Keeping Green Days Green: Colin Firth on the Eco-Age stand in 2010 (Click to zoom in)
Under this slogan, since 2005, the Bedford Park Festival has recycled all waste on the Green Days weekend, earning praise from Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth. The Festival's campaign urges local people to look beyond the Green Days weekend and 'make every day a Green Day'.
That slogan was coined by Livia Firth, whose Eco-Age shop in Chiswick High Road was opened in 2007: it was a Green Days Diamond sponsor for several years (see picture above).
What inspired us to set up Eco-age? Livia Firth
Read the ChiswickW4.com report about our recycling, from 2006. And this report from 2010, on our activities in 2008 and 2009. And - Green Night aims to 'Turnham Green in Chiswick - ChiswickW4.com
Here are 'Ten Steps for a Greener Ealing' from #ActforEaling, Ealing's Climate Action Hub.
This year the waste management company Suez is handling our reycling, providing Green Days with waste containers and waste removal. As all waste can be put in the same bin, it makes it easier for everyone to recycle their rubbish and keep the site clean. All waste then goes to its local transfer station where it will be sorted and 100% recycled or used for energy, meaning that no waste will go to landfill.
Since our very first Festival in 1967, we have encouraged people to recycle and buy lots of used and 'pre-loved' items.
To cut out single-use plastic, we stopped using disposable plastic glasses several years ago and we also buy our Pimms and lemonade in barrels not bottles. Kelvin Murray, who runs our beer tent, writes:
"2018 was the first year that we used 100% reusable drinking units for all alcoholic beverages. Pints, Pimms, half pints and wine are ALL now served in reusable containers that I will bring out year after year. It's a huge amount of work in terms of cleaning the dirty containers (see picture above right), repaying the deposits of £1 for EVERY unit and storing them for next year. But I don’t consider we have a choice. Its just plain wrong to throw away so much plastic that ends up in land fills or worse, floating in our seas and oceans. The church have invested a substantial sum of money in these containers [approx £1000] so well done St Michaels, a forward-facing church in anyone's book.
"In short we have revolutionised how much waste we create in the beer tent. 2018 will see only a tiny fraction of waste compared to the beer tent 4 years ago."
We are also working with a number of local organisations to get you out of your petrol or diesel car, not only for Green Days but for the rest of the year. At the Cycle Zone on Green Days, you can get a free service, security marking, information and maps. For those who are thinking of taking to a bike, advisers are on hand to help you choose, and gain the confidence to take to the road. There is now also an Electric Vehicle Zone, which this year is supported by four electric car firms and our local authorities.
Smoothie bike in 2022 (Click to zoom in)
At St Michael and All Angels, we continue to look for ways to minimise our carbon footprint,
consider our impact on the environment and uphold our responsibility to be stewards of Creation.
Our annual Green Days weekend has been waste-free since 2005, with all waste being fully recycled. We’ve also ditched disposable beer glasses in the Beer Tent, and our Cycle and EV Zone provides advice and guidance on alternative methods of transport. You can read more about Making Every Day a Green Day on this page.
We are a registered Eco Church working towards our Bronze Award. This scheme, run by A Rocha UK, supports churches to care for God's creation through their worship, buildings, land, community engagement, and individual lifestyle. We’re well on our way but there’s lots more to do!
We have recently improved recycling in the Vestry, and are looking into alternatives for disposable coffee cups, non-recyclable flower oasis, fossil-fuel energy and water wastage.
There are also a number of actions we can all take as individuals:
- Calculate your own carbon footprint using WWF’s Footprint Calculator
- Replace the lightbulbs in your home with low-energy models (LEDs)
- Ask your energy supplier if they have a ‘green’ tariff and consider switching to it
- Buy organic, local, or packaging-free produce when you can
- If you have a garden (or even a window-box!), plant some bee-friendly flowers
- Pick up litter in your local area.
If you would like to know more, please contact Helen Dods via the Parish Office.
Cutting our use of plastic: Washing the beer glasses to use again next year. (Click to zoom in)
