Happy new year to all of Bracknell Less Plastic!
It’s January 2019 and our community has grown faster than we imagined it would. We have bought together both residents with a recent interest in reducing their unnecessary waste, and residents who had cottoned on to this long ago: individuals who have been making their own toothpaste, beeswax wraps and soap. People who have long been collecting so-called ‘un-recyclable’ wrappers to both raise money for a local charity and stop them going to landfill. Members who are already litter-picking their local areas and entrepreneurs who are collecting one person’s junk to sell on as another’s treasure. We even have a member who is single-handedly changing sports events internationally by supporting them in running zero-waste events – and yes, she is local! At the last count we had 587 members, which is still increasing daily.
From our side, things have been getting busier and busier
since setting up the Facebook page. We have made fantastic allies from other
local less waste groups – Crowthorne Reduce Our Waste (CROW) has been particularly
helpful in sharing information and contacts. Suddenly, the efforts have moved
from Facebook to ‘real-life’ and in September we held our first stall selling eco-products
at CROW’s ‘A Plastic Ocean’ film screening.
Next, Sue held a stall in the wider area’s first Plastic Free Christmas Fayre,
hosted by the ‘Windsor Plastic Free & Beyond’ team. We have seen the
interest growing in purchasing more responsible products and have educated
ourselves be able to answer questions about these alternatives to plastic.
Christmas posed a really big challenge to the plastic-free community, yet it saw us sharing ideas and both asking for and giving gifts with less waste. This was so encouraging and I can’t wait to see the progress we have made when it gets to that same time this year!
We have made a fantastic ally in our local Councilor Dorothy Hayes, who has been extremely forward thinking with her views on recycling, reducing and reusing for years now and who is keen to support our efforts. On Boxing Day we were ecstatic when she mentioned us in her BBC Radio Berkshire slot as a key group for 2019!
We receive frequent messages from individuals wanting to make a difference. Members who want to help this movement but don’t know where to start. We understand your frustration and are trying to put some structure to this. In February we plan to host our first group meeting, which will outline our plans for sustained success in Bracknell; reaching out to local businesses, schools and community groups. There is room for our whole community to help if you want to.
Until then, I would really encourage everyone to TALK to
people about less plastic use, SHARE those stories on our page and ENCOURAGE
others to swap old habits with plastic-free ways. We have made great progress
already and it’s only 6th January.
2019 is the year words such as ‘single-use’ and ‘plogging’ are in the
dictionary. It’s the year that bars of soap are making a come-back and the year
that Bracknell makes progress towards a Plastic Free Community status!
Hannah & Sue.
