events & news​
27th November 2019
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If any of you want to write a piece about enjoying a plastic-free Christmas that we could post on here, we'd be super grateful. Please get in touch if you have some ideas you're bursting to share! Or, even just an article in general about ditching the less-than-fantastic plastic.
Or, feel free to post ideas/ask for suggestions on our facebook page - it's a great source of supportive idea sharing. We're a very friendly bunch and you'll always find words of encouragement to help you on your merry plastic-free way...
13th November 2019
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Wow! Bingley - you did us proud! We were absolutely blown away by you turning up in your droves to our first ever plastic-free fair. We can't thank you enough for coming along with your families and supporting the wonderful small businesses we'd brought together under one roof. Our only negative feedback from the event was that it was too busy! Well, if that's the only criticism, we'll take that :) It was an inspiring few hours of super shopping, sharing of ideas, having cake and a natter, and generally showing the world that, here in Bingley, we've had enough of all the plastic and want to support a cleaner, more sustainable way of living. We managed to raise funds to continue the work we're doing to gain that all-important plastic-free status, as well as donating to Surfers Against Sewage, who do such a great job of supporting us. Thank you, thank you for your support x x
Please, please come and visit us on the 5th of October! We've worked so hard organising Bingley's first ever plastic-free fair. What an achievement for the town and a commitment to a better legacy for the next generation! It's the day of the usual Bingley Market on the square so it's easy to pop into the Arts Centre as well. We have drinks and homemade cakes (donation only) and nearly 30 stalls of exciting, ethical, local businesses. The products on offer range from soaps, gifts, toys and children's clothes to all-new sportswear and beauty and household products. By all means, bring your own containers for filling up washing up liquid, shampoo and the like. Also, don't forget to bring along your own tote bags/reusable, or even better, your very own Morsbag if you've got one! Tell your friends and family and come and support this worthwhile cause in your community!!
Plastic free fair
Great news! PFB are very excited to announce our first ever plastic-free fair! Taking place on Saturday 5th October, 10.30am - 1pm, at Bingley Little Theatre, we hope there will be 20 plastic-free and low-waste stalls and tea and cakes available to buy. Items for sale will include beeswax wraps, children's clothing and essentials, homeware, food and beauty items, and much more. The Saturday market will be taking place as normal, so there is no end to the shopping opportunities! So please, get it in your diary now and come and support us - we'd love to see you all.
Our 2nd plastic free picnic!
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Come and join us on Sunday the 21st July 2019 for our second plastic-free picnic. We'll meet around the bandstand at Myrtle Park (time tbc) and enjoy an informal, family-friendly picnic. A chance to relax, enjoy good food and share lots of musings and ideas on reducing plastic in our lives. Join us - we'd love to see you!
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1st April 2019
Open Meeting
We're having an open meeting to talk about all the work we've been doing and encourage others to get on board too. Come and join us on Saturday 18th May at Cardigan House in Bingley from 2 - 3.30pm. There'll be tea, coffee and cake, plastic free goods to buy and we promise a fun and informative time!
9th March 2019
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The mass unwrap was a great success! 63 of you turned up with your bags and containers and we unwrapped two and a half family-sized trollies of unecessary plastic packaging. Together with 22 other supermarkets across the country, Bingley shoppers sent a strong message that we demand immediate action on single-use plastic packaging! We advertised what we were doing far and wide and were picked up by Radio Leeds, LCB Radio and the T&A. Thanks to all of you who turned up to support us. (Btw, in the national week of action no Aldi stores were involved. Something to think about?......)
19th February 2019
MASS UNWRAP
Exciting news! Join us for our biggest action yet - the Mass Unwrap! At 1.30pm on Saturday the 9th March, we will be meeting outside the Co-op in Bingley to take part in some fun, non-confrontational action to highlight the excessive plastic packaging in our supermarkets.
The plan will be for you to do your shopping as normal, but then visit our volunteers who will be waiting at the end of the tills. You can then remove the plastic packaging from fruit, vegetables, and dried goods and take home your shopping free of its packaging! So, be sure to bring plenty of extra bags, or Tupperware. We will collect all the packaging in trolleys and it will go into the Co-op's normal recycling facilities at the end of the action.
It is fun and friendly action, done in full support with the Co-op, to provide a great visual way to highlight the plastic problem. Organised by Surfers Against Sewage, it is part of national campaign, so mass unwraps will be taking place in supermarkets across the country from 3 -10 March 2019.
We'll be inviting the Lord Mayor of Bradford, local MPs and press to join us for what we hope will be a great, feel-good event in our town centre. But we can't do it without you, so, please, come along and show the supermarkets we care deeply about the plastic problem!
