Today`s been rubbish

John Craven OBE was in Kendal on Friday to host the awards ceremony which marked the end of the Recycle for Cumbria Golf Championship - and declared the whole day a load of rubbish!

But the presenter of BBC TV`s Countryfile was being complimentary about the event. "Today has been a rubbish day in the best possible way!" He said at the event. "I`m honoured to have been involved with Recycle for Cumbria since the beginning of the campaign, and I`m pleased to say that the whole day has been about rubbish and raising awareness about the importance of recycling," he said.

The awards ceremony was the culmination of a month-long golfing tournament and recycling roadshow held at clubs throughout Cumbria, with the final at Kendal Golf Club on Friday.

John said of the event; "I`ve been involved in many recycling campaigns but this is the first time a golf tournament has been used to promote the recycling message. It`s been a unique tournament and a fantastic day, and I`m delighted to have been involved."

During his speech, John spoke of his BBC TV career which began on children`s news bulletin Newsround and included a presenting stint on Saturday morning children`s show Swap Shop.

"Swap Shop was the first recycling TV show," he said. "Hundreds of thousands of children all over the country recycled their unwanted toys and gifts by swapping them instead of throwing them away."

"Recycling is easy, and there are things we can all do to help. If people don`t recycle then they`re doing their bit to increase the pressures on the world."

The Recycle for Cumbria Golf Championship was held at clubs across the county throughout May and was supported by Recycle For Cumbria`s recycling road shows, featuring junk art displays, products made from recycled materials and hints and tips on recycling from Recycle for Cumbria`s Recycling Rangers.

The ceremony was attended by the finalists in the championship, as well as representatives from Barrow Borough Council, Allerdale Borough Council, Copeland Borough Council and Cumbria County Council and sponsors of the dinner, Cumbria Waste Recycling.

Ian Stewart, Councillor for Cumbria County Council, said of the campaign; "If the question is has this campaign raised awareness about recycling, then the answer is yes. Looking at a league table of where Waste Disposal Authorities are recycling, just two years Cumbria was right at the bottom. Now we`re in the top half of the table, we`ve moved a long way in a short period of time. Now we`ve raised awareness even further Cumbria will be challenging for promotion in the recycling league."

Mike Bareham, Managing Director of event sponsors Cumbria Waste Recycling, said of the event; "This evening has been a great success, but the campaign has been about much more than just tonight. There have been activities across the county for weeks, and the Recycling Rangers have done a wonderful job. Last year Cumbria Waste Recycling recycled 80,000 tonnes of waste, but we`re disposing of hundreds of thousands more, a lot of which can be recycled. The fortnightly refuse collection in Carlisle caused a lot of fuss, but I`m delighted to see that recycling has shot up. t`s been a pleasure to be involved in an event which promotes the importance of recycling and publicises the work that we do."

There are kerbside recycling facilities for 70% of households in Cumbria, as well as lots of recycle points for glass, plastic, newspaper, cans and clothes. There are also 13 larger Household Waste Recycling Centres throughout the county.

Follow the link for details of the championship winners and to view a selection of images from the final.