Waste Watch works to inspire and support people to waste less and live more. As part of this, we work to promote and support sharing and giving across agendas and sectors. We believe that through sharing we can reposition our relationship with ‘stuff’: from needing to buy, own and retain things for ourselves, to creating imaginative spaces and methods to access and share the things we all use. Through sharing we know we can bring local communities together, engage people in local action and enable people to live more sustainably.  For us sharing is a great way of wasting less and living more.

we work to promote and support sharing and giving across agendas and sectors

We are building collaborations with others to raise the profile and cultural acceptance of sharing as a viable model for achieving positive social, environmental and economic benefits across society. We are also looking at how we can support and promote sharing through our existing work. We’re thinking about how the communities we support could use models like Ecomodo or Streetbank to borrow things from one another while getting to know their neighbours. We are working out how the staff we work with in local councils and hospitals could share transport or bikes to help them get around, get together and reduce their carbon footprint. We are identifying how the schools we work with might be able to collaboratively purchase goods and services to enable them to reduce their costs and spend more on the things that matter. Internally, we’ve establishing a sharing circle; we have regular shared lunches; and we share our skills and knowledge through monthly ‘Brainfood’ sessions at lunchtime and in other ways, such as through the free Spanish classes our Education Team Leader gives every Tuesday evening to anyone who wants to take part.

We’re getting involved in National Sharing Day this week. The day is being organised by the People Who Share as part of A Good Week and the Festival of Transition and is a celebration of sharing! On Wednesday 20 June, we will busy promoting, supporting and celebrating sharing in all its forms. Our Education Officer Pamela Kane will be talking about sharing with nursery, reception and year one children in Belleville Primary School in Wandsworth; Tristan Titeux an Eco Furniture Designer will be sharing his knowledge and skills with us in a morning talk; our Sustainability Action Team Coordinator Becca Hall will be promoting bike sharing with staff at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust; and we will hosting a shared lunch for all for the twenty plus charities based in Development House in Old Street.

Find out more about our work at www.wastewatch.org.uk | www.twitter.com/waste_watch | www.wastewatch.org.uk/blog

To most people giving up the consumption of clothes might not sound like a challenge, but I love shiny new things. I am on a six months challenge to shop more sustainably, but I wonder if I have I set myself up to fail?

I have to say that some of my friends have been less than encouraging.  As one of my friends said to me at the weekend; “I can’t believe that you are actually writing a blog on shopping more sustainably!” Well that’s the whole point really: I am on a journey to learn how to shop sustainably and change the way I shop!

I feel as if I am going on the latest fad diet; the first few weeks you have some easy wins, you are motivated and you lose the weight quickly but eventually you fall back on your old eating habits.

However, as one of my colleagues said some diets do work, but it takes willingness to change and commitment. I see it as lifestyle change, not just a quick fix. Over the next few months I will embed the values that will support a lifestyle change of Becoming Green.

I am building on my bigger than self outlook which is also my mantra for cheeky so-and-sos who accost me, thrusting the latest issue of Stylist under my nose saying that “I have seen something that you would absolutely adore!” or just for good measure dragging me into the shoe shop Office to show me this seasons new shoes. I have to admit that I nearly succumbed.   It was like a scene from Lord of the Rings. I, in the role Gollum, bent crookedly over a pair of gorgeous shoes stroking whilst quietly mumbling to myself repeatedly “It’s mine… my own, my precious.”  It was not good and definitely highlights the high price of materialism!

With less than half an hour left of my lunch hour I rushed back to my desk to google Office’s sustainable credentials. Sweat poured down my neck as I waded through information about Office history, locations and products. With the clock ticking I admitted defeat and I decided to google local kickboxing classes instead.

It is amazing how the sound of my shin smacking against a punch bag could fill me with such joy and quell the desire to shop!

Since that incident I have been rather scared of going shopping in any form and I plan to keep my distance for the next couple of weeks as I build up my reserve of will power, gain a better knowledge of the sustainable shopping market and draw on my altruistic values.

