Residents of Sandwell will be the first people in Europe to use a new domestic fridge freezer that automatically switches on and off to save carbon, in a project that could pave the way to make massive cuts in the UK’s CO2 emissions.

The new ‘smart fridges’ respond to signals from the national grid and shut down for short periods when energy demand is at its highest, so reducing the output of power stations, without any effect on performance or the freshness of food. 

If the trial proves successful, the technology has the potential to make sizable reductions to the nation’s carbon footprint. Government studies suggest that if every home in the UK was fitted with a smart fridge, CO2 emissions could be cut by two million tonnes each year.

A nationwide trial starts this week with the first being delivered to residents of Sandwell.

The smart fridges rollout is a joint project between social landlord Sandwell Homes, Worcester-based energy firm npower, white goods manufacturer, Indesit Company, and smart grid technology developer, RLtec.

Key to the smart fridges’ ‘intelligence’ is dynamic demand technology, which works by monitoring second-by-second changes to demand on the national grid and responding during times of peak energy use, such as mornings and evenings, or times like when the nation’s kettles are switched on at half time during World Cup matches. 

During these times the fridge freezer automatically adjusts the power it is drawing so the amount of carbon-emitting power generation typically needed to supply peak usage is no longer required. The fridges do this automatically without owners needing to take any action and users won’t even notice when they are active or not.

Andrew Howe, CEO of RLtec the company behind dynamic demand technology, said:  “A technology in the home that automatically helps to cope with peaks and demands in energy use is an exciting concept and could really help reduce demand on power stations, and see homeowners playing a big role in cutting the UK’s emissions.  The smart fridges are simply plugged in as you would with any normal fridge and the technology does the rest – when multiplied across several thousand or several million homes, the carbon saving potential is massive.” 

John Clayton, investment director at Sandwell Homes, added:  “Reducing carbon emissions is really important to us at Sandwell Homes and we’ve been very proactive in working with our tenants to share ideas on how to cut our carbon footprint.  The opportunity to be part of Europe’s first smart fridge trial is great news for us and for the region, and we hope the project helps to demonstrate what potential technology like this has in our homes.”

Indesit has developed a number of models for the trial to assess the potential for different types of smart fridge.  Each model is designed so that temperatures do not rise or fall out of a set range so performance is maintained regardless of the level of demand on the grid.

Julie Brown,  a Sandwell resident who took delivery of one of the first smart fridges said:  “It’s very exciting to be taking part in this trial and being one of the first people in the world to use a smart fridge.  It looks just like a normal fridge freezer and we’ve been using it in just the same way so if it’s helping to cut the UK’s carbon footprint too, that’s great."

Sandwell residents can be in with a chance of winning an iPod shuffle, simply by recycling their old small electrical items at the borough's Household Recycling Centre.

Sandwell Council's 'Electric & Small, We Want More' campaign encourages residents to recycle their small electrical items when they visit the centre in Shidas Lane, Oldbury.

During National Recycle Week, 21-27 June, residents taking small electrical items for recycling at the centre can also enter a competition. A prize draw for an iPod shuffle will take place every day.

Entry forms are available from www.sandwell.gov.uk/recycling or at the centre. Download and take a form with you to the centre or ask for one when you arrive at the centre.

The competition is supported and funded by Repic, the Recycling Electrical Producers' Industry Consortium.

Councillor Derek Rowley, Sandwell Council's cabinet member for safer neighbourhoods, said: "Whether it's old mobile phones in a drawer, old power tools cluttering up the garage or a broken kettle or toaster gathering dust in the loft, recycling can help them have a new life. Unwanted electrical items can be dismantled into raw materials and put to new uses - a typical iron can produce enough steel to make 13 food cans.

"To keep up the momentum of the campaign after National Recycle Week we will hold a draw for an iPod Nano every month from July to October."

Entrants must be from within the Sandwell borough and only one iPod will be awarded per household.

Sandwell residents can sign up to the reduce, reuse, recycle for Sandwell e-newsletter by emailing 'subscribe' to recycleforsandwell@sandwell.gov.uk

Residents in Sandwell are set to get more time to recycle at the borough's Household Recycling Centre.

Summer opening times return to the Household Recycling Centre in Shidas Lane, Oldbury, at the start of next month, giving residents extra time to take their recycling or dispose of extra or bulky waste.

From Thursday April 1, the site will be open from 8am until 8pm from Monday to Friday as the evenings become lighter. Weekend opening hours remain the same from 8am to 4pm on Saturdays and Sundays.

Sandwell's cabinet member for neighbourhoods and housing, Cllr Mahboob Hussain, said: "We normally extend the centre's weekday opening hours from the beginning of April until the end of September to give residents more time to use it. The site is also open as usual over the Easter Bank Holidays - from 8am to 4pm at the weekend and 8am to 8pm on both Good Friday and Easter Monday. There is a great range of recycling facilities at the site and I would like to remind residents to recycle as much as they can. To make trips quicker residents should separate their recycling when they pack their vehicle and ask a member of staff if they are unsure which container to use."

