ExtraCare are committed to establishing