The man himself is praised in a recent edition of Wales Online, where details of his award were announced. Curtis himself knows all about eco issues and eco related promotional products and environmentally friendly promotional merchandise. He has successfully lead campaigns to get the council to use free range chickens in their catering service and also set up recycling schemes for batteries and aluminium foil. Indeed, his passion even took him from his own home soil to the jungles of Africa, in a bid to save silverback gorillas!

Councils throughout the UK are of course becoming increasingly green! With carbon emission targets and European recycling targets to be hit, local boroughs find themselves looking for new and smarter ways to be more environmentally aware.

One of the simplest ways a council, or indeed any business or school, can become more environmentally friendly, is to switch their regular source of promotional products to eco promotional merchandise. Making this simple, but effective change doubles green credentials in a heartbeat!

Choosing sustainably sourced promotional merchandise, such as Eco Friendly Sustainable Wood Pencils with erasers, or promotional products made from recycled materials, like the Eco Friendly 15cm Flexi Rulers, made from recycled UK waste polypropylene, can help companies to achieve their targets and goals with ease.

Glass and plastics can now be placed in the new brown wheelie bins. In something of a shuffle around, the new brown recycling bins will replace the old black recycling boxes and new green bins will replace the old brown garden waste bins! No doubt the local council will supply residents with a plethora of literature, promotional merchandise, leaflets and promotional products to explain the changes!

Indeed, any local council which make changes to recycling methods, or are just keen to promote any current campaigns they have running, should consider using environmentally friendly promotional products. Using items of Eco promotional merchandise for campaigns, such as Eco Friendly Magnets – which are made from recycled CD cases and can be fully customised – ensures that the message sent out is done so in as green a way as possible!

The campaign will use posters, promotional products, leaflets and promotional merchandise to spread the word that foil and cans, aerosols and tins, can all be dropped into household recycling boxes, or brought to local recycling centres.

Who knew that metal was so versatile and lent itself to recycling so very easily? Indeed, according to the MetalMatters website, household waste (such as, tin cans, wrapping and cooking foil and aerosol cans) are all 100% recyclable and have an incredibly fast turnaround, to boot. Indeed, according to those in the know, “within six weeks, a can that was put in one of the kerbside recycling boxes, can be back on the shelves, as a new tin of beans!”.

The two council boroughs which will be spearheading this marketing campaign are East Hampshire and Nuneaton & Bedworth. It is thought that if all goes well and the results are promising, the campaign may be rolled out across the country.

The campaign will of, course, be relying on promotional materials to facilitate its smooth running. Indeed, many councils choose to use promotional merchandise made from recycled materials for eco related projects. Indeed, using sustainably sourced promotional products has become increasingly popular in recent years.

Some of the most popular and best selling eco friendly promotional products, include Saturn Duo Pens, Recycled Newspaper Pencils and Cotton Shopper bags. Items of Eco promotional merchandise which are also popular include Indus Pens, Recycled Sticky Notes and Organic Pencil Cases.

The council’s promotional literature for the anti dog fouling campaign is designed to hit hard. Its message is simple, with posters reading “Oi, we’re not takin’ your s**t, anymore”. Whilst councillors in charge of the campaign are adamant that their promotional products, materials and promotional merchandise – including car stickers – are a hit with the general public, they have received criticism from some. One person who was opposed to the campaign’s use of foul language suggested that the council has simply “dumped on themselves”.

However, dog fouling is a very serious matter and one that is becoming increasingly problematic. Many councils, in addition to using poster campaigns and employing wardens, also find that certain promotional products can help to encourage pet owners to clean up after their animals. Promotional merchandise, such as Eco Friendly Doggy Doo Bags and biodegradable poo bags, have been shown to work to great effect.

The closing date for registrants for the competition is the 20 November 2010 and the entries must be submitted by Friday 4th March 2011. The winning school will receive five hundred pounds and the achievement will also count towards eco schools goals for the school itself.

The competition organisers have already produced a small video to give participants ideas and there is a section on the water supplier’s website which discusses the importance of water saving measures. Schools will also find statistical data which will no doubt come in rather handy when scripting their video entries.

For example, did you know that a typical bath uses eighty litres of water whilst a shower only uses eight per minute? Or, that five litres of water are wasted if you leave the tap on whilst you brush your teeth? Also, worryingly, some parts of England have less water available, per person, than hotter countries such as Greece and Spain!

Full details of the competition can be found on the Severn Trent Water website, together with printable downloads, which are ideal for producing promotional merchandise or literature.

