Starting afresh in September: the month to focus on reducing waste and recycling
September not only means the end of the summer holidays and schools going back – it is also the month when two major waste and recycling campaigns take place, both of which Casepak are actively supporting!
Second Hand September is an initiative run by Oxfam that is promoted as ‘a moment for all of us to come together to choose a more planet-friendly way to shop’. It is a drive against fast fashion with a call for people to choose a more environmentally responsible way to shop by donating and shopping second hand.
In the UK approximately 350,000 tonnes of clothing waste are sent to landfill every year, wasting valuable resources and increasing our environmental impact by adding to greenhouse gas emissions and landfill pollution. With British consumers being some of the heaviest spenders in Europe on new clothes (average of £980.50 per person annually), the need to promote clothes recycling programmes is greater than ever.
For Second Hand September last year, staff at Casepak filled a large bin with clothing which was donated to a local charity shop to be re-sold. This year we are aiming to go bigger and better!
Zero Waste Week is also being held between 1st-5th of September. Zero Waste Week was founded by Rachelle Strauss in 2008 with a mission to empower people to rethink ‘rubbish’ as a valuable resource. It is very easy to take part in Zero Waste Week, by choosing an action which will help reduce your waste and do it every day during the week. Your action could focus on anything waste related, such as food waste, plastic packaging or repair. Just set yourself a goal and try and stick with it. Will you aim to reduce your landfill waste by 10%, have zero food waste for two days or increase your recycling by collecting discarded recyclables?
Across the different Reconomy brands, which Casepak is one of, we will be running lots of different activities for Zero Waste Week, like a swap shop, toy swaps, donation drives and local litter picks.
September also marks Recycle Now’s flagship event, Recycle Week, which takes place between 22-28 September. Now in its 22nd year, Recycle Week celebrates all things recycling. Supported by businesses and local authorities, the campaign aims to rally people to recycle more and avoid unnecessary waste.
To borrow a phrase, every little helps, and a short-term focus on recycling activities can cause them to become good habits that all make a difference to the environment.