What happened when Shedwyn ran out of recycling bins

Shedwyn, the campaign mascot for the 1000 bins challenge, has been a bit quiet of late, despite the news that this IS THE LAST WEEK of the campaign and what with it being National Zero Waste Week and all, it was a bit of a shock to catch her putting her feet up in a cafe in town.

Sipping coffee, while everyone else is sending in photos. What a cheek!

But bless her. Shes only gone and run out of recycling bins to photograph in Bury St Edmunds.  I suppose theres only so much you can stretch your imagination with just two bins in the very centre of town, and with the car in for repair and having run out of train money, what else could our roving reporter do?

But this is Shedwyn were talking about.  When theres just nothing to be done, shes a woman who thinks of something!

For starters, how about emailing the local council, politely asking for a few more bins?  Here she is getting all serious about the very serious issue of installing some serious recycling bins in very beautiful Abbey Gardens.  A serious subject indeed.

But Shedwyns not very good at doing serious, so having exercised her fingertips at the keyboard, she couldnt help but get back out on the streets, where she managed to grab hold of a handsome man to brighten up his day and praise the virtues of "recycling-on-the-go"!

Yes that is really BBC Radio Suffolks reporter Luke Deal pictured with Shedwyn.  Its a shame you cant hear her rabbiting on about where to find recycling bins around Suffolk.

Meanwhile, whilst that cheeky woman was busy chatting up men by bins, I took the opportunity of catching up with Radio Suffolks Lesley Dolphin, who was broadcasting her show from Bury St Edmunds market this afternoon.  Well, someone has to do the hard work and its always lovely to talk to Lesley.  It was great to have the chance to spread the news about National Zero Waste Week and to promote reducing waste away from home.

Of course the next challenge after the interview was to hunt down Shedwyn in the busy marketplace.  I really should have known.  I managed to eventually track her down having a chinwag with her old pal Sandy at the other recycling bin in town.

So I think the moral of todays story is that Shedwyn really does needs to get out more, especially if shes going to meet the 1000 photo challenge by Sunday.

And after todays antics, what with going AWOL, emailing the council and harrassing men at bins I think it might be a very good idea to send her to Coventry.

Actually sending her to Coventrys not a bad notion, especially this Friday when theres a Zero Waste conference going on.  I might just have to loan her the train fare.


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This post was written in support of National Zero Waste Week.  More information about the campaign can be found at www.myzerowaste.com.   Further details about Shedwyn and the 1000 bins campaign can be found at www.1000bins.com.

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RECYCLE ON THE GO with Shedwyn and friends

WELL WELL WELL.  Im still getting over the shock of being outed recently by The Observers very lovely Lucy Siegle who just so happened to reveal to the nation, my peculiar habit of embarrassing the kids by taking photos of municipal trash cans.   Yes I know....!

But I admit it.  Indeed I really do have a sad collection of bin photos, recycling ones in particular, taken whilst out shopping and on holiday, both in the UK and overseas, Well it IS research you know!  In fact this is the blogpost that initially grabbed the attention, taken on a day-trip to Barry Island in South Wales, the spiritual home of sitcom Gavin & Stacey.

Now I dont think Im the only one to notice how these hight street recycling bins are starting to pop up in all manner of places in the UK.  And I bet Im not the only one to have taken photos of them either (although most people will only have included them unknowingly in the background). But if you start looking, youll find them in many high streets and tourist hotspots around the country, and theyre proving to be a very valuable tool in helping the UK reduce the amount of plastic, aluminium and paper thats sent to landfill or incineration.

They come in all shapes and sizes too.  Take the one above for instance, which was snapped at Brussels Eurostar terminal.  It even looks like a giant shape-sorter.   Of course there are plenty more inconspicuous ones that often get overlooked, which is why Rachelle Strauss at My Zero Waste and I are launching a challenge to promote these very useful facilities and find out exactly where they are.

