Introduction to Zero Waste workshop

‘Introduction to Zero Waste’ at Bamboo Turtle shop, Letchworth (the first zero waste shop in Herts). 18th August 2019, led by Stephanie Killingbeck-Turner of www.alifewithlessuk.com
Back in August I stumbled across a Facebook post telling me about a workshop that was to take place the next day, in Letchworth, at the zero waste shop Bamboo Turtle (who I’d been following for a while, with interest). On a whim I booked onto the 3-hour afternoon session. Recently I think we have all been made much more aware of our impact on the planet, and various ways we can try and counteract this. I feel the media has had a hand in this (The Guardian, mainly) but it is also all over the Facebook feeds I see, and groups I’m in. More and more ‘green’ and ethically-minded businesses seem to be popping up around us at the same time. I am a keen recycler, but can’t help wondering; A. where does all the recycling go? and B. I’m not exactly sure if I’m doing this correctly. This, coupled with unhappy stories of entire crates of recycling being put into landfill due to one incorrect item within, and now learning that much of our recycling is actually being shipped around the world to be dumped on poorer countries! It is starting to seem that the whole system is broken, and that simply washing and sorting my food packaging waste every week really isn’t doing enough. So I went along to the workshop to find out more.
Stephanie, who runs the workshops out of a very strong personal interest in this subject (she also has a full-time job) is a lovely, warm person. She made us all feel very welcome with tea and during the break in the middle of the workshop, home-made vegan brownies that were delicious! Her inspiring personal journey towards a zero-waste lifestyle began when she took part in plastic-free July. What she found out about her consumption habits and what happens to our rubbish and recycling shocked her so she decided to do more research. Unhappy findings she may have had, but rather than fearing the mouintain of work ahead and giving up altogether, Stephanie was able to educate herself, and create useful resources online (her website is www.alifewithlessuk.com) and now delivering these informative, hands-on workshops to help spread the word by smarting small.
And I think this is the key to encouraging people to make changes. Many of us aren’t informed enough about these issues — we know that too much plastic use and waste is inherently ‘bad’ but it seems on the surface to be too difficult to go any deeper than this. A lack of time, the overriding guilt of not being able to change everything overnight and confusion over what the greenest or most ethical option really is, can lead us to inaction. Having someone more knowledgeable, who has tried available alternatives to spell it out for us, and help show us ways to start our own journeys is invaluable.
I want to be clear; Stephanie’s whole ethos around speaking to people at all stages of their journey to cutting down on waste is set firmly upon the belief that small steps are key. Starting by doing something, is infinitely better than doing nothing. She believes wholly in moving towards a zero waste lifestyle but knows how unrealistic this is for most people, including herself.
The workshop was held in Letchworth so the information on what can be recycled and where was tailored to North Herts council — we are part of East Herts here in Hertford — but I still learned a lot. You can find the official recycling guidelines that apply to us in Hertford, here: https://www.eastherts.gov.uk/bins-waste-recycling/guide-bins-boxes-collections
We began with a look at all the reasons why we need to change our habits. How do our individual actions link to global disasters?
We talked about how the materials economy is currently linear (an item is produced from raw/even partially recycled materials, manufactured into something we use for a while, then thrown away, ending its journey in landfill) and the difference we could make if we moved towards making it circular (a new item is manufactured entirely from recycled materials, used for a while, reused, passed on to others, repurposed into another item, then when finally worn out broken down into component materials and recycled, ready to be made into something new again, never visiting landfill). This is clearly the best case scenario, and sadly there aren’t the systems in place to allow this to be the main way of functioning, which in turn, makes us think about more mindful consumption in the first place. Do we really need so many extra ‘things’?
Before the workshop, participants are asked to save a week’s worth of household rubbish, and to look carefully at what we are throwing away and how much, before it goes out of the front door and into the bins/recycling boxes. I think most of us would be shocked. These sorts of lessons are so important as they show us the reality that it is often easier to ignore.
We then did a practical activity, sorting through common household rubbish. There were several examples of food and household goods packaging to sort out into categories, landfill, recycling, reuse… This turned into quite an eye-opener about how much we send away ‘for recycling’ and led to a discussion of how our household recycling is collected by businesses, who only do so in order to make profit — its not some kind of generous act by the council to help do good — it’s to make money and I think, when you look at it like that, it’s a very different thing.
My take aways:
- Small steps by individuals are key, but big changes are also needed. One leads to the other
- Just take a little more time to improve your habits
- Try to practise more mindful consumerism
- Remember the recycling industry is a business, not a service for good
- The worksheets and charts provided by Stephanie about habit tracking and creating new Zero Waste habits have been invaluable (looking carefully at potential obstacles to our new lower waste habits and coming up with solutions beforehand)
- ‘Zero waste’ is a motivation, an inspiration not expectation
- (Also — on a side note — if you’ve not visited Bamboo Turtle in Letchworth yet, it’s well worth the trip! It’s a lovely little shop, bursting with lovely packaging-free products, and upstairs they have some great beauty and home goods, as well as pre-loved fashion)
If you’re at all curious about learning more about moving towards a zero waste lifestyle, and how to change your habits for the good of the planet (and your wallet!) I would highly recommend attending one of Stephanie’s workshops. It’s easy to have these ideas on our to-do list, promising ourselves that we’ll “look for tips online” soon, but actually blocking out a few hours of your time to address these issues, give them some proper thought, learn helpful practices in a supportive group is invaluable and will certainly help you change your daily habits in a positive way. Stephanie is holding a new, two-part Intro to Zero Waste evening workshop at The Wholesome Weigh shop in Hitchin on 14th & 21st November, 7.30–9.30pm. Head to her website or instagram bio to book tickets now.