Residents can check if the centre is busy before leaving home by calling 0845 352 0123, or viewing the web cam at http://sandwell.ectrecycling.co.uk

For further information on recycling residents can sign up to the reduce, reuse, recycle for Sandwell e-newsletter by emailing ‘subscribe’ to recycleforsandwell@sandwell.gov.uk or go to www.sandwell.gov.uk/recycling,  email contact@sandwell.gov.uk or call Contact Sandwell on 0845 359 7501 (Monday to Friday 8am to 8pm, Saturday 8.30am to 1.30pm).

The BRE Innovation Park is a world leading and ground breaking demonstration development designed to give a glimpse of how the future delivery of sustainable buildings and communities can be achieved not only in the UK but around the world.

It features seven of the world's most sustainable houses (built to the Code for sustainable homes), a health centre of the future and over 300 different construction innovations and emerging technologies as well as a state of the art community landscape design.

Collectively these projects demonstrate diverse and innovative approaches to sustainable design and construction. They each share the common goal of having a low impact on the environment but a high impact on the quality of life of building and community occupants and CO2 emissions reduction.

Sandwell Homes officers, eco-champions, and tenant environmental forum members visited the BRE (following on from previous visits to Worcester Bosch and the Centre for Alternative Technology) to look at the methods being developed to achieve zero-carbon homes by combining organic and technological approaches utilising modern methods of construction.

Click here to view pictures from the visit

Householders in Sandwell are advised to look out for their new garden waste collection calendar this month. Fortnightly collections of garden waste wheeled bins will restart from 1 March after the winter break.

Garden waste produced during the winter break can be taken to the Household Recycling Centre in Shidas Lane, Oldbury.

Real Christmas trees can also be taken to the Household Recycling Centre or chopped up and placed in wheeled bins ready for March collections.

Residents with internet access can check their garden waste collection day online and also download a copy of their collection calendar by logging on to www.sandwell.gov.uk/recycling and following the link via the garden waste page.

Alternatively, residents can check their collection day by emailing their address details to contact@sandwell.gov.uk or by calling Contact Sandwell on 0845 359 7501 (Monday to Friday 8am to 8pm, Saturday 8.30am to 1.30pm).

Residents can sign up to the reduce, reuse, recycle for Sandwell e-newsletter by emailing ‘subscribe’ to recycleforsandwell@sandwell.gov.uk

Sandwell residents with real trees brightening their homes throughout the festive season are being urged to recycle them once the festivities are over. There are several easy ways to recycle real trees in Sandwell.

1. They can be broken up and placed in green garden waste wheeled bins ready for the start of garden waste collections in March.

2. For an earlier collection residents can arrange for their tree to be picked up in January by calling Contact Sandwell on 0845 359 7501. Bookings will be taken between Monday, January 4 and Friday, January 29, only. Trees will be collected during the week after the bookings are made.

3. Real trees can also be taken to the Household Recycling Centre, Shidas Lane, Oldbury and placed in the garden waste containers for recycling into compost.

Residents are reminded to remove all decorations from their tree before it goes out for recycling.

Residents who are disposing of artificial trees after this Christmas are urged to think about extending its life by giving it to a local community group or charity shop to help keep waste out of landfill.

Artificial Christmas trees cannot be recycled and should not be placed out in garden waste wheeled bins.

Sandwell residents are being urged to step up their recycling in the New Year.

Each person in England throws away an average of 50 kilos of rubbish over the festivities, of which up to 70 per cent could be recycled.

More than 80 per cent of households in Sandwell are serviced by recycling collections from home for paper, newspapers, magazines, brochures, catalogues, envelopes, telephone directories, drinks cans, food cans, biscuit tins, chocolate tins, clean aluminium foil and aerosols.

Residents who have a green box or a blue lidded bin for recycling can also place glass bottles and jars into their recycling container. Those with a green bag collection can take glass bottles and jars to a local recycling centre. Residents with blue lidded bin collections can put an even wider range of materials out for recycling, including plastic bottles and card. In addition, there are more than 70 recycling centres across the borough, many conveniently located on supermarket and public house car parks.

Sandwell Council's cabinet member for neighbourhoods and housing Cllr Mahboob Hussain said:

"We have seen a massive increase in recycling and it has only been possible because people have really embraced it in huge numbers and I want to thank them for that. The more money we save, the more we can reinvest in keeping areas clean and I hope people are seeing those improvements.

"Local recycling centres are useful for residents who do not yet have a recycling collection from their home, or who have lots of recyclables. I encourage residents to get into the recycling habit, particularly at a time when so much waste is produced. Everything that is recycled reduces the amount of rubbish that has to go to landfill, it is better for the environment and means that we then have more money for frontline services like street cleaning."