So the challenge ladies and gentlemen, is TO COLLECT 1000 PHOTOS or VIDEOS by the end of this years National Zero Waste Week, which takes place on 5-11 September.

Yes 1000!  I know!!!

Thats more than this busy mother of two can manage, which is why weve employed the talents of our bespectacled pal SHEDWYN, whos as mad as brush and will be popping up in all sorts of places around the country taking photos.  Here she is....getting prepared for some hard and fast recycling action on the streets of London, either that or trying to flag down a taxi with an empty drinks bottle and a copy of The Metro.

But good grief, WHERE did she get those glasses!!!  Oh bless her.

Anyway, Shedwyns other mission is to make recycling bins as entertaining as possible and shell even be encouraging the odd comedian or busker to strut their stuff as they recycle on the go.

But even this Welsh Wonderwoman cant do this without any help either.  She needs YOUR help and WED LOVE YOU TO JOIN IN TOO.  Its really easy.  We simply need you to snap & post a few photos, thats all.

Whenever you spot a public high-street recycling bin, it would be great if you could take a quick photo and post it onto our NEW FACEBOOK PAGE!   The funnier or more unusual, the better.  You could put yourself in the frame too, or even send an entertaining video to show off your hidden (or not so hidden) talents. Theyll also be entered into our photo collection as well as any sketches or artwork submitted by artists.  To add them directly, you just need to like the new Facebook page and upload them straight to the pages wall, which you will find at: Standup for Recycling out on the street: The 1000 bin challenge.

Just remember to include the town and location of where you found the bin.  It would be brilliant to get submissions of overseas bins too, especially if they offer extra design features, such as voice-activation or play music.

Even if you dont have a Facebook account, you can still join in by sending your submissions to: standup@therubbishdiet.co.uk and we will post them online for you.

All submissions added will be automatically entered into the Zero Waste Week annual competition, details of which will be announced at www.myzerowaste.com at the end of July.  The final deadline for the challenge is 11 September and all winners will be revealed at the end of September.

Our 1000 bin challenge is an independent social-media campaign, coordinated by The Rubbish Diet blog and My Zero Waste.  It is officially being launched on Monday 20th June to show our support for WRAPs Recycle Week 2011 campaign, which itself runs until 26th June.

And this years Recycle Week looks like its going to be a real brilliant one.  The theme is Recycling - Home and Away and aims to demonstrate the positive effect of recycling a little bit more, whether at home, at work or out-and-about. Theres even a competition to guess the location of  some on-street recycling bins at the Recycle Now website.  I reckon old Shedwyn will be able to have a good crack at that, given the way she gets around!

The other big news this year is that anti-litter organisation Keep Britain Tidy is also partnering with WRAP and has been working with pilot authorities to launch this years Recycle Week, encouraging organisers of Big Tidy Up events to recycle litter.  More information about Recycle Week and how you can get involved is now available at www.recyclenow.com and www.thebigtidyup.org.

So what are you waiting for?  Theres lots going on and Im looking forward to seeing what youll get up to.  Whatever it is, just remember to keep it clean...AND remember to take your camera.

1000 photos eh.....whoa...this will definitely be a challenge and a half, especially as well only have just 12 weeks.   Its time for Shedwyn and her mates to get snapping.

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Shedwyn goes to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival

Shedwyn posing with the lads from Jam Jard Off the Top Of Our Heads.

Of course I could tell you what happened in this latest chapter of the 1000 Bins Challenge, but its much more fun to watch the video:

Thanks to all the performers who have supported the campaign to raise awareness of recycling on the go.  You can find more details of their shows at the following links: Squirrel Party, Alices Adventures in Wonderland, The World of Shrimpology, Off the top of our heads, No Pants Thursday,  Me Myself & Iona, and The Chris & Paul Show.  Shedwyn & I had a great time and after such a whirlwind of a visit, I cant wait to go next year.

