Zero Waste Update

Simple steps save shoppers cash

Households involved in a food waste pilot to showcase how easy actions can save waste and money saved 76% more food from the bin, the Sun reports today. The six-week trial from Tesco and Hubbub saw 53 UK households take up the challenge, pledging to check cupboards, draft a meal plan and make a list before braving the shops. Each saved an average of £16.50 a week, or 1.46kg of food. Scaled up to a year that equates to 76kg less food per household and an average saving of £858.

Circular fashion puts best foot forward

Alternatives to fast fashion will be the focus of a new online TV show starting this week. The Fashion Show will feature circular economy stories from those within the fashion industry – from businesses like H&M to the experts and activists driving industry-wide change. The half-hour programme will kick off at 12noon this Thursday 15 October and continue weekly for five weeks. It will be hosted by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s Make Fashion Circular team. Find out more on the Ellen MacArthur Foundation website.

Report reveals scale of biodiversity threat

More than half of global GDP depends on biodiversity. That’s according to a new report from insurance firm Swiss Re and reported in the Guardian. The study claims a fifth of the world’s countries are at risk of their ecosystems collapsing because of declining biodiversity and the impact on the life-sustaining services it feeds – such as clean air and water, food, and flood prevention.

Events

15 Oct – The Fashion Show: transforming the fashion industry

15 Oct – Reuse Month (Ireland) webinars on bike upkeep, leftover lunches and fixing tech

15 Oct – Cities fostering the circular transition

17 Oct – International Repair Day

19-22 Oct – EU Green Week

19-25 Oct – Environmenstrual Week