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For more info on the event, check out the following link:
https://www.sas.org.uk/Mass_Unwrap
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If you have any questions or comments, do get in touch by emailing plasticfreebingley@gmail.com and follow all the news on our Plastic Free Bingley facebook page.
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#massunwrap #coop #plasticfreecommunities
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Community clean up!
Our first community clean up is on Thursday the 1st of November 2018, 10 - 12 (or for however long you can join us!) We're meeting at the Brown Cow car park. Come and join us as we tackle the beautiful woodland around the twines. We'd love to meet you and we'd be happy to tell you more about what we do. No equipment needed, all provided by the council. Just bring scruffy clothes and a smile!
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Other dates for the diary:
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Bingley Town Council litter picks:
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13th October, Britannia Bridge, 10-12
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11th November, Myrtle Park & Market Square (before the Rememberance Day service) 10am
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8th December, location to be confirmed, 10-12
Psst....i have a secret and i suspect i'm not alone...
member of plastic free bingley, rosie sharp, shares why she's realised she's been wrong about going green.
PLastic free Picnic
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Family soap Beautiful beeswax (be sure to wash in cold water to increase life)
Hands up who's been guilty of feeling a little negatively about green living? That it sounds rather too earnest, austere and, well, joyless. Not to mention fiddly and expensive. With a life already filled to bursting with obligations, isn't it just one more thing to fret and feel guilty about?
Well, I have lots of good news to report and just a little bit of bad news but let's start with some context. About two years ago, after a disheartening train journey seeing endless bins overflowing with cups, I started on a personal mission to never use another throw-away cup again. It went so well that I included water bottles in that too and got my whole family involved. Buoyed by the success of that, I joined the steering group for Plastic Free Bingley and am now working my way through my home eliminating single use plastics and unnecessary waste.
So, the bad news that I mentioned is that this journey has made me painfully aware of how much my family and I, local shops and the wider world is hooked on ease. When you really start to be mindful of what we all throw away and how redundant packaging becomes once it's fulfilled its brief job, it can be painful. I do worry about it all more than I did. And there's no doubt, it's a bit fiddlier. Of course it is. That's why this process of reducing plastics is so painful for us all; it takes away the ease we've become so accustomed to. It also can, initially at least, be more expensive. Using beautiful reusable beeswax to wrap my sons' sandwiches is more expensive than clingfilm (though it lasts for up to a year so I'm hopeful of it being good value for money).
But, and it's a really big but, it's also been an unexpectedly joyful journey. I was so wrong about green living being joyless and meagre. There are so many imaginative companies out there selling great products that it's the best time to go green without sacrificing either aesthetic pleasure or effectiveness. Lots of green alternatives and products really do work and look fab too. I know, because I've been trying so many of them lately. Most weeks, I make a commitment to buy one green item, so I'm steadily making green life swaps. I'm trialling homemade cleaning products. My cotton pads have gone, the clingfilm and foil are no more, as has all our shower gel and the boys' hair shampoo (I'm working on mine). And the list goes on. And it will continue to go on because I'm enjoying this process so much. The initial outlay for such items can be more but, because they're reusable, they'll last so much longer and may be cheaper in the long run. And on the occasions when it does cost a little more, I find I'm willing to make the sacrifice. The benefits are worth it to me. You know that feeling when you do something that you've been dreading? Like going for that run, or finally banishing the mobile from the bedroom? You feel so glad you did it once its done! I love walking around my home and knowing that I'm doing my bit to reduce our carbon footprint (I have a LONG way to go, giving up my Zara and anti-ageing product habit would be a great next personal project). Anyway, back to the small progress I have made; a happy side effect is that it's making me think so much more carefully about the harmful toxins my family and I are being exposed to each day. I feel calmer. The house feels less cluttered somehow, calmer.
Try it. Look around your life and think what you can do to reduce, reuse and recycle. No rush, it's your journey, your timetable. And, the first rule of Reduce Club is that there are no rules or it stops being fun. I swear to you, it just may make you happier and more joyful. Something magical happens when you start living in the way deep down you know you really should.
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Share your discoveries, successes and failures with us on Facebook, or Instagram!
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Hand soap in the kitchen Fab food covers from Amazon (I know, that's a whole other fight...)
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Last week, we enjoyed our first plastic free picnic in Myrtle Park. Trust us, it's good fun to cut down on plastic and quite addictive once you start!
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Don't feel daunted at the challenge - start by making small changes where you can. There's lots of work still to do but you should feel good about yourself that you're making positive changes. We'd love to hear your good ideas, so get in touch with us via social media and let's share tips!
It was great to meet up with the people of Eldwick at the June gala, hand out our leaflets and spread the plastic free word!
We had a rather fabulous knitted display at Bingley Show recently, to raise awareness of our campaign and encourage you all to think of ways you can cut down on plastic in every day life.