Many schools and companies that run eco related campaigns often find that having environmentally conscious promotional products and eco friendly promotional merchandise, can greatly benefit their marketing strategies.

Water powered promotional products, such as Water Powered Calculators and Water Powered Digi Clocks, are ideal pieces of promotional merchandise to raise environmental awareness. Promotional products, such as Eco Friendly Hydropal filter bottles, are also ideal items to use in raising awareness of water saving strategies.

One Dog warden for the area told the BBC that she was shocked that people were ignoring signs and using the area as a dog toilet, rather than as the recreational area it should be. The local council have now made it clear that owners of dogs will face a thousand pound fine in future, if they refuse to clear up after their pet.

Indeed, there are many promotional products and items of promotional merchandise that local councils can and do, employ to help with the issue of pet waste. Items of promotional merchandise, such as Doggy Doo Bags and their accompanying promotional products, biodegradable poo bags, make clearing up far easier, more convenient and hygienic for the pet owner, to the benefit of all parties.

New Government ‘Green Deals’ are emerging, which could see householders get up to ten thousand pounds worth of money in green loans, to put towards making their homes more environmentally friendly and energy efficient to run. The ‘Pay as you Save’ loans are designed so that the cost of fitting energy saving devices, such as solar panels, will be outweighed by savings the home-owner makes. There are currently fifty ’super homes’ in the UK and the Sustainable Energy Academy (SEA) and the National Energy Foundation are hoping to showcase many of these to encourage people to follow suit.

The homes generate cash by ‘feeding-in’ energy to the National Grid and earning money back from energy put in to the system. With energy saving fittings in place, such as underfloor heating, loft and cavity wall insulation and solar panels, these homes are super efficient when it comes to trapping and producing energy.

As the UK has predominantly ‘old housing stock’, the retrofitting of homes is a necessary solution to the carbon dilemma. More information regarding the ‘green deals’ will be available soon, with literature and promotional merchandise available for those who are considering the option.

For those companies, local councils and schools which are currently planning environmentally friendly energy saving campaigns, there are many eco friendly promotional products and items of promotional merchandise available. Green and eco promotional products can help to bolster campaigns, while remaining environmentally friendly in the process.

It is thought that Town Halls will be encouraged to install energy generating devices – such as wind turbines and solar panels and even waves generating energy machines for sea side and coastal towns. The move is being hailed as ‘revolutionary’ and will certainly help to hit those all important carbon targets!

Another way in which local authorities and council boroughs help to cut down on their carbon footprint, is to adopt a more ethical stance when it comes to promotional products, marketing and promotional merchandise. Many schools and councils currently use eco promotional products and green promotional merchandise – such as pens made from recycled materials, natural fibre bags and FSC certified paper – when conducting marketing campaigns.

As reported in a local newspaper, Rochford District Council have just recently hit their 65 per cent recycling targets and have done so using a three bin system. The straight forward method requires residents to separate rubbish into either ‘food waste’ or ‘dry recyclable items’ or ‘other rubbish.’ Compared to the complicated (and as yet unproven nine bin fiasco some residents are faced with), the Rochford method clearly shows that simplicity works for the general public – with all important statistics to back it up!

It seems that now all anyone can do is wait to find out the final verdict on the recycling system overhaul – with the public, local councils and businesses all being invited to share their opinion with the Government over the coming months.

Whichever method is finally chosen and however many bins everyone ends up with, one thing is for sure, the public will have to be clearly informed of any changes that are going to be made. What better way to spread the word than with a marketing campaign that relies on promotional products that have been sourced from sustainable materials and promotional merchandise made from recycled goods.

There are many promotional products available that are eco friendly and vast amounts of promotional merchandise that promote a green ethos, whilst helping to inform the target audience of any necessary changes being implemented!

Whilst spreading the word on how to be green in the office, the recruits will also help to keep track of progress and monitor developments. Employees will be given advice on how to reduce their carbon footprint, energy output and impact upon the environment. Other issues, including travelling to work in a more eco-friendly way and the importance of recycling, will also be covered by the reps.

The Cheshire East Council offices have, according to the Knutsford Guardian, also supplied staff reps with ‘Think Green’ handbooks, to use for guidance and references purposes.

One area in which many companies, schools and offices, can take a more green approach, is that of promotional products, marketing and promotional merchandise. One of the simplest things to do is to switch regular items of promotional merchandise and stationary, with environmentally friendly alternatives. For example choose promotional products such as, Eco Friendly A5 Ring Binders or Eco Friendly Eco Pen Holders.