"By composting at home we can protect the environment and make sure that our favourite flowers continue to look amazing"
GaynorFaye
Dancing on ice star, actress Gaynor Faye launches the Recycle Now Home Composting campaign for 2007 with a rosy pose(y).
Gaynor, the Dancing On Ice star, Corrie and star of many TV dramas, looks in full bloom as she poses to highlight the benefits of home composting.
The campaign is aimed at encouraging Britain to keep its gardens in bloom by getting more people recycling kitchen and garden waste. The launch was simultaneous with a new national survey which names the rose as Britain’s favourite flower.
Our English rose – Gaynor Faye
The rose has stood the test of time as it was also popular 50 years ago when most homes had a rose garden, and its popularity looks set to continue with the help of home produced compost.
The benefits of home composting are twofold, as they can benefit both the environment and the garden. Home composting allows households to recycle kitchen and garden waste rather than send it to landfill where it can release methane - a gas which contributes to climate change.
In addition to cuts in methane production at landfills the fact that the organic waste does not have to be collected by a local authority before composting also saves on carbon dioxide emissions, and makes home composting the best environmental option for organic wastes.
The compost produced can be used on the garden to help soil retain moisture and help plants stay alive during the increasingly hot summers.
Recycle Now was launched by Matthew Pinsent in September 2004, and is the multi-media national recycling campaign, implemented and managed by WRAP (the Waste & Resources Action Programme) on behalf of the Government. The aim of the campaign is to encourage more people to recycle more stuff, more often.
English rose, Gaynor, said: “By composting at home we can protect the environment and make sure that our favourite flowers continue to look amazing.”
National survey results
All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 2,286 UK adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 19 - 21 March 2007. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all GB adults (aged 18+).
- The rose was chosen as the UK’s favourite flower, with 26 per cent of the vote
- The daffodil was the second favourite flower, with 12 per cent of the votes, followed closely by the lily, with 11 per cent
- 27 per cent of men picked the rose as their favourite, in contrast to 25 per cent of women
- Every region in the UK prefers the rose above any other flower, apart from Wales, where an equal number of people also like the daffodil
- The West Country champions the rose more than anywhere else in the country, with a third of people choosing it as their favourite
- The older generations prefer the rose and shun alternatives, with 32 per cent of over 55 year olds picking it as their chosen flower, and only 7 per cent opting for the lily
- …but the younger generations prefer more obscure flowers, with only 18 per cent of 18-24 year olds opting for the rose, 15 per cent choosing the lily, 13 per cent opting for the daffodil and one in ten choosing the tulip
- The UK’s least favourite flower is a tie between the daisy and the pansy, with only two per cent of people opting for either
- Men are far more likely to have no preference over flowers – 13 per cent of men don’t have a favourite at all, in contrast to only three per cent of women