“Perhaps if we could popularise through the techniques of branding and consumerism, a different idea, a different narrative, perhaps the world can change. After all it changes constantly and incessantly, it’s just the perceptions that we have are governed by people with self-interest and are not in alignment with the health and safety of us as individuals or as a planet” – Russell Brand
If you’ve been with me since the beginning of this personal blog, over two years ago now, you are probably familiar with a mystical green thumb called Katie. Well, over the last few years Katie and I have grown to be very fond of each other, she has taught me a lot about gardening and many-a zero waste alternatives, as well as inspired me to be more active in the zero waste movement. If you follow me on Instagram or Katie (@seedblog) you’ll have seen that after the War on Waste aired that we did a Responsible Cafes flyer drop down the main street in Geelong West, asking cafes to offer an incentive for people who bring their own cup rather than using a disposable coffee cup. The support we received from this was mind-blowing, almost all the cafes that we spoke to put the flyer up in their window straight away, offing discounts of as much as 50c off – even the local bakery got on board!
This was such an empowering experience, we were so motivated to generate change of a bigger scale. The War on Waste had gotten the ball rolling and we were keenly pushing it so that it kept momentum. We wondered whether anyone in Geelong would be interested in learning about how to transition towards zero waste so we approached Katherine at Valerie’s Pantry, who graciously offered us the space in which to hold the workshops. All forty seats for each of the two-part free workshops booked out within three days. Any doubt that we had about whether there was a demand for workshops quickly evaporated and we jumped head first into the workshops, which ended up being so much fun and so inspiring to be a part of. We decided that these workshops are important for us to continue and so together we became Towards Zero Waste Geelong. We are not sponsored, we don’t have any affiliations, we are just two health professionals who happen to be friends and get excited about people making positive lifestyle changes, especially ones that reduce waste footprints. As proud vegans, we wish to acknowledge that food choice is the single biggest way to reduce your waste footprint, any other lifestyle choice is secondary. Although no effort is ever wasted, we encourage intention over perfection. If you’re only doing Meat Free Monday at this stage, we salute that effort!
After our success with promoting the Responsible Cafes in Pakington Street last year, we were keen to become ambassadors for The Last Straw. This is a campaign, similar to Responsible Cafes, which asks consumers to refuse straws and venues not to hand them out unless requested. The people that attended our meeting a few weeks ago came up with some fabulous ideas about how to further this wonderful campaign in our community, some of which is already been put into action. There are of course several other zero waste campaigns we will passionately endorse in due time within the group. We hope you will join us or just come along for the sweet, sweet vibes generated by being around people who dare to care.
Since our first workshops series in January 2018 we have kept the conversation going in our Towards Zero Waste Geelong Facebook group, which is an open groups were everyone is welcomed – even if you’re not in Geelong! This is a supportive space where there is always someone available to answer a personal question you have about transitioning towards zero waste.
Join us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram (@towardszerowastegeelong) for more details about workshops and campaign meetings.
Thanks for reading,
Meg and Katie x