Tests Underway For Waste Chip Fat In Asphalt

The chips were down for Haslimann Taylor this week - down on the road that is - when it organised the first live trials to test the use of waste chip fat as a replacement for bitumen in asphalt.

On behalf of client Aggregate Industries, Haslimann Taylor arranged a series of trials lead by the company’s research manager Helen Bailey, in conjunction with Amey Plc and Central Bedfordshire Council.

Helen’s pioneering work could reduce the carbon footprint of Britain’s road building industry. The solution she developed, which was on trial in Bedfordshire, uses waste vegetable oil to achieve the same key properties as bitumen to bind the asphalt mix, beneficially exploiting a waste material without loss of performance in the asphalt.

Helen, 26, commented: “I am thrilled to have reached the milestone of the trials and look forward to analysing the full results. The asphalt industry produces approximately 25 million tonnes of asphalt every year, requiring about 1.25 million tonnes of bitumen. This comes at a significant environmental and economic cost, as the whole process relies on expensive imported hydrocarbons. The industry needs a more sustainable alternative and with reduced CO2, reduced dependency on landfill and less energy required for storage, Vegetex could be it.”

Helen is currently studying for a PhD in civil engineering materials at The University of East London, supported by Aggregate Industries. Her work forms just a part of Aggregate Industries commitment to sustainable construction.

For more information please contact Rosie Sanderson at Haslimann Taylor on 0121 355 3446 or news@htpr.co.uk.

Snorers Needed For UK’s First Snore-Chestra

Snorers across the country are being sought by Helps Stop Snoring, makers of the UK’s first natural snoring remedy, as it launches the UK’s first snore-chestra.

The company, which holds an annual boot camp for snorers, is appealing for people to either put themselves forward, or to volunteer the snoring services of someone they know.

Helps Stop Snoring will take the nocturnal noise of UK snorers and create a tuneful alternative to the usual night time racket. Snorers whose rumblings are used as one of the Helps Stop Snoring snore-chestra will be given a year’s supply of anti-snoring products.

Graham Carr-Smith, of Helps Stop Snoring, said: “We know that snoring can be a real nuisance, and no one suffers more than the person who is sleeping next to a culprit. We’re launching the UK’s first snore-chestra to put a smile on the faces of hacked off partners and want snorers from across the country to sign-up.

“The Helps Stop Snoring snore-chestra is a fun way to communicate a serious message, with snoring affecting 15 millions across the UK. There is hope out there for snorers and their long-suffering partners - our natural anti-snoring remedies are offering relief to thousands of people already.

Entries are also welcome from snoring pets, with both dogs and cats notorious for their snoozing sounds.

Graham added: “You never know, if the entries are good enough, we may even send the finished song to Simon Cowell for him to critique!”

Snorers looking to snooze their way into the Helps Stop Snoring snore-chestra can enter by emailing stopsnoring@htpr.co.uk, or calling the snoring hotline 0845 270 0602. Snore-chestra hopefuls with then be asked to complete a short questionnaire and submit their snoring sound clip. Closing date is Sunday, 22nd November 2009.

The Helps Stop Snoring snore-chestra will use audio submitted by snorers to create a song. Snorers who are featured in the finished tune will be given a year’s supply of Helps Stop Snoring products to help them on their way to a peaceful night’s sleep. To find out more, visit www.stopsnoring.co.uk.

-Ends-

For further information, please call Jess Hardisty or Emma Howden on 0121 355 3446 or email: jess@haslimanntaylor.com.

The Death Of Postman Pat?

Heather Power, account director at Haslimann taylor, writes:

Today marks the start of the first nationwide postal strike for two years, following a summer of regional disruptions and a host of unpopular changes to deliveries affecting businesses and members of the public alike. And who can forget the public outcry when the closure of many a beloved village post office was announced?

While all these changes might be deemed necessary by Royal Mail from a commercial perspective, I doubt that I’m alone in thinking that disruption and moaning about the postal service in general have come to be considered the norm rather than the exception to the rule.

Business Secretary Peter Mandelson’s comments that the Royal Mail could ‘irrevocably damage’ its reputation and drive its customers away might be the first and last time that I agree with him, but I can’t help but think that there’s more than a grain of truth in his words – and that’s not something I thought I’d find myself saying about a politician.

It seems the days of the friendly community postie carrying his bag of letters on his red bicycle have long gone. Like the milkman before him, no more is the postman part of our early morning ritual – and he’s in danger of slipping out of our national affection forever too.

When was the last time that you heard one of those feel-good stories, once so beloved of regional newspapers, about an heroic postie rescuing a small child or saving an ailing housebound pensioner? Instead, our positive images of the postal service, once epitomised by Postman Pat, have become tarnished by constant coverage of industrial action and the affects on customers.

And, to add insult to injury, the latest dispute has turned into a slanging match, with the Royal Mail, the Communication Workers Union (CWU) and the government all doing their bit to air Postman Pat’s dirty laundry in public. With the Royal Mail calling the CWU’s actions ‘unjustified and irresponsible’, and Lord Mandelson calling them ‘totally self-defeating’, union leaders retaliated by dubbing him the ‘minister without responsibility’ and accusing him of bearing a grudge over privatisation.

Represented by people wielding increasingly personal insults in place of professionalism, whose status can possibly remain unscathed, least of all Postman Pat’s? An exercise in reputation management it certainly ain’t.

So, while the UK at large has another moan about the inconvenience, but then adjusts (sometimes by taking their business elsewhere) and carries on, the real lasting damage has already been done. The latest postal strikes themselves might not be the final nail in the coffin of Postman Pat, but the continuing high profile arguments and ugly accusations between the Royal Mail, the CWU and government are surely killing him off pretty effectively.