What happened when Shedwyn ran out of recycling bins

Shedwyn, the campaign mascot for the 1000 bins challenge, has been a bit quiet of late, despite the news that this IS THE LAST WEEK of the campaign and what with it being National Zero Waste Week and all, it was a bit of a shock to catch her putting her feet up in a cafe in town.

Sipping coffee, while everyone else is sending in photos. What a cheek!

But bless her. She's only gone and run out of recycling bins to photograph in Bury St Edmunds.  I suppose there's only so much you can stretch your imagination with just two bins in the very centre of town, and with the car in for repair and having run out of train money, what else could our roving reporter do?

But this is Shedwyn we're talking about.  When there's just nothing to be done, she's a woman who thinks of something!

For starters, how about emailing the local council, politely asking for a few more bins?  Here she is getting all serious about the very serious issue of installing some serious recycling bins in very beautiful Abbey Gardens.  A serious subject indeed.

But Shedwyn's not very good at doing serious, so having exercised her fingertips at the keyboard, she couldn't help but get back out on the streets, where she managed to grab hold of a handsome man to brighten up his day and praise the virtues of "recycling-on-the-go"!

Yes that is really BBC Radio Suffolk's reporter Luke Deal pictured with Shedwyn.  It's a shame you can't hear her rabbiting on about where to find recycling bins around Suffolk.

Meanwhile, whilst that cheeky woman was busy chatting up men by bins, I took the opportunity of catching up with Radio Suffolk's Lesley Dolphin, who was broadcasting her show from Bury St Edmunds market this afternoon.  Well, someone has to do the hard work and it's always lovely to talk to Lesley.  It was great to have the chance to spread the news about National Zero Waste Week and to promote reducing waste away from home.

Of course the next challenge after the interview was to hunt down Shedwyn in the busy marketplace.  I really should have known.  I managed to eventually track her down having a chinwag with her old pal Sandy at the other recycling bin in town.

So I think the moral of today's story is that Shedwyn really does needs to get out more, especially if she's going to meet the 1000 photo challenge by Sunday.

And after today's antics, what with going AWOL, emailing the council and harrassing men at bins I think it might be a very good idea to send her to Coventry.

Actually sending her to Coventry's not a bad notion, especially this Friday when there's a Zero Waste conference going on.  I might just have to loan her the train fare.


_________________________________________________________

This post was written in support of National Zero Waste Week.  More information about the campaign can be found at www.myzerowaste.com.   Further details about Shedwyn and the 1000 bins campaign can be found at www.1000bins.com.

Read more »

What's in store for National Zero Waste Week 2011?

I've just realised that the title of this blogpost makes it look like I run a shop.  So apologies to anyone who thought I might be doing a stock-check or reorganising my merchandising cabinets with a special twist for Zero Waste Week.

Sorry, this is more of a talking shop than a retail space, but if there are any stores who are applying innovative ways of reducing the amount of rubbish they stock, then please do share your news here. After all, the theme of National Zero Waste Week 2011 is "Reducing waste away from home", so if you're doing anything to help reduce the amount of trash that you pass on to your customers, then your comments will fit in nicely.

So what is happening at Almost Average HQ for Zero Waste Week?  Well, unlike my very first attempt back in 2008, I've had diddly-squat planning time.  Not that I'm good at planning anyway, but I suppose five minutes preparation would have helped things on the homefront, as would actually being at home, instead of zipping around the country on a secret mission.

Of course it would have also been useful to have reminded my husband and kids last week, particularly to avoid the surprise of arriving home this weekend to much excitement that they'd treated themselves to a huge multipack of crisps and 20 blimmin' Capri-Suns.  Someone must be having a laugh!  We never normally have such things in the house, not necessarily due to being pedantic about packaging, but we've got no room in our cupboards for starters, and besides I don't trust my willpower!  But great timing eh!  Bought just in time for Zero Waste Week.

So things on the homefront will be more of a challenge than usual then!  That's why the kids have gone into battle against my husband to see who can create the least rubbish this week!  Personally,  I think I'll leave them to it.

But of course the focus of this year's NZWW  is reducing waste away from home, so whilst head-to-head challenges are taking place behind closed doors, I'm more interested in opportunities to reduce waste while out-and-about and will be keeping my eyes peeled for good practice as well as being on a personal mission to avoid superfluous bits of plastic that commonly pop up in the catering trade.

I'm travelling again at the end of the week, so will make sure I'm appropriately kitted out to avoid all the rubbish that typically gets thrown at you when on the road.  Having read that sentence again, it sounds like I'll be wearing protective shields and defending myself with some form of waste-busting laser gun.  I'm sorry if that makes the reality of a refillable coffee cup and water bottle sound far less exciting.