In the meantime, more information about the 1000 Bins challenge can be found at www.1000bins.com.   Also, there are lots more photos of Edinburghs bins now available at www.facebook.com/1000bins. Further news about the tie-in with My Zero Wastes annual Zero Waste Week will also be announced soon at www.myzerowaste.com, including details of this years very exciting competition. Please enter if you can, because not only is it a great cause, there will be some wonderful prizes too.

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Shedwyn gets her skates on for the end of National Zero Waste Week 2011

To celebrate the last day of National Zero Waste Week, I sent the 1000 Bins mascot Shedwyn, into Suffolks  rollerskating venue CurveMotion, to check out their recycling.

They have great recycling facilities behind the scenes, but dont have any specific recycling bins in the public zones.  Consequently customers end up throwing their empty bottles and cans into the general rubbish bin.

Even if there were public recycling bins, there is a real issue that the number of unemptied containers that are often thrown away by the customers, would quickly contaminate any efforts to recycle properly. So Shedwyn was on a mission to think of ways that could improve recycling without having to rely on expensive and sticky recycling bins.

After a spell of whizziness with the laptop and a touch of lamination, a simple methodology was born.  A  sign advising customers to leave their containers at the servery counter instead of shoving them in the bin!

Whether its an effective solution, only time will tell, but it is an idea thats worth trying and if response is low its well worth testing out new wording or different poster designs.

So with the job done, Shedwyn was ready to do a few laps around the roller rink before scooting off home to put her feet up for the rest of the day, but the bonkers old bird got so inspired by CurveMotions Charity Skateathon that she challenged herself to 50 laps, "Anything for charity", she said, knowing it would be a struggle to keep on her feet for even 25.

However, fifty laps later she was still going strong.

After a wobbly start, taking a tumble over a fallen-down child at lap 75, and peforming a spectacular forward-slide-and-knee-bounce herself during the 200th lap, our recycling bin champion knocked us off our chairs as she made it to 211 laps, the equivalent distance of a half-marathon!

The poor old girl couldnt walk for ages after shed come off the rink and was soon caught napping when she should have been on binwatch.

211 laps eh!  Whod have guessed that would happen this Sunday, rounding off National Zero Waste Week  with bruised knees.

So, could the moral of the story be that no matter what your goals, assumptions or expectations, Shedwyn has shown that its possible to exceed these, even if obstacles and setbacks get in the way?  We just need to to keep setting our sights much higher and pushing ourselves just that little bit more whether thats about recycling, reducing waste or other ambitions (government and industry are you listening?)

Then again, as a friend suggested after Shedwyns super-impressive tumble, perhaps the moral of the story is that she really should have worn kneepads! 

So, while the bespectacled roving reporter nurses her knees, I wish you a happy end to National Zero Waste Week. I hope its been a great week for you.   Of course, if like me, youve enjoyed Shedwyns expoits with the 1000 Bins Challenge, it would be fab if you could sponsor her for her charity skateathon today.  It would help her knees get better much more quickly and its for a a brilliant cause too:  St Nicholas Hospice in Bury St Edmunds, which needs as much money as it can get to continue its great work.  You can find all you need at my Justgiving page or click the blue fundraiser badge at the top of the page.

So thank you all for your support this week and during the last three monthss 1000 bins challenge.  Its been spectacular.  Heres to National Zero Waste Week 2011.  Special thanks go to Mrs Green at MyZeroWaste for organising it.  With another successful week over, who knows what will happen next year! Whatever happens, I bet your bottom dollar it will be exciting.

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This post has been written in support of National Zero Waste Week 2011, which is hosted and organised by www.myzerowaste.com. This years theme is reducing waste away from home.  The photo competition for the 1000 Bins project, promoting "recycling on the go", ends at midnight today (11/9/2011).  See www.1000bins.com for details.  Huge thanks to CurveMotion for extending a very warm welcome to Shedwyn today.  More information about their Charity Skateathon and other events can be found at www.curvemotion.com.

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