Present: Paul Smith (Chair), Barbara Judge (United Nations Assoc.), Richard Wiltshire (Dartford Allotments Steering Committee), David Meade (Woodland Trust - Joydens Wood), Alan Cremer (DBC), John Prance (DBC), Olive Robertson (Soroptimist Int), Andy Henery (Groundwork Kent Thames-side)
1) Apologies: Graeme Laidlaw, Julie Morton , John Strong, Eric Tomlinson, Steve Weiss
2) Notes from Last Meeting: Agreed
3) Matters Arising from the Notes:
a) Leaflet Carousels: The chair will liaise with John Strong over cleaning and painting the carousels ready for use. The group will consider proposals at its next meeting for additional QED leaflets to go in the carousels.
b) Arrow Riding School: Carpet deliveries have been arranged through RESPOND for use on the allotments at Darenth Country Park. They can be left temporarily at the Riding School.
c) Light Pollution: Phil Kessel has written to Julie Morton to clarify the legal status of light pollution, and the absence of statutory control. Julie has drafted a leaflet on the subject, which was tabled.
d) Other Matters:
Spring Clean: The local groups which participated in this year's Tidy Britain's National Spring Clean will receive certificates in due course. The certificates are in preparation, and it was agreed that the Mayor and/or Chair of the Environment Committee would be invited by Phil Kessel to make the presentation.
Leaflets: A short article on the garden chemicals leaflet will appear in the Dartford Informer in a week or two. The Dartford Chamber of Commerce has agreed to distribute the business awareness leaflet with its June Newsletter. There has been no response so far from GCAN regarding publicity through Groundwork.
Low Energy Light Bulbs: Possible sources were discussed, along with the idea of giving these away as prizes at the Dartford Festival.
Darenth Country Park QED Project: Richard Wiltshire had given a presentation on QED to the Park Advisory Group - at very short notice.
4) Internet Page:
a) Ideas: Richard Wiltshire explained how the website works, and offered to demonstrate it to members of the group on request.
b) Volunteer Author: The chair agreed to write the text for the QED Waste Management Group page.
5) "Informer" Article: An article will appear approximately every two weeks. It was agreed that subjects for the next article on the QED Waste Management Group will be discussed at the next meeting.
6) Dartford Festival:
a) Barbara Judge's Youth Group Proposal: Barbara read out the letter she had drafted for Alan Cremer to send regarding the proposed Fashion Show. The Youth Group was meeting at the same time as the Waste Management Group, so a response was expected later.
b) Other Matters: RESPOND have agreed to participate in the group's display in the marquee. It was agreed that the joint scheme involving RESPOND and Comet should also be emphasized, and Phil Kessel/John prance agreed to contact RESPOND about this. The QED Allotments Group has proposed that composting and waste recycling on allotments could be included in the Waste Management Group's display. It was agreed that the display should also include information on recycling in Dartford and the Environment Report supplied by DBC. John Prance explained the current position regarding waste paper collections. Richard Wiltshire enquired whether the Borough Council's Local Agenda 21 Report would be available for inclusion in the display, to show how QED fits in with the Council's overall LA21 plans. This Report may not be available in time for the Festival. Barbara Judge enquired whether information of the 50th anniversary of the UN Declaration on Human Rights could be included in the marquee: Richard Wiltshire agreed to discuss this with the other group chairs. Another possibility is a demonstration of how efficient low-energy light bulbs are.
7) B&Q "Quest": Richard Wiltshire reported on the presentation given by B&Q's LA21 Officer to the QED Steering Group. Further information was needed on whether more than one £250 grant is available each year. B&Q has agreed to hand out the appropriate awareness leaflet with goods at the point of sale, and to distribute them via a carousel as well. The possibility of locating a Recycling Point in B&Q's car park was also discussed.
8) Other Business: Alan Cremer needs the text for the Year Planner by May 28. Richard Wiltshire agreed to contact HDRA regarding the cost of obtaining a supply of their composting leaflets with QED details added, following the model established with Birmingham City Council. 8) Other Business: Alan Cremer needs the text for the Year Planner by May 28. Richard Wiltshire agreed to contact HDRA regarding the cost of obtaining a supply of their composting leaflets with QED details added, following the model established with Birmingham City Council. David Meade queried whether there would be a response from the QED Waste Management Group to the DETR's "Opportunities for Change" consultation paper. John Prance summarised the current status of the KCC Draft Waste Strategy for Household Waste, comments on which must be submitted by June 19. A Local Authority Seminar on this subject has been arranged for June 3, and there should be another for the voluntary sector, but no date has been fixed.
9) Date of Next Meeting: June 17, 1998 from 7.30 at the Civic Centre, Dartford.
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