So Organic were named as one of the Top Organic Retailers in the 2009 UK Natural and Organic Industry Awards.

The main award went to Riverford Organic vegetable box scheme, (who we love so much we would have voted for them if we hadn't been in the competition), so well done Riverford and well done So Organic too!

So Organic was thrilled to be shortlisted by an expert panel of judges from the Soil Association along with other fantastic organic companies including Abel & Cole, Better Food Company, Daylesford Organic, Infinity Foods and Riverford Organic.

We would like to thank all our lovely customers who supported us and voted for us.

With over 2000 products, and the 50 best organic brands stocked in full, we intend to stay at the top, and provide you with the products and the award winning service which you deserve!

Now here's a small invention that could have a big impact on the way we dispose of our waste. The rubbish muncher pictured in Palm Springs in the US is powered by the sun and can compact five times the amount of a normal waste bin.

The solar compactor does the work of the large trash trucks that collect our rubbish but on a smaller scale. The thing with rubbish trucks is they compact the rubbish using fuel from their petrol tank (the more fuel used, the more CO2 emitted into the atmosphere). The independent invention that it is - this sun-fuelled bin can function off the grid because of it's increased solar efficiency and low price to maintain.

Nice bins.

Last week astronauts hooked up the last of several solar panel wings bringing the orbital outpost of the International Space Station. These very delicate panels were built by Boeing for NASA and contain many solar cells that collect the sun's light.These last solar wings took the two spacewalkers six hours to install with reportedly a few shaky moments to keep them on their moon boot snug toes. But it was well worth the eco space trip. The new solar panels will bring the space station to full power enabling it to generate 124 kilowatts of electricity. The extra power support will boost the project by increasing the space team from six to twelve astronauts, meaning more science experiments to be done.

According to Reuters World Environment News station commander Michael Finck said upon the astronauts solar mission return: "Welcome back aboard the space station. It's a lot bigger than when you left". Nice quip for a space walking fellow wouldn't you say?

The International Space Station is a $100 billion project involving 16 different nations, has been underway for nearly a decade and is expected to be finished next year.

'Why didn't we save ourselves when we had the chance?' This is the question Age of Stupid, a 90-minute film on climate change, tries to answer - from the perspective of man in 2055. Part drama, part documentary, part animation this movie focuses on climate change and it's influencing forces - oil, war, politics, consumerism and ‘human stupidity'.

Oscar nominated Pete Postlethwaite (think In The Name of the Father, Jurassic Park and Brassed Off) stars as the only actor in this piece but is joined by seven real-life people from across the globe who are already feeling the consequences of our changing climate. From an 82-year old French mountain guide to a windfarm developer fighting the anti windfarm lobby in England to a woman living in Shell's most profitable oil region in Nigeria, we hear their stories.

Filmed in Iraq, India, Jordan, The Alps, America, Nigeria and the UK The Age of Stupid was funded by selling shares to individuals and groups interested in making such a film thereby being completely independent. Quite a momentous task... and it took four years to make!

Director Franny Armstrong (think McLibel) has made a thought provoking and hopefully widely persuasive film. The reviews so far say it all really: ‘Knocks spots off an inconvenient truth' The Ecologist, and ‘The first successful dramatisation of climate change to hit the big screen' The Guardian.

See the trailer below or visit the film's website for screenings.

If anyone saw Breakfast News on the BBC or read the front page of the Daily Mail website this morning you may have been as gobsmacked as us organic-ites at the the state of recycling in the UK. It has been revealed that a significant amount of the paper and card we have come to habitually recycle is not being used. That's right - our waste is being wasted.

The poor global economic conditions has meant that our biggest recycled paper buyer, China, is demanding less of our paper waste. The result - prices have dropped (£70/ton to £10/ton in the last six weeks) and the excess which can't be sold is being stored. What's more, recycling contracters charge councils for their stored waste and taxpayers receive the bill. The alternative would be councils sent our paper waste to landfill and foot a bigger bill which will of course be passed on to us also.

Matthew Elliott, from the TaxPayers' Alliance, told the Daily Mail: ‘When the economy is in recession and families are struggling to pay their bills and fear for their jobs, councils need to think hard about the future of these schemes. We all want to do our bit for the environment, but we can't afford higher tax bills this year.'

This is disheartening and extremely frustrating for avid recyclers and the response is understandable given the time and hope invested in recycling programs. But here's something to think about - why has the market in recycleble material really dropped? We're buying less largly due to the credit crunch but we are also largely still choosing non recycled products over recycled ones.

Yes, the less we consume the better off the environment will be, but when we do spend our hard earned cash we must make a more concerted effort to buy stuff that uses less packaging, that can be refilled, reused AND recycled. It's time to promote sustainable recycling - that's for long term and that which incorporated our entire lifestyle.

We can't take this market challenge as an excuse to fear higher council taxes and stop our recycling efforts. We are alllll part of the solution. If we don't buy the recycled loo paper, recycled office paper or support smaller companies who offer recycled alternatives how can we expect our councils recycling contracters to magic up the demand for our household recyclables?

For those who say buying recycled products is more expensive - we say not in the long run. The cost may be more immediate - ie 10p more for that loo roll made from recycled paper - but overall the cost of not recycling is massive. We can't afford not to recycle and buy recyled products.

Let's make the collective effort and choose wisely - there are companies like Neal's Yard (whose bottles are all made for recycled plastic) and Remarkable (whose business is about making cool recycled stationary) who go out of there way to support recycling manufacturers. Let's go out of our way to support them.