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    Recycling, reusing & repairing posts

    More plastic than fish in the oceans by 2050? Could you give up plastic?

    The Marine Conservation Society is urging people to get through June without plastic. The Plastic Challenge will highlight our reliance on this substance of convenience. Read more

    Car tyre foundations: a low-impact and affordable solution?

    Last month, Lowimpact.org’s Sophie Paterson, a trainee with the School of Natural Building, took a hands-on approach learning how to construct recycled car tyre foundations on a Straw Works course at Holy Trinity Church in Tulse Hill, London. Read more

    Period of adjustment: the case for reusable feminine hygiene products

    Katherine Blacklaws and Harriet Parke make the case for reusable feminine hygiene products, re-blogged with kind permission from an original post at Isonomia. Read more

    How the corporate goldrush for incineration, gasification and pyrolysis of waste generates more consumption, more waste and more pollution

    ‘When waste to energy companies propose to build incineration/gasification plants they stipulate that contracts be in place which lock-in local authorities to providing them with a fixed tonnage of waste over the lifetime of the plant (often about 25 years). Read more

    How to reduce the environmental impact of your wedding

    Jo Cowan of Belle Bridal | 22-Jan-2017 | 2

    Your wedding day is obviously one of the biggest days of your life — but it can also be huge for your carbon footprint. In the UK, the average cost of a wedding is over £20,000. Not only is this a huge amount of money to spend on a single day Read more

    New report: number of plastic bags on UK beaches falls by almost half – so charging 5p for plastic bags works?

    The number of plastic carrier bags found on UK beaches in surveys carried out by the Marine Conservation Society (MCS) has dropped by almost half between 2015 and 2016. This is the lowest number reported in over a decade, and fantastic news for marine wildlife. Read more

    Jumble Trail: stroll around your neighbourhood, meet local people, grab a bargain, grab some food and sell unwanted stuff

    Guy Dorrell of Faircatch | 10-Sep-2016 | 0

    I’d like to bring to people’s attention a community event I’m championing in my neck of the woods called a Jumble Trail. I’m in Wandsworth, London, but Jumble Trails are happening all over the country, and you can join in. Read more

    3 shopping days to Christmas – a plea not to buy any more tat

    Dave Darby of Lowimpact.org | 22-Dec-2015 | 6

    Last minute Christmas shopping? Well, this is our last-minute plea for you not to do it. I was recently invited to a party with a ‘secret Santa’ that invited people to buy presents for less than £5. It’s a nice thought, but it inevitably resulted in a barrage of plastic trinkets that won’t last until… Continue reading 3 shopping days to Christmas – a plea not to buy any more tat Read more

    Well done for fighting food waste, Hugh; but let’s take it a step further

    Dave Darby of Lowimpact.org | 23-Nov-2015 | 2

    Have you seen any of the TV programmes about food waste, hosted by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall? He’s trying to highlight the amount of food that gets wasted in the UK – which is truly phenomenal, and a ridiculous waste of land, money, energy and time. Read more

    Brighton’s iconic earthship: appeal for upgrade of energy and water systems

    Earthships are self-contained living vessels that don’t rely on mains water or energy from big companies. Earthships use natural systems to provide all their own utilities — solar energy for heat and power, and rain for water Read more

    The price of the average wedding is now over £20k; how to do it for much less and give the finger to ‘Brides’ magazine

    Flanked by an advert for the Ocean Club honeymoon resort in the Bahamas, with young bride and groom toasting a glass of champagne, Brides – “the UK’s number 1 bridal magazine” announces to its readers that “Planning your wedding starts here” Read more

    ‘Restart’ parties: prolong the life of your electrical goods and pick up some useful skills in the process

    Dave Darby of Lowimpact.org | 28-Sep-2015 | 0

    On Saturday I dropped into a ‘Restart’ party near to where I live in Tooting. If you don’t know what a Restart party is – they’re a group of techies who raise funds to be able to hold events in various locations where the public can turn up with broken electrical goods and be trained… Continue reading ‘Restart’ parties: prolong the life of your electrical goods and pick up some useful skills in the process Read more

    Cargo bikes collecting local food waste for anaerobic digestion and biogas

    Rokiah Yaman of LEAP Micro AD | 20-Jul-2015 | 2

    Closing the food-waste-energy loop – a celebration of sustainability. Enjoy a free community event in a beautiful wildlife park learning about closed-loop recycling, urban agriculture, sustainable cities, decentralised waste management, renewable gas and how YOU can make a difference. Read more

    How to make a 7-course meal for 12 people for free

    Scarlett Penn of WWOOF UK | 09-Feb-2013 | 0

    Recently some friends and I were served a sumptuous seven-course meal with a twist: every single ingredient came from the bin of a top-end retailer. Well, everything apart from the road-kill rabbit spotted on the way home. Read more

    Overland to Australia part 1

    Sam Ryan of Lowimpact.org | 22-Aug-2012 | 0

    Sam Ryan worked for Lowimpact.org in the UK for a year, and is now on his way overland, with his partner Dani, back home to Australia to set up Low-impact Australia over there. He’s going to send us a few blog articles en route. Read more

    There’s a crash coming – a slap from Mother Nature. This isn’t pessimistic; it’s realistic.

    The human impact on nature and on each other is accelerating and needs systemic change to reverse.

    We’re not advocating poverty, or a hair-shirt existence. We advocate changes that will mean better lives for almost everyone.

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