Special Mersey Ferries trips will be taking in the size and scale of giant aircraft carrier, HMS Illustrious, when she visits Liverpool during the weekend.

As well as normal services throughout the weekend, Merseytravel has arranged for extra River Explorer Cruises to run on Saturday 18th October.

Departures will be increased to every 30 minutes through until 6pm in order to make the most of the visit.

Blue badge guides will provide live commentary on the vessel throughout the day.

The ferries will be getting as close as possible to HMS Illustrious, which is the second of three Invincible Class Aircraft carriers and the fifth ship to bear the name.

Illustrious - or ‘Lusty’ as she is known will arrive around 12.30pm on Friday 17th October and be open to the public on Saturday 18th October. HMS Illustrious will leave Liverpool around 2pm on Sunday 19th October.

The vessel is 209m long and can hold more than 1,000 officers and staff.

For more details about the special cruises contact Mersey Ferries, call 0151 330 1444 or visit www.merseyferries.co.uk

Come to our FREE trade waste management event!

A recent investigation by BBC’s North West Tonight claimed that 70% of rubbish going into landfill sites emanates from businesses.

Because there are hardly any options left in the UK for new landfill sites, EU and UK legislators have been ramping up the tax on tipping into landfill in an attempt make the option uneconomic.

So what other options are there for business waste? Incineration will always meet the “not in my back yard” protest, but must surely become part of the solution.

Is recycling an option for businesses? Local authorities have been given challenging targets for recycling domestic waste and are making great strides towards those targets. There are no government targets for recycling business waste but there is an even better reason for businesses to think about recycling: by taking out, often bulky, waste from landfill the cost of waste removal will reduce.

A conference organised by Merseyside Chambers at the BT Convention Centre on Wednesday, 29th October 2008 will address all the issues surrounding business waste and will hear about the programme for Year of the Environment 2009 from Councillor Berni Turner, Liverpool City Council.

Being careful to practice what they preach, the organisers have arranged for food waste recycling organisation, Rotters, to take any waste food left with ACC caterers Heathcotes and turn it into the finest compost. Businesses will hear that even the smallest producers of tea bags and left over sandwiches can become composters.

In addition to expert advice from bodies such as the Environment Agency, Groundwork Trust and Envirolink, businesses will be able to meet with waste removal and recycling firms and discuss costs. Over twenty companies that recycle everything from computers to glass, to paper and cardboard will be on hand.

The conference and lunch is completely free. Contact Sue or Melissa at Liverpool Chamber on 0151 227 1234  or email them at events@liverpoolchamber.org.uk to reserve a place.