This week I'm also on a mission to get more recycling bins on the streets of my local town.  I know we're pretty lucky to have two, but for the size of the town that's pretty pants, especially as there's not even a single recycling bin in the town centre's Abbey Gardens.   So this week, I'm taking the attitude of  "if you don't ask, you don't get" and proverbially speaking, getting off my backside to wing over an email to some local authority officers and councillors.  I'll also email my MP, asking him to look at the wider picture at a national level.

And on the subject of bins, I'm still on the hunt for photos for the 1000 Bin Challenge.  It's the final week, so I'm going to have to do a tally soon of the number of photos that I've collected over the summer.  I've got a sneaking suspicion that I am nowhere even near the 1K target, so I'm going to need your help more than ever.  To find out how you can help, pop over to www.1000bins.com and send in photos of any recycling litter bins that you spot in your town.  You may even be in with a chance of winning a georgeous ring pull clutch bag by Bottletop or a fabulous Waste-busting kit from Onya.

So I think it's safe to say National Zero Waste Week 2011 is officially launched at Almost Average HQ.  Huge thanks to Mrs Green at My Zero Waste for organising it.  To find out more about how you can get involved, visit www.myzerowaste.com, where you'll get more tips than you can shake a stick at.  And if you want to get up-to-date with what you can recycle in your area, pop over to www.recyclenow.com for the official lowdown.

Read more »

National Zero Waste Week 2011. Just one week to go.

Just like the kids starting a new school year, I can't believe that Zero Waste Week has come around so quickly or indeed that it's in its fourth year.  It doesn't seem that long since Mrs Green at myzerowaste.com held the very first National Zero Waste Week back in 2008.

Back then, it felt like a huge challenge and I thought I'd take a walk down memory lane to the preparations that Mrs Green was making for her very first ZWW three years ago.  I remember packaging being one of the key problems, as it still is for many people who'd want to have a go today.  However, undeterred, Mrs' Green's Zero Waste Week saw over 160 people pledge to increase their commitment to reducing waste, reusing, recycling or composting, providing a great platform for her Myzerowaste site to host its second National Zero Waste Week in 2009, encouraging supporters this time to tackle their food waste.

Last year's Zero Waste Week returned with an even greater emphasis on food waste, with Mrs Green's campaign week gaining official support from celebrity chef Brian Turner CBE, who shared tips on how he uses up ingredients and how he composts while he cooks.   For me it was a great excuse to find my own local chef and hang out at one of my favourite eateries, picking up tips on how good food can go a lot further with some extra imagination and fabulous recipes.

And so to this year.  As ever, National Zero Waste Week 2011 comes with another waste-busting topic, with this year's challenge "Reducing waste while away from home".   This theme holds a special significance for me as it was the same unexpected twist that came with the local council's ZWW challenge back in March 2008, where any waste that I created "on-the-go" had to be brought home and added to my rubbish bin's booty, which would be declared later that week.   With such a personal challenge back then, is it any wonder that I get excited about the "recycle-on-the-go bins" that feature in the 1000 bins campaign.

So, what are we asking you to do this year?

That's simple. Whilst getting on with reducing waste on the home front, Mrs Green and I would love you to become more aware of the rubbish that can be created whilst you're out and about and take measures to reduce such waste that would ordinarily end up in landfill.

From tackling disposable cutlery to recycling drinks containers, there are loads of tips over at the National Zero Waste Week 2011 information page, where you can also share your own ideas in the comments section.  If you're on Facebook and want to receive further news, there's also an event page, which already has 190 people attending.

Don't forget, National Zero Waste Week is also the finale of the 1000 bins photo\video challenge.  Thanks to all who have submitted photos and videos this far.  There are now only two weeks to go to submit your entries and be in with a chance of winning a gorgeous Luciana clutch bag from Bottletop.org, or a fabulous waste-busting goodie bag from Onya Bags, which includes an Onya Back, Onya Bag, Onya Lunch, Onya Weigh, H2O Bottle and a People Towel.

So please send in your entries by Midnight (GMT) 11 September, either at www.facebook.com/1000bins or email me directly at standup@therubbishdiet.co.uk.  Mrs Green and I will then get cracking on voting for the most interesting bin photo as well as the one that made us smile the most and will announce the winners as soon as we've stopped laughing.

Here's one of my own photos taken whilst out and about at a festival in Staffordshire....go on, surely you can do better...............

Read more »

Recycle Week round up & Cybermummy!

Blimmin' 'eck, I've hardly had chance to stop for a cup of tea since Recycle Week began last week. I've been too busy hanging around with 'Shedwyn' our mascot for the Stand up for Recycling out on the Street Campaign and 1000 bin challenge, which I launched in conjunction with My Zero Waste only last Monday.

For those who are new to the challenge, the mission is to collect 1000 photos and videos of on-street recycling bins, the aim of which is to raise awareness of "recycling-on-the-go" facilities.  It's a totally independent social-media campaign, which although supported by WRAP's Recycle Now team, is simply a bloggers' grassroots initiative to inject some fun into the subject of recycling.

