Green Champions
If you feel strongly about recycling and would like to get more people in your community involved with it, you may like to join our Green Champions scheme. Green Champions can get inolved with promoting greener living in lots of different ways, for example:
- encouraging friends and neighbours to recycle more
- helping with the annual festival run by the Green Champions, Be Recreative
- adopting a recycling bank
- acting as part of a focus group for the recycling team
- promoting new ways to recycle in Hackney
- getting workplaces to adopt great recycling practices
- helping out at recycling events.
We hold regular meetings for Green Champions with workshops and guest speakers, and we make all of our leaflets available for Green Champions to take away and distribute to friends, family and neighbours.
How to become a Green Champion
Being a Green Champion is a great opportunity to meet like-minded people and contribute to Hackney's community in a positive way. For more information about becoming a green champion, please contact us using the details at the top-right corner of this page.
Meet some of Hackney's Green Champions
Below you can read some questions and answers with some of Hackney's Green Champions.
Rafe Benli, Queensbridge
What do you recycle?
I try to recycle as much as possible: paper, plastic bottles, glass, card board, and kitchen waste. I also have my own compost bin where I recycle my garden waste.
What methods of waste prevention do you use?
Wherever possible, I try not to use too many plastic bags. I use reusable bags, although I do recycle the plastic bags eventually, or try to find other uses for them. I look at what I buy and try to reduce the amount of packaged products I purchase. All my kitchen waste goes in the Blue Bin for recycling. I also home compost.
Tell us why you're a Green Champion
I thought that becoming a Green Champion would be an ideal way to promote my green credentials and it would aid me in my discussions with residents, whom I regularly talk with about waste and recycling. By becoming a Green Champion I feel like I am part of something, and that this will hopefully bring change for the future, and a better environment for us all to live in.
Give us your top recycling/waste prevention tip
I really do say no to multiple plastic bags. I do not see the need for them. Always carry a cloth bag, or reuse a plastic bag. Where possible I try to reduce the amount of packaging I buy.
Hannah Ahmed
What do you recycle?
Most of my household waste.
What methods of waste prevention do you use?
I reuse anything I can, for example yoghurt pots, bags - anything really that does not need to be thrown away. I always carry cloth bags with me to stop using plastic carrier bags, and have a very big handbag! I always try and buy products that come in reusable or recyclable packaging. I get organic vegetables delivered to my door, which are less packaged than the pre-packed vegetables in supermarkets. I do not have paper statements delivered from my bank; I do banking online to reduce paper. I always take unwanted items to charity shops.
Tell us why you're a Green Champion
It's a great way to try and help the environment by acting locally and hopefully making a difference to the global environmental issues. It's also a great way to meet like-minded people, exchange ideas and make new friends!
Give us your top recycling/waste prevention tip
Always think twice about how an item could be used in other ways before throwing it away or recycling it. Prevention is always better than a cure!
Jo Homan, Brownswood
What do you recycle?
Paper, cardboard, glass, cans, tin foil, plastic bottles, cloth, batteries, tetrapaks and drink cartons.
What methods of waste prevention do you use?
- I compost all my food and garden waste in my garden - in my wormery and compost bins.
- I grow food, get food delivered at home, bulk buy (from Co-op and Infinity Foods) and buy larger containers where possible (eg rice, laundry liquid). I also use leftovers.
- I use cloth bags and reuse plastic bags.
- I buy clothes from charity shops, use old clothes as dusters for cleaning, use washable nappies, buy fewer clothes and gadgets but pay for good quality, ask for clothes as children's presents or specific toys I know they'll use.
- I keep only the books I would actually re-read; I then put unwanted books on www.greenmetropolis.co.uk and buy books from there.
- I tip bath water directly into toilet cistern, and put a bowl in bathroom sink to collect water, e.g. from running tap to get hot water). I keep a covered bucket in kitchen to collect water, e.g. from rinsing lettuce); I also keep two water butts.
- I religiously unplug phone chargers, and use low energy bulbs and rechargeable batteries.
How did you first get into recycling and waste prevention?
Hmmn. Was it at work, trying to get them to recycle paper? Or was it the green boxes at home? Maybe it was combination of both combined with a growing awareness of the global impact of over-consumption on climate.
Tell us why you're a Green Champion
I wanted to meet others who share my goals, and to learn more about what Hackney Council's recycling team is up to - this makes me feel involved in the solution to the problems we humans have created. I particularly enjoy the Be Recreative festival the Green Champions help organise because it's exciting and good fun.
Give us your top recycling/waste prevention tip
To manage items you leave on standby (mobile phones, TV, DVD players, computer), plug everything in your lounge into a big extension board with a switch. Mount this on an accessible wall and make sure you switch it off before you go to bed.
Page updated: 22 Sep 2010
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