The BIG GREEN Thing!

How 'green' are we?

Its funny how the English language changes.

When I was a young lad I was taught that 'Green' was a colour. I also learned that it was a word that could be used to indicate a person of little experience or to describe someone that was looking ill or even a person that was envious of something.

Now it seems to be used to describe an environmental state that we have little to do with or can do little about.

Or can we?

Taking the modern concept of being 'green' to mean someone that cares about our environment and the way our constant greed and desire to throw away the old and produce new creates an ever increasing mound of rubbish that we can't keep up with, I constantly strive to reclaim and recycle items that few care about. For me it's a transport thing.

Yesterday I saw announced on international news that our government is considering a scheme to scrap old vehicles in a way as to encourage people to buy new ones.

Now, while I agree that the government could do something to save peoples jobs. Why do we need to sanction saving an industry that has done little to help our quest for less waste and more environmentally friendly products? An Industry that is bolstered by one of the greediest and one of the worst polluters of our planet?

Oh sure there are arguments on every side of this one but the fact remains that we still have to, somehow, get rid of all the extra scrap vehicles that a motion like this would produce.

Surely it would be better to find a way of updating and upgrading these old cars?

This is exactly what we do with caravans.

We take old, unloved and, for all intents and purposes, scrap caravans and turn them into useful and attractive things again that someone will love and cherish for another long period of time. Not only recycling 90% of the original materials used but creating an artifact that is both useful and attractive. An artifact that preserves history and helps to save the planet at the same time.

Will the government spend tax payer's money on our industry? Will they encourage people to recycle instead of destroy? Will they give money to create jobs in our sort of development? .............NO........................WHY?

Because it is not PC!

For every caravan that we restore and put back into useful service at least one less new caravan is produced. The reality is even greater because the sort of people that buy our caravans not only don't buy a new one now but don't buy another new one in 5 yrs time so that is a count of 2. Also for every caravan we restore then, on average, 1 1/2 tons of material is recycled. Materials like aluminium, plastic & rubber, etc. Materials that would otherwise end up in landfill. And for every new caravan not produced we save the production of approx 1/2 tom of materials that we do not have the technology or the ability to recycle. Materials that end up getting burned or buried in land fill because our government will not allocate the money needed to recycle it even if we could effectively recycle.

This is just an example for what we do. Recycle old caravans. Imagine if you could take your old car and have it upgraded to the latest tech...............New brakes & safety features, more economical engines etc. Sure we all go "WOW" at the latest model design but do we need it? ...................Only to keep up with the Joneses!

I have been called everything from a scrap man to a diddycoy. And, indeed, our yard often looks like a scrap yard.

BUT

How "GREEN" Are We?

So, if you are thinking of buying a new caravan DON'T..............Recycle an old one instead. You can have all the same facilities as a new van but you will end up with a retro (very kool!) artifact of historic interest that will do the same job, last longer, create employment and help save the planet for the same cost or less than a new one. So you could possibly save you bank balance as well