Chew Magna Zero Waste project
(for an account of how the Zero Waste Day on April 23 went, click here)


The old mill by the River Chew, in Tunbridge Road, Chew Magna - to become a community centre for the Zero Waste project

The Zero Waste Project has formed four groups to tackle the many opportunities in the parish to work towards a waste-free and sustainable society:

The Energy and Transport Group will tackle energy saving measures and will develop projects for renewable resources to substitute for burning fossil fuels. It will also start schemes like car sharing, lift sharing and other community transport options. A driving motivation (excuse the pun) is to reduce our use of oil and gas based fuels and our emissions of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide. There are numerous possibilities for renewable energy and alternative ways of moving ourselves around.

The Waste and Recycling Group is concerned with the pressing problems of the physical waste streams that seem to increase every year. Without action we will drown in our own mess if we don't drown first from rising sea levels. More prosaically it will soon start to cost us a lot more. BANES are faced with massive price increases for disposal in landfill sites and central government is imposing tough targets for recycling. A vision of zero waste is an integral part of the strategy of our local authority*.

The Consumption and People Group seeks to develop our local community in ways that are sustainable. This group is particularly interested in local production of food and goods not just because they are better but because it keeps money circulating locally and so provides more jobs and a more secure future. This group is working on our well-being - a recent report from the New Economics Foundation shows that our wealth as a nation has increased by 80% over the last 30 years while the index of 'life satisfaction' has fallen.

The Converging World Group is also concerned with well-being from a different perspective. This group is building on the existing links we have with communities in other countries. It may sound ambitious but the aim is for our well-being and their well-being to converge in a world that is better than what we all have now. As we develop our projects we will learn what is happening in places like India, Africa, New Zealand, Canada and European countries where many 'zero-waste' or sustainable development initiatives are underway.

The Old Mill, in Tunbridge Road, has lain unused for decades - just gently wasting away. It is fitting that the Zero Waste Project intends to transform this building to serve the needs of the community and pursue the projects that the four groups will manage.

* http://www.bathnes.gov.uk/BathNES/environment/wasteandrecycling/strategy.htm

(for an account of how the Zero Waste Day on April 23 went, click here)

For more information and to get your name onto the project's email list call Ian Roderick 01275 333490, or email ian@dovetail.co.uk.