EcoSwap was founded to enable the community to reduce plastic and textile waste. We will encourage individuals, groups and business alike to make simple swaps in their daily lives to reduce plastic and textile waste. For many people, including ourselves, a hard-line stop is difficult and daunting. We hope that with practical, budget friendly swaps, the mindset of convenience will change to consideration of our communities, our wildlife and our environment.
Our primary objective is to provide a hub for make and mend sessions where the local community can learn how broken or end of life items can be transformed into new usable items that reduce the quantity of waste entering the UK system. We will host a series of weekly workshops for specific projects and other sessions where the community can bring their own projects along for advice and guidance from our facilitators. We will enable the community to utilise equipment such as sewing machines for any projects they wish to undertake and for items to be made to benefit the local community, such as sleeping mats for the local homeless population. Within our hub we will also provide zero waste and sustainable products for purchase. For those in the community who are on low incomes we will encourage a trading system where items they have made or plastic and textile waste can be used as credit against items, any traded items shall go into the materials store for community projects.
We will also aim to work directly with businesses and community groups to advise on the reduction of their plastic and textile waste through waste audits and encouraging usable waste to be donated to the make and mend hub to be utilised and transformed for the benefit of the community.
Short term (current year):
• Establish a permanent EcoSwap Hub within the community
• Host make and mend sessions for the local community
• Build relationships with local community and businesses
• Build online/social media profile and presence
• Develop local fundraising initiatives such as beach cleans
Medium term (next 1 – 2 years):
• Develop waste audit services for local businesses
• Consider ways of raising funds for expansion
• Introduce local fundraising initiatives
Long term (3 years and beyond):
• Set up additional hub(s) or mobile units within wider community
• Recruit staff as required
• Maintain relevance within the market as it changes
Why is this a great idea?
The amount of waste recycled (not incinerated or sent overseas) in the UK is a fraction of the waste we produce. We will be campaigning for change and ensuring that any plastics that are traded as part of our activities are 100% recycled. This has untold benefits for the quality of life for our communities, our wildlife, and our environment. Even if we can change the lifestyle of just one person, we could prevent the equivalent of 11,024 PET water bottles entering the waste system every year!
What impact will we have?
Reducing the volume of plastic and textile waste will have an enormous impact on the cleanliness of our streets and public places, our native and migratory wildlife and our woodlands, waterways and beaches. With the provisions of workshops, make and mend sessions and clean up events, EcoSwap will encourage community participation by getting people engaging with and taking responsibility for their impact on their environment. All proceeds from activities will be donated to the EcoSwap Education Programme.
What will funding will be used for:
Public Liability Insurance
Initial set up costs of the EcoSwap community hub
Wages for facilitators for educational and make and mend workshops
Equipment such as sewing machines for make and mend sessions
