Zero Waste Podcast 6: Waste Action in Action

The City Of Edinburgh Council runs a Waste Action Grant scheme to help fund individuals, community groups and schools to reduce waste to landfill and change attitudes towards waste. The deadline for the next Waste Action Grant is just around the corner on 12th December and you can apply for up to £2,500. At Greener Leith we were delighted to receive a grant earlier this year to make a series of 12 Zero Waste Podcasts. 

We're half way through our podcast series and in this podcast we catch up with some of the other Waste Action Grant funded groups in Edinburgh to see how their projects are going. The Living Memory Association are sharing their memories of rationing and 'make do and mend' with school children. Abundance Edinburgh pick and press surplus fruit in the city.  The Warm Hearts Quilting Group run a quilt production line in a church hall. Listen to waste action in action:

If you have iTunes installed on your computer you can subscribe to our audio as a podcast by clicking here.

If you would like to help the Warm Hearts Quilting Group by donating material or volunteering they meet every Monday from 12 - 3pm at the Holy Cross Church Hall, 11 Bangholm Loan. Here are photos of them in action:

Abundance Edinburgh do a great job of reducing and reusing surplus fruit in the city and it's a lot of fun so why not join them? If you would like to borrow apple presses and fruit picking equipment for your community group have a look here.    

For more information on the Living Memory Association including a fantastic photo archive, log on to their website. Here's a wee photo I took to give you a taster: 

Apply for Waste Action Funding: Deadline 12th December

Remeber the deadline for the next big Waste Action Grant is 12th December, you can apply for up to £2,500, amazing!

There are small grants too, up to £250 available all year round. Download an application form and find out more here.

Funded projects include everything from buying wormeries,  setting up toy libraries to making music from waste. Trash Music provide our podcast theme tune. Read more about funded projects and get some ideas for your grant here.

Lastly, there's an excellent video introducing two very different waste action funded projects:

The Zero Waste Podcast series is produced by Emily Dodd for Greener Leith and funded by City of Edinburgh Council Waste Action Grants, Vegware and Changeworks. 

The theme tune for the podcast was brought to you by Waste Action Grant funded project, Trash Arts.

Zero Waste Podcast 4: Cutting Waste in the Classroom

Jessica and Bonnie have a story to share with you, it's about what they're doing to cut waste in the classroom at Leith Primary School.

Will the nursery find Coco the bear in the bin? What does Head Teacher Mr Friend have to say about food waste? How much paper did Primary 5 reuse and what did they make with it?

Can Zero Waste Heroes really help the government to reduce waste? Listen to the first Greener Leith Podcast presented entirely by local school pupils to find out:

Leith Primary School are working towards their Eco Schools silver award and ultimately their first Green Flag.

The Green Flag is a huge achievement for a school, it takes around two years and involves all year groups, teachers and the community. Flags are awarded after an Eco Schools Assesment from Keep Scotland Beautiful. 

Leith based Environmental Organisation Changeworks run free workshops and assemblies like the ones on this podcast to help Edinburgh schools reduce waste. 

Leith Walk Primary School are taking part in the Zero Waste Heroes schools competition. Schools receive a pack that includes a fun interactive lesson for the Eco-schools committee, a power pack of missions with action plans, stickers, posters and a set of weighing scales for the school.

You can find out more on the Changeworks Schools page.

The Zero Waste Podcast series is produced by Emily Dodd for Greener Leith and funded by City of Edinburgh Council Waste Action Grants, Vegware and Changeworks. 

If you have iTunes installed on your computer you can subscribe to our audio as a podcast by clicking here. 

The theme tune for the podcast was brought to you by Waste Action Grant funded project, Trash Arts.

Zero Waste Podcast 3: Charity Shops & Clothes Swaps

In a consumer culture, clothes generate cash. The UK fashion industry brings in over 20 billion pounds every year. Fashion changes and we keep buying. New clothes make us feel good, we need clothes to keep warm. There are many ways to justify our spending habits but what about the clothes that no longer cut it on the catwalk?

I visited Changeworks, Leith to find out how can we reduce, reuse and recycle clothes in Edinburgh. I put reuse in to practice at a clothes swap party at Sofi’s bar in the Shore. Can you really recycle your underwear? Were men spotted swapping kilts in Leith in the name of sustainability? All this and more in our latest Zero Waste Podcast:

 

If you have iTunes installed on your computer you can subscribe to our audio as a podcast by clicking here. 

