Waste Not Somerset

Somerset Waste PartnershipWaste Not Somerset

Get your group on the map – take part in Waste Not Somerset and join other Waste Not action groups up and down the country inspired by ‘Hugh’s War on Waste’. Millions of people are looking for ways to cut back on their waste, and for groups to help them achieve change, thanks to the TV campaigns on food, clothes and packaging by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall.

Waste Not Somerset is a local community campaign to encourage us all to develop helpful habits to cut waste, save money, and reduce our impact on the environment through waste reduction, reuse, repair, recycling and home composting.

By taking small steps we can all make better use of the things we have, by getting a bit more organised, making things last longer, sharing stuff with others or giving things a new home.

Whatever the focus of your group, join Waste Not Somerset – it’s a fun way to bring people together, help household budgets go further, and bring lasting benefits to your community.

It’s now even easier for a wide range of groups to play a major Waste Not Somerset role. There are lots of ways to help your community get involved and you’ll find lots of ideas and local examples in our new community waste action pages. (Separate or subsumed?)

With the average family throwing away £700 a year of food which was once fit to eat, food is a great issue to highlight for Waste Not Somerset. Sharing food-saving tips can help your community waste less and cut the cost of putting tasty, nutritious meals on the table, potentially saving hundreds of pounds and making a big difference for those who have very little.

To be part of and benefit from Waste Not Somerset, we are offering great materials to support displays big or small, including new eye-catching banners and table top posters.

This adds to our ready-made Love Food Hate Waste display resources available free to community groups, such as leaflets, recipe cards, quizzes and activities. The range of resources makes it easy to set up an information stall in the heart of your community, perhaps at a local fun day, village fete, local market or shopping centre.

Join the Waste Not Somerset Facebook group – this is a platform for organisations to share their waste action events and inspire others to get involved in and around the county. There is a wealth of possibilities for future Waste Not Somerset activities or initiatives. If we all help our communities make small changes, big things will happen.

Hugh’s War on Waste – the inspiration behind Waste Not

Waste Not Somerset’s campaign name was inspired by Hugh’s War on Waste programmes, first aired on BBC1 in January 2015, which used the hashtag WASTENOT. Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall is on a mission to change the way we all think about waste. In his programmes, Hugh challenges big companies to change their ways to help reduce waste, and challenges all of us to do our bit too.

During the first two episodes we saw the residents of Prestwich get to grips with wasteful ways, cutting food waste, passing on items for reuse, and making better use of their recycling service – showing how much can be achieved through simple changes. Episode 3 went on air in July 2016. See below for a summary of episodes:

Episode 1 Hugh is on a mission to find out why the UK wastes so much food. He helps the community of Prestwich with practical tips to reduce waste and recycle more. (Broadcast January 2015)

Episode 2 Hugh joins an illicit raid to see what he can find in a supermarket’s bins. We join the community of Prestwich to see how small changes really do make a difference. (Broadcast January 2015)

Episode 3 The Battle continues. Hugh takes on Amazon and the coffee shop giants Starbucks, Costa and Café Nero. (Broadcast 28 July 2016)

See BBC i-player for official episode availability. There are also unofficial links on YouTube for all three episodes.