To return to the main schedule – click here
The Journey to Zero Waste & Litter Free Environments
24th July 6-7pm: Ticketed Virtual Q&A
Handling & processing waste costs money. Waste that is not recycled is incinerated, which means a resource is burned forever.
Check your knowledge of the waste terms here
Metal is the only material that can be recycled nearly an infinite amount of times. Recycling glass requires very high temperatures (over 800 degrees celcius which is higher than the temperatures of the incinerators) and materials like plastic and paper are downgraded with each “recycle”. I hear some of you saying “My council recycles plastic”, and some of you demand that “More plastic should be recycled”
When plastic is recycled, it can be recycled on average 6 times before it is deemed useless. Since September 2019, virgin plastic has been cheaper to purchase than recycled plastic.
To reduce the amount of waste that is processed, there are a number of initiatives from BYOR (Bring Your Own Reusable), Repurposing, Upcycling, and Reusing. Charity shops, preloved sites and freecycling are great ways to reuse items that are in good condition. Upcycling or repurposing using crafting methods has a finite number of times you will be able to divert your rubbish from the general waste. Our Eco-Brick project is a way to repurpose bottles and upcycle plastic rubbish we would otherwise have to put in our general waste. But we should be able to see beyond normal and see opportunities. Zero Waste / Refill shops have been popping up around the UK and globally.
BYOR is a great way to refuse purchasing single use bags, coffee cups, take away containers and more. Some of the take away shops will use your containers if you ask them. Cups in Egham used to provide a 20p discount off your purchase if you brought your own container.
There are many more ways to reduce waste and we have brought together a panel that actively reduces waste from a business/organisational perspective, resident perspective, and a political perspective
- Iris and Shannon – Chertsey residents whose challenge is to pick up litter every day in their daily walks and have an Instagram account @RubbishADay
- Neil – from Zero Waste Europe promotes and supports societal moves to zero waste, and the need for change at political and corporate level to enable that change at a personal level.
- Mel – runs Bare and Fair, a refill shop in Woking to enable sustainable and low-waste living a realistic option
Come join us for a free live virtual dinner discussion on going zero waste on the 24th July 6-7pm. Register for a ticket below:
If you want to leave a question for this discussion please submit a question via our question form. Click here to access
To connect with us:
@StJohnsEcoChurch https://www.facebook.com/StJohnsEcoChurch
@StJohnsEcoChurch https://www.instagram.com/stjohnsecochurch/
Email: StJohnsEghamEcoChurch@gmail.com