Here are some photos I took at Sofi’s Clothes Swap Party:

You can find your nearest charity show on The Edinburgh Charity Shop and Reuse Map. It's free to download or you can pick up a paper copy from Changeworks or at most local charity shops.

The Zero Waste Podcast series is produced by Emily Dodd for Greener Leith and funded by City of Edinburgh Council Waste Action Grants, Vegware and Changeworks. 

The theme tune for the podcast was brought to you by Waste Action Grant funded project, Trash Arts.

Zero Waste Podcast 2: The Joy of Poo & Real Nappies

 

Real nappies are funky, fun and come in a variety of shapes, sizes and materials. With eight million disposable nappies going to landfill every day in the UK it's worth finding out a bit more about an alternative that's covered in zoo animals and is not going to splatter you with runny poo when your babies bottom explodes.

I visited a Changeworks Nappuccino (that's a Real Nappy coffee morning) in Leith to find out more about using real nappies. I also had the chance to get some real questions answered like is it really better for the environment to use real nappies when you're using a washing machine and is it just too much of a faff to try and wash them? Listen to our latest podcast to find out more:

I took some photos of the nappies and the demonstration doll, Rory. Here's a flickr slideshow of them:

Research shows you save around £500 by using real nappies.  It's also better for the environment and you can wash them in a washing machine at 60 degrees. To find out more visit the Changeworks Real Nappy Project or the Zero Waste Scotland website.

For the latest research on real nappies compared to disposable nappies download a PDF of Life Cycle Assessment of Disposable and Reusable Nappies in the UK (Environment Agency for England and Wales, DEFRA and WRAP report).

The Zero Waste Podcast series is produced by Emily Dodd for Greener Leith and funded by City of Edinburgh Council Waste Action Grants, Vegware and Changeworks. 

If you have iTunes installed on your computer you can subscribe to our audio as a podcast by clicking here. 

The theme tune for the podcast was brought to you by Waste Action Grant funded project, Trash Arts.

Talking Rubbish

Earlier this month we launched our new Zero Waste Podcast series with a podcast that took you from bin to bucket-lorry, from claw to compactor, from train to tipping on The Journey of Waste. Today's podcast is a wee extra, just because the guys had so many wonderful stories, it seemed a shame not to share the best with you.

Meet the men who work with our waste at Powderhall Leith. Weapons in the bin, animal antics and the baby born on the landfill site. Welcome to a Zero Waste Podcast 'Extra', the Chronicels of Waste:

 

Thanks to the brilliant staff at Powerhall Waste Transfer Station and Dunbar Viridor Landfill Site. 

The Zero Waste Podcast series is produced by Emily Dodd for Greener Leith and funded by City of Edinburgh Council Waste Action Grants, Vegware and Changeworks. 

If you have iTunes installed on your computer you can subscribe to our audio as a podcast by clicking here. 

The theme tune for the podcast was brought to you by Waste Action Grant funded project, Trash Arts.

Zero Waste Podcast 1: The Journey of Waste

What happens to our rubbish when we chuck it? Join us as we travel from bin to bucket-lorry, from claw to compactor, from train to tipping on the journey of waste. Meet a noisy hawk, ride a fork lift truck and hear live wretching all in one stinking podcast:

See the journey of waste with the flickr photo slideshow:

There’s more about what you can do to reduce, reuse and recycle from Leith based Environmental Organisation Changeworks  or from Zero Waste Scotland.

This Zero Waste podcasts series is funded by the City of Edinburgh Council Waste Action Grants. Here’s more from Waste Education Officer Anita Sharkey on how a grant can help you to reduce waste in your community: 

Thanks to the staff at Powerhall Waste Transfer Station and Dunbar Viridor Landfill Site for sharing their stories with Greenerleith for the journey of waste.

The Zero Waste Podcast series is produced by Emily Dodd for Greener Leith and funded by City of Edinburgh Council Waste Action Grants, Vegware and Changeworks. 

If you have iTunes installed on your computer you can subscribe to our audio as a podcast by clicking here. 

The theme tune for the podcast was brought to you by Waste Action Grant funded project, Trash Arts.