Sustainable fashion is hard work and I wonder whether it’s an oxymoron? With many of the obstructions to consumption removed there’s a prevailing belief that everything needs to be owned. I heard an interesting quote recently “We need to make people realise it not an impossible step to want less and that it is possible to do more with less” Andy Hall – Innovation and Value Creation

I am rediscovering sharing. ‘Can I borrow’ is now regularly featured in my new sustainable vocabulary. The concept is as old as the hills. For example I remember when I was young that I would borrow my sister’s clothes; now I am not saying that it was a completely harmonious and that there were never any arguments as a result of unauthorised borrowing, but the concept is proving a lifesaver for someone who has recently rejoined the dating scene.

I find it frustrating that the sustainability isn’t an integral part to how companies do business; some companies are half hearted in their attempts and it can be difficult to distinguish true commitment to that of green-washing. Reports like this confuse the hell out of me. However, there are number of emerging companies that are 100% committed and once I am strong enough I plan to investigate further.

An Australian friend Sally Hill tweeted us with this interesting piece by Greg Foyster on the ecological consequences of advertising. We highly recommend reading it but want to offer up a response to the question that inevitably follows the identification of a problem: ‘what is to be done about it?’

The article uses the recent phenomenon of the advertising industry advertising itself, as a launch pad to ask two deeper questions. They are usefully related. The first question focuses on the morality of the techniques used by advertisers – is it OK to manipulate human emotions to sell commodities and junk food? The second question asks whether the ad industry can continue to separate itself from any blame attached to the ecological consequences of consumerism? By asking both questions, in one article, it is bringing them together in a way that the Sustainability movement is beginning to do and drastically needs to get better at doing. By doing this, environmentalists can come together with allies in many other sectors to work towards a common goal.

It seems clear to us that consumerism is simultaneously having negative impacts on ecological and human wellbeing. It is a phenomenon that needs to be understood, questioned and, ultimately, reined in if a truly sustainable world is ever going to emerge. Through the ad industry, consumerism is driven by – in the main – the reinforcement of extrinsic values such as status, image and power. This process is followed up by the message that we are lacking in all three and need to do something about it if we want to be accepted by our peers and wider society (which, by the way, we should want to be!) Added to this, as Kasser and colleagues show, the ad industry downplays the value we attach to things like inner harmony, wisdom, helpfulness, equality and mature love. More accurately, it warps our understanding of how to respond to the holding of such ‘intrinsic’ values. For example, if it promotes ‘care for the environment’ to sell us a hybrid car, it also promotes the social status and image benefits that we will also gain by owning such a car. It therefore undermines the much needed reinforcement of intrinsic values, by also reinforcing extrinsic values.

Other examples are more subtle. Ads (not to mention product placement) tell us that junk food will make us intrinsically happy (full up) and popular. For example, we’re told that coca cola is cool and that our peers will think we’re cool if we drink it. ‘Better still’, they tell us, ‘buy a Coke for someone as a way to gain their friendship.’ All we wanted was some energy and some friends.

The examples are endless: mobile phones (to connect and be fashionable); apple laptops (to be wise and popular); and conspicuous donations to charity (to care for others and be popular). Take a look at the Common Cause work on valuesandframes.org to gain a deeper understanding of the importance of reinforcing intrinsic values.

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Through our work here at Waste Watch we are exploring ways to tackle environmental problems (our traditional domain) by getting to the root of the problem. We’re discovering that our impacts cut across many other areas too. Consumerism and the associated over consumption of resources is close to the root of the problems we are working on, but we felt the need to ask what it is that underpins consumerism and work from there. It seems to be driven by the high prevalence of extrinsic values that are promoted and reinforced through advertising, celebrity culture and an ‘everyone for themselves’ culture. Increasingly, at Waste Watch, we are exploring what influences the values that people and society hold dearest. This is the level we believe that we (as a charity programme and we, as a sustainability movement) need to dig down to make a significant impact. Whether we like it or not, we, as Waste Watch, have an influence on the values of those we engage with. If we are to have an influence, we want that influence to be a positive one. Therefore in the design and delivery of our programmes we are following a core guiding principle; we are ‘working from values’.

