Brighton In February

One morning in a respectable sea-side town, British Telecom workers arrived at work to find it bricked-up. Shock horror. What could 800 phone books have been doing, loitering with intent, outside their offices at such an early hour? Oh no, not those damned Earth First!ers again. “They’ve got the wrong end of the stick”, journalists and TV reporters were told.

Only three million phone directories are made from recycled paper in the whole country. None are recyclable. The non-biodegradable glue in the spine, and the yellow dye, make it a problem for waste paper company’s profit margins. Oh dear, more firms going to the wall. Never mind, chin up. It is about time that BT, who make £95 profit a second, takes responsibility for their huge wastage.

Other companies use biodegradable glue, and some phone companies collect their old books for recycling. BT has answered that it is “researching the possibilities”. Well let’s hope it has researched them adequately before next year. For as one manager - no names please - told us, “This is great. With more demonstrations like this, head office will have to do something about it.”

Oh, by the by, if you feel that your actions should mirror your words, it is all very well to moralise “You profit at the Earth’s expense. Now you pay for it.” There is, however, a reply-paid card in every phone book...

South Downs Earth First!