Waste Less Live More
You probably hear about waste all the time. Spending money on products that break after only 2 uses is a waste, buying food that ends up in the bin is wasteful and how much are you actually paying for that item considering when you get it home and out of the packaging over half the weight of it will be in your bin?
We’re not describing just a waste of money, these examples are also about waste of natural resources. Everything has been made or grown and to do that lots of water, energy and material found in the natural environment (rocks, vegetation, animals) has been used to bring that product to you.
Last year (April 2014 to March 2015) the 1.6 million people living in west London put 352,015 tonnes of stuff they no longer needed or wanted in their rubbish bins and bags. These things headed off either to landfill or to be burned for energy recovery. We know that around 67% of this stuff could have been re-used or recycled so the natural resources could be put to good use (again) and there’d be less of a need to dig up, cut down or process even more of the natural environment.
Every home has a recycling service, that’s easy to use if you know how but life does get in the way at times. You feel too busy and it just feels easier to put everything in one bag even though we all know that’s not the best thing to do in the grand scheme of things.
To fall back on to stereotypes, every women knows it’s easier to diet if a friend does it with you and how many men go to a sports game alone? Almost everything is easier or better if you do it with others, not just for the company but also for motivation and what they bring to it. No one is an expert on everything and it’s great to have a helping hand show you something new or help you improve.
So this week West London Waste Authority is supporting Waste less, Live more Week 2015. A wide range of organisations, charities and businesses, will be hosting a week of events and activities which encourage people to waste less and live more and show that what is good for the environment is good for us too.
Activities this week
TRAID denim repair workshop – It takes so long to wear in a pair of jeans, book on to this to fix that hole or zip to get a few more months of comfy wear. Join others on this workshop for a fun and relaxing evening.
Festival of Repair tweetchat – be part of this online conversation covering, among other things, repair cafés and restart parties where you get together to fix (learning skills and sharing them with others)
Something to start this week
Just because Waste less, Live more week is from 21 to 27 September that doesn’t mean you have to start and finish something this week. Treat this week as a chance to get started with something new! Here are a few ideas to explore…
Get Swishing – How many items of clothing have you got in your wardrobe that you just don’t wear anymore? Do you really like the new lines in the shops or do you wish you’d bought those trousers you loved from last Autumn? Hosting a swish or working with us to organise one is a great way to get friends and communities together. Read our swishing guide, like the Facebook page and consider organising one of these events.
Book us in for a natter about food – the average household is throwing away up to 6 meals each week and 5.3 million spuds are thrown in the bin every day in the UK. There is something everyone can do differently to reduce the food waste in the UK, at home or when eating out, so book us in to come out to a location and give a talk for a specific group or for anyone in your community.
Sign up to The Rubbish Diet – with each person in west London throwing away the equivalent weight of 3 washing machines each year perhaps it’s time to put your bin 
bags on a diet. Sign up online (get your friends to as well) for the 2 week challenge, join the online community sharing their experiences and see whose bin looks the slimmest for your efforts!
Join us and thousands of other challenge-takers and see how you can waste less and live more. Download the challenge pack with 51 suggestions for activities.
For inspiration, and to share your ideas, connect with us on Twitter or on Facebook.
Waste Less Live More week are also on Facebook and Twitter, connect with everyone else taking the challenge too!