As a bare minimum we try not to appeal to (and therefore reinforce) extrinsic values in any of our communications. We also consciously appeal to intrinsic values and are conspicuous in doing it. We do this with pride and are happy to say we care.

At a deeper level we are encouraging those we engage with to question extrinsic values and let go of unhealthy over-obsessions with status, image and power. We are complementing this by helping people to connect, be active, take notice, learn and give in genuinely fulfilling ways that are both socially and environmentally responsible. We have a shorthand for this: Live More, Waste Less.

Through our work programmes we are trying to build the confidence and ability of people to align their actions with their intrinsic values.  The result, we hope, will be lower levels of material consumption as people discover that good life is not met through excessive material consumption.

By ‘working from values’ we do not necessarily talk about ‘the environment’ all of the time, indeed we recognise that we are not merely an environmental charity these days. Through focusing on the root causes of environmental problems we recognise that we can have positive impacts on the wellbeing of communities, schools and businesses as well the people who live, learn and work in them. We are working for the social changes that will bring environmental changes; the environment and society are inextricably linked.

Greg Foyster’s article resonated with us and aligns with our new work programme ‘Revaluing Childhood and Adolescence’. Having recognised the role of the ad industry in shaping and manipulating what we value we have started to engage with it head on. Head of Waste Watch, Tim Burns’ paper on Growing up in a commercial world was published recently and we are teaming up with the authors of ‘Think of me as evil?’ to campaign directly on these issues.

Look out for more events, publications, blog posts and work programmes in the future.

I started working for Waste Watch approximately six months ago and I have been thinking more and more about whether it is possible to reconcile my love of clothes, fashion and shopping, with working for an sustainability charity whose strap line is ‘live more waste less’?

Last week I went to a friend’s birthday drink and I got chatting to a former colleague that I had not seen in ages. We initially talked about her becoming a mother and how her life and values had changed since motherhood.  She asked about my new job. “I believe that you’re working for Waste Watch, an environmental charity, am I right?” She asked me about the work of Waste Watch, what we represent and our projects. As we chatted we got on to a conversation about whether employees should hold or adopt the values of the charity they work for. Can an employee of ASH, (Action on Smoking and Health) be a smoker?

When a new employee starts working for an organisation should they already share the same values of the organisation they are meant to represent, can they work to adopt them or do our values slowly change as a result of the organisational culture around us?

As we chatted I started to question my own values with that of Waste Watch. When I was interviewed for my post as Communications Manager, I was asked about my views on sustainability and the environment. I was very honest that I was interested in the environment and sustainability, which I am, but I was not an expert on the subject. I viewed myself as being ‘light green’ but definitely on a path to ‘Becoming Green’.

While working for Waste Watch I had gone from knowing “there’s a problem” to understanding what the problem is. But, knowing the facts and understanding them is not enough.  For years environmental campaigners have believed that if only people really knew the true nature or full scale of the problem, then they would be galvanised into action. Environmental campaigners have been successful in getting their message out there, but this approach has failed to galvanise people into meaningful action. There is mounting evidence that knowing the facts plays only a partial role in shaping people’s judgment.  The underlying values that people hold seem to play a bigger role in shaping people’s behaviour.

Each of us holds and is influenced by our values. Our values act as a guiding force, shaping our attitudes and behaviour. They are said to determine “our political persuasions; our willingness to participate in political actions; our career choices, our ecological footprints; the amount of resources we use; and our feelings of wellbeing”.

Clothes and fashion have always been a passion of mine. Clothes to me represent an expression of my individuality and I take a lot of pride in looking good.

