities are kind of ‘walking time bombs' when facing the stress we meet today. However, people who have spent lots of time in nature since childhood are generally stronger in recovery and more positive." says Christopher Lowry, a professor of University of Colorado Boulder.