Kingfisher canoe club members were out on the River Thames in Abingdon on Sunday – litter picking.

Jen says “It’s amazing how much rubbish, in particular plastic, we picked up from such a short stretch of river that is a hazard to birdlife and fish and everyone who enjoys the river and its banks!”

There is also a picture of Tigger who Jen rescued from the river a little while ago.

The Abingdon Carbon Cutters are back in the community free space ( opposite H.Samuel in Bury Street in Abingdon) from 11am – 2pm until October 14th. They have harvested the produce from Edible Abingdon, where spaces near the town centre have been used to grow herbs and vegetables.

Once again they have their apple-pressing kit and pasteuriser which can be used on the premises or hired. Or you can drop in and buy a bottle of apple juice – Made in Abingdon. I read that ‘The price of apple juice is likely to rise sharply after a poor harvest in Poland, the main supplier of apples and apple juice concentrate to the EU.‘

There’s more to pumpkins than Halloween lanterns. Browsing round the shop I found a recipe for Pumpkin Cake with some very easy instructions. For more pumpkin recipes visit Love food hate waste and read about The Curse of the Uneaten Pumpkin.

Thanks to VWHDC for a press release this evening.

From now on the citizens of Abingdon will be allowed to use thin plastic bags to line food waste bins. That includes shopping bags, bread wrappers, and white bin liners. Up until now only pale green compostable bags have been allowed and they are expensive and can easily tear.

Food waste is collected weekly from Abingdon and taken to a processing plant near Wallingford to be turned into fertilizer and gas. The processing plant is now able to remove the plastic bags and send them to another energy recovery facility.

This new freedom is not a license to put half a pack of bacon – still in its packaging – into the food waste bin.

Last year (in 2015) Edible Abingdon took root behind the Outdoor Pool kiosk.

This year the vegetable plot moved to some old-style recycling boxes beside Old Station House.

Four months on from the first picture there are carrots, a lot of tomatoes, various herbs, beans, possibly courgettes, and a few I cannot identify. All part of a Carbon Cutter Initiative called ‘Edible Abingdon’. The aim is to create a herb and vegetable garden that is attractive and productive, organic, and wildlife-friendly, and in the longer term to reduce dependence on imported food, and encourage community growing.

This evening, at St Ethelwold’s House, there was a talk about ‘Incredible Edible Abingdon’, and discussions where to take the vegetable plot next year.