My passion for clothes can be described as being derived from extrinsic values. Extrinsic values include conformity, image, social recognition, popularity, and preservation of one’s public image.  However, one of the greatest joys of shopping is the social interaction with friends. Wondering around the shops with friends discussing an item of clothing and where you would have the opportunity to wear.

Extrinsic values are associated with lower levels of concern about ‘bigger-than-self’ problems, and lower motivation to adopt behaviours in line with such concern.  Intrinsic values, on the other hand, are associated with concern about bigger-than-self problems, and with corresponding behaviours to help address them.

I never saw my passion for shopping as a problem. I did not have a stack of unopened packages stuffed into cupboards nor had it gotten me into debt. But that did not reflect the true cost of my consumption, that of the cost of making the product and getting it into my hand. I did not reflect on the cost of people in countries such as India, China and Brazil who pay with the loss of their natural resources, loss of clean water, or clean air.

When I told friends that I had gotten a job working for a sustainability charity, I received rather a mixed reaction. For one of my oldest friends, I believe it was her proudest moment of our friendship. It was confirmation that I had taken on board some of the things that she had expressed to me as I dragged her around the shops on a Saturday afternoon. However, my others friends could be divided into two groups. For example, Group A: it made them question their own environmental or should we say non environmental actions. They lived in fear of me judging them for using plastic carrier bags or for shopping at Primark. While Group B wondered how a person who loved to shop and buy clothes as much as I did was going to survive with working for an environmental charity?

The first step to changing something is becoming aware of the consequences of your actions. I have taken that first step now; I need to examine my values and become more conscious of my actions. So I have set myself a challenge for the next six months: I am going to shop for clothes consciously. I plan to replace my love of fast, disposable fashion with swishing and buying nothing that isn’t ethnically sourced or sustainable. As I set myself on this path it will be interesting to find out whether it is the act of buying clothes that had made me happy, or was it the time spent with friends socializing and discovering new ‘must have’ items chatting and sharing time.

I’ll be tweeting my progress @TraceyWhittingh and blogging each month about my experience of shopping more ethnically and sustainably.

I’ll need your help to keep me on the straight and narrow. Please send me your tips, and suggestions.

For over 20 years, Waste Watch has been delivering schools programmes up and down the country.  Our aim has always been to help provide children and young people with the knowledge, skills and values that enable them to participate in building a just, fair and green society.

Traditionally, this has been approached through programmes which focus on delivering fun, hands on quality learning activities; mainly assemblies and workshops linked to the national curriculum.  While we strongly believe in the importance of interactive, engaging learning we have come to realise that simply focusing on the content of the activities alone rather than the way in which they delivered and link together will not fully achieve these aims.

Reflecting on this as an education team, and an organisation as a whole, has led us to rethink and develop the way we approach our projects. We now favour an action learning approach.
Lessons are designed to take children and young people on a journey from being initially enthused about the topic at hand, through to exploring and connecting their knowledge and experiences. This approach provides young people and children with the opportunity to not only develop their own understanding around an issue but the ability to reflect and develop their own strategies that can take forward.
This is not to say that we should cease to deliver or recognise the importance of standalone workshops that take sustainability issues to children and young people, but instead we need to rethink our approach when the aim is to create real changes in attitudes and behaviour.

The Waste Watch conference this year is structured around an agenda based on the action learning cycle and The Otesha Project UK, a youth-led charity that helps young people become agents of change, will present their approach at our conference.

One of the estates involved with Our Common Place is Ethelburga, it is just off Battersea Park in the north end of Wandsworth borough. When we arrived there back in August 2011 we were introduced to one of the Residents Associations (RA). We attended a couple of their meetings, held one of our own and listened to the key issues affecting the estate. The meetings were held in a small room, with bare white walls, adjacent to the community hall, no more than ten people attended but we could sense a desire to create change.

