Hello Hackney and Happy September

We hope that you have been keeping safe and well. With kids back at school (fingers crossed so tightly) we’ve been able to refocus on our campaign.
 

Zero Waste Week

Huge thanks to all the Hackney residents who took part in our workshops for Zero Waste Week at the start of September. We had to adapt our technologically minded selves *ahem* to deliver the workshops online. This involved a satisfying, if slow, process of packing up hundreds of packs of bicarb and friends into old crisp/cereal/pasta packets and delivering them around the borough on our trusty bicycles. A bit of a faff, but what was brilliant was the glow of shared information and learning that you lovely Hackney folk gave as we taught the secrets of DIY deodorant.

We love delivering these workshops, if you know of a school or a community, faith or residents group who would be interested, please get in touch at hello@plasticfreehackney.com.

If you missed the workshops you can relive the joy of the Low Cost & Plastic-Free Cleaning Products workshop on Youtube. The recipes are also on our website. 

Litter picks: Back On

We’ve done some careful thinking about litter picking during the pandemic and would really like to get them going again, safely.

At the start of lockdown in March we were instructed by the Canal and River Trust – the body who own all waterways and towpaths in England - to stop all volunteer activities. In some ways, this is the simplest action, to stop doing anything that has any risk associated with it in order to stop the spread of the pandemic.

As the months have continued we have all seen the battering our waterways and green spaces in Hackney have endured with such intensive use. As ever, we firmly believe that the onus of responsibility for plastic pollution lies with the manufacturers of plastic and not its consumers. Blaming our own communities for plastic pollution is one of the strategies the plastics lobby has cannily deployed for 50 years – the first part of this guardian podcast sets out the history and funding of the Keep America Beautiful and Keep Britain Tidy campaigns.

There is a book to be written in where the responsibility lies for the pollutants in the River Lea and our canals – from Thames Water sewage overspills to industrial pollution to a disconnect with our natural environment. But we’re not writing that book, and the canal is really suffering.

We have re-planned our litter picks so that they are safe for everyone involved, and until government guidance changes, this is how we will run them. Back to the last Sunday of the month from 10am at Princess of Wales E5 9RB.
 

1. It will be compulsory to register online before you come. You can do that here

2. Start times will be staggered with 10 minute intervals in groups of up to 5 people.

3. Wear a face covering and if possible bring hand sanitiser.

4. When you arrive please queue in the Princess of Wales car park E5 9RB (map link) to avoid congestion on the tow path.

5. PFH will be really careful cleaning all equipment before and after the litter pick. We will also have lots of hand sanitiser available.
 

We have set out the plan for Sunday on the Eventbrite page, so do have a read through if you can beforehand. It should answer any questions you have, but as ever you can always email us. 

Following this week, the next litter picks will be held on:

Sunday 25 October

Sunday 29 November

What a lot of words. We are so grateful to you for coming and donating your free time to looking after our precious waterways. We really look forward to seeing some of you distantly on Sunday!

Love

Bettina, Daisy and the Plastic-Free Hackney Team x