But crikey, what an amazing week it's been, with photos coming into our Facebook page  from as far as Greece and Shedwyn impersonators coming out of the woodwork from all sorts of unexpected corners.

It started with a gaggle of Shedwyn imposters popping up at a recycling bin in Bury St Edmunds ready for Monday's launch.

I don't think it was that difficult for folk to spot the real Shedwyn from the line up of imposters that included a very busy mum, a local soap maker, a borough councillor, a wildlife volunteer and a children's clothes shop owner.  To see who the Real Shedwyn is, you'll find there's a huge clue on the new website, which was also launched on Monday.

Monday was brilliant. Not only did the Facebook page reach over 100 followers, but photos started to come in too.  What really made it though was the announcement by Suffolk's comedy club "the Chortle Factory" on BBC Radio Suffolk that they were getting behind the campaign and planning all sorts of frivolity for pop up entertainment at local recycling bins as well as comedy litter picks.

Next, came confirmation from a whole range of performers including Abi Roberts, Doug Segal and Checkley Bush, as well as Crouch End's new comedy club Boom-Tish!, that they would all be doing something over the summer at an adopted recycling bin.

But it's not just comedians, singers and entertainers who are getting involved.  News in at the end of last week was that talented artist Penny Lindop would be getting her sketchpad out at a recycling bin and submitting her entry of support too.

And throughout the week, Shedwyn popped up in all sorts of places, including:

A random waterside recycling bin in Ely (and it is random, especially as it is the only one):

An eco-club visit to Abbots Green Community Primary School in Suffolk

On a train to London

And of course the Cybermummy conference in London, where she mingled with some fabulous bloggers, including the gorgeous Clare from The Babbling Mummy.

and the amazing Melinda from Her Melness Speaks....Out!

And look who else she bumped into...

...none other than Michael Douglas, the One Show's very own Street Barber...who just wanted to get on record that he's not actually responsible for Shedwyn's barnet, but he did let on that he's got up to some recycling shenanigans of his own in recent years.  Shedwyn's on a promise to get a link to one of his videos for the 1000 bins campaign and I can tell you now, she's very excited at that news indeed.  Look at her.  Bless her. She just can't contain herself!


Then it was down to business and the hunt for recycling bins at Cybermummy's conference venue (The Brewery in London), which was kindly modelled by the most wonderful Surprised Zoe.  Of course, she's not always surprised,. but that's how I've come to know her.

And last but not least, the event just wouldn't have been the same without a truckload of Shedwyn imposters popping up at the after-show party.  And here's a fabulous line-up of the suspicious characters, but I'm not going to reveal who they are.  That would spoil the fun!  I'm going to leave it to my blogging pals to guess and see if they can spot themselves too.

So...Cybermummy Shedwyns....here's over to you........a dozen imposters to make your minds boggle.

  1. I think this Cybermummy Shedwyn was startled by the flash

2. And this Cybermummy let her hair down in style

 3. This Shedwyn imposter just knows the glass of wine will give her away.

 

4. This CyberShedwyn hangs around more bins than she might reveal.

 5. This Shedwyn is dreaming of her next blogpost.

  6. While this Shedwyn imposter doesn't blog at all. Could she be an imposter in more ways than one?

  7. This disguise is good baby!

 8.A bearded Shedwyn. Whatever next!

  9.  Yeah baby. Work it Shedywn number 9!

10. And check out this rock chick!

11. Glam rocks! But there was no funny business in this Shedwyn's powder room.

12. And this Shedwyn is so hot, she's simply "smokin'"

It was a great day hanging out with so many Shedwyns at the Cybermummy party and my only regret was that I had to leave early to catch the train home.  However, I did catch a few extra Recycle Week snaps to add to the 1000 bins Facebook page.

And yesterday, a fitting end to Recycle Week, The Rubbish Diet got a mention in  The Independent on Sunday's Cybermummy feature.  I caught up with the article whilst on a family excursion to Southwold.  I did notice that I'd been re-christened as Kate.

Oh well, I'm sure there's a touch of royalty in the sentiment and Kate is rather fashionable, just like "recycling-on-the-go"

So I kept the feature and when the rest of the newspaper was finished, I popped it into the "newish" recycling bin on The Green

A fitting end to a fun-packed Recycle Week. 

For more information about what else I got up to at this year's Cybermummy, check out my post over on my other blog...Anything but rubbish.  It's the place where I ramble about things away from the bin.

Although Recycle Week is over, this is only the very beginning for the 1000 bins challenge, which runs right up to the end of Zero Waste Week on the 11 September.  It would be great if you could join in and encourage your friends to submit photos as well as entertaining videos.  There will even be a competition too, details of which will be announced at www.myzerowaste.com at the end of July.

For details of how you can participate, please vist www.1000bins.com.

In the meantime, I am sure the CyberShedwyns (who were such great sports) will reveal themselves very soon.

___________________________________________________________

Read more »