We listened carefully, wanting to get to know what life is like at Ethelburga, what people were concerned about, what they wanted to change and what fun activities they might have in mind for the future. One of our guiding principles at Waste Watch is to create change with communities; with this in mind we brainstormed what we might be able to do together over the course of the next six months.

Starting with waste as an issue, the first initiative chosen was a consultation with fellow residents. With permission from Wandsworth council already granted, the task was to engage with residents of the 26 level Ethelburga tower on turning the refuse chute into a recycling chute. We stood back as the RA set themselves up in the lobby of the tower to talk to passing residents about the advantages of converting the chute. They took the chance to also promote recycling and sign up new members to the RA. They met lots of new faces and updated existing members on the new projects that were starting up.

A Give and Take Day for the estate and surrounding streets was next on the list. The group hired the local community centre and invited residents to come and swap items they no longer wanted with their neighbours. Swap shops, Give and Takes and Swishing are growing in popularity; they divert waste from landfill and create an opportunity for wider discussion on the benefits of re-use and recycling. Attendees were incredibly generous in donating and sharing items and the RA were inspired to hold these more regularly.

Enthused by both the lobbying activity and the Give and Take day, the RA committee have made a really interesting step. No longer are they holding their meetings behind closed doors where they struggle to attract new people to join in the conversations. The two initiatives have blended together so that RA meetings are now held in the lobby of the tower at busy times, they are free for anyone to come along to and residents are encouraged to bring items as well as ideas to share with their neighbours. We had an email from the RA this morning telling us that they held a meeting in the lobby last week, 28 people dropped by!

Since September, I have been volunteering at a series of Give and Take Days organised by the charity Waste Watch. The aim of the three month campaign, which ran across seven North London boroughs, was to encourage the reuse of unwanted items within the local community, divert reusable items from landfill and improve community cohesion.

The events, which were held at schools, churches and community halls, the focus was on local issues, but for me the idea represents a very global issue. It occurred to me while volunteering that the Give and Take Days highlight one of the biggest problems we have in the world today relating to resources. When people talk about resources they often refer to the concerns we have regarding the shortage of materials left in the world. However, in my opinion, the problem lies within the spread and distribution of resources. This was shown through many examples of people attending the Give and Take days. To generalise, there were those who came purely to give large amounts of good quality items they no longer needed (perhaps because they could afford to upgrade to a newer model) and there were others who came in search of second hand items that they may not have been able to buy new from the shops. It was a refreshing experience to see resources in a positive light and to celebrate what people do have and what they can give to others who have less than themselves. Totting up the weights of items at the end of the day showed us how many tonnes had not only been saved from a landfill site, but also how much had been redistributed within the local community.

As you would expect from any free-for-all event there was quite often a bit of hustle and bustle at the beginning of the Take session. For example, at busier events we used decorative bunting to create a starting line to hold back eager attendees who with their eyes peeled for prize items were chomping on the bit as they waited whilst the minutes ticked away until the Take session began. This gentle ruckus helped to keep us volunteers on our toes and also developed our crowd control skills. Although all the argy-bargy behaviour was resolved with the greatest professionalism, we couldn’t help but be amused by some of the mild disputes that occasionally broke out. Thankfully, the few ‘but I saw it first’ misunderstandings were calmly negotiated and settled amicably for all parties.

As a volunteer it was very rewarding to see large volumes of items being redistributed and passed on to new homes. On one occasion, deciding to make the most of a quiet moment at the donations table, I went see what had been left after the initial rush of taking. While leafing through a couple of old books a young girl came up me and asked if she could take a book. I replied enthusiastically that she could take a handful, if she wanted.  She informed me that she only needed one. When I asked her about the book she had chosen – a Jacqueline Wilson classic that I remember pouring over excitedly as a teenager – she remarked:

 ‘I am taking it for my little sister because they are her favourite books and I didn’t have enough pocket money to buy her one for her birthday.’

For me, this sum up the whole aim of the Give and Take days, giving all that you can, taking only what you need and being grateful for what you have received.