To find your local recycling centre, or for more information about opportunities to reduce, reuse and recycle in Sandwell go to www.sandwell.gov.uk/recycling, email contact@sandwell.gov.uk or call Contact Sandwell on 0845 359 7501 (Monday to Friday 8am to 8pm, Saturday 8.30am to 1.30pm).

Residents can sign up to the reduce, reuse, recycle for Sandwell e-newsletter by emailing ‘subscribe’ to recycleforsandwell@sandwell.gov.uk

The Savewells may not be Sandwell’s answer to the Simpsons but they certainly have their finger on the pulse when it comes to saving money.

The Savewell family will be out and about in Sandwell encouraging people of all ages to make small changes to their lifestyles that will result in big savings to their pockets and give the environment a helping hand too.

Part of the campaign will go on tour to schools in the borough with a focus on recycling through an interactive game pupils can play.

The ‘Recycle with the Savewells’ game, has gone down a storm with pupils from Tipton Green Junior School who were the first to get a glimpse of the game.

Iqra Zanib, age 10 said: "It’s fun, clever and new. I would recommend it."

Teacher, David Wilkes said: "The interactive challenge is a welcome resource when it comes to teaching children about the environment. The children have really enjoyed using it as it associates learning with fun. Children will make the connection between this and recycling in their home."

For money saving tips and information about the campaign visit www.sandwell.gov.uk/savewell

If you have a tip not included on the site why not share it by emailing it to savewell@sandwell.gov.uk and they will kick start your saving by sending you a Big Spring Clean bag for life and an energy saving light bulb*.

*While stocks last

Click here to see what the Savewells suggest

Sandwell Homes' environmental team has joined board members and eco-champion tenants in a visit to the Worcester Bosch plant to find out more about renewable technologies.

The visit included a trip to the Worcester Bosch 'eco-house'. Here the group was shown ground source heat pumps, which use natural energy stored in the ground to heat water for use in the home. They were also introduced to solar panels, which are fitted to the roof of homes and use the power in both direct and diffused sunlight, converting the energy into heat to produce hot water. The technology could provide up to 60% of a home's hot water requirements, significantly reducing gas bills and making the home more self-sufficient.

A walk-a-round the factory floor to see how the Worcester Bosch boilers are assembled gave an insight into the efficiency and quality control required to produce up to 1500 boilers a day. Figures shown to the group revealed that Germany currently leads the way in using solar energy with Britain lagging behind . However, with energy companies now providing grants to support the use of renewables, and with new legislation restricting the use of gas boilers from 2014, these figures are likely to change in the near future.

See pictures from the visit here

One of the council’s biggest green initiatives has now taken a significant step forward. The borough's Cabinet of senior councillors has selected two companies for further talks on putting Sandwell’s Waste Improvement Plan into action.

See details of the plan in this month's 'Recycle for Sandwell' newsletter. Also in this month's edition: Christmas recycling hints and tips, and how to make friends with your freezer!

Click here for more information

Cabinet member for neighbourhoods and housing Cllr Mahboob Hussain said: "The garden waste collection service stops temporarily during the winter, as it is a slow growing period in the garden, when generally only a small quantity of garden waste is produced.

"I’d like to thank all those residents who have helped the council collect and compost almost 12,500 tonnes of garden waste from wheeled bins so far this year, an increase of almost 8 per cent on the previous year."

Garden waste produced during the winter break can be taken to the household recycling centre in Shidas Lane, Oldbury, which is open every day apart from Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Day.

Real Christmas trees can also be taken to the household recycling centre, or chopped up and placed in wheeled bins for March collections, or a tree collection can be arranged during January only by calling Contact Sandwell on 0845 359 7501. For further information on reducing, reusing and recycling in Sandwell, or to check your garden waste collection dates, please go to www.sandwell.gov.uk/recycling, email contact@sandwell.gov.uk or call Contact Sandwell on 0845 359 7501.

With the nights starting to draw in, the opening hours at the Household Recycling Centre in Shidas Lane, Oldbury, have changed.

Residents are reminded that from October 1 until March 31, the site closes at 6pm weekdays Monday to Friday due to the darker evenings. Between April and the end of September the centre is open from 8am to 8pm.

Weekend opening hours of 8am to 4pm remain unchanged throughout the year.

Sandwell's Cabinet member for neighbourhoods and housing Cllr Mahboob Hussain said: "It is normal for the site to close earlier on weekdays from October to April due to the darker evenings, however, weekend opening hours remain the same.

"I would urge residents to ensure that they are making the best use of the wide range of recycling facilities in Sandwell, such as local recycling centres and recycling collections from homes".

To check if the Household Recycling Centre is busy before leaving your home you can call 0845 352 0123.

To find your local recycling centre, or for more information about opportunities to reduce, reuse and recycle in Sandwell see www.sandwell.gov.uk/recycling or email contact@sandwell.gov.uk or call contact Sandwell on 0845 359 7501 (Monday to Friday 8am to 8pm, Saturday 8.30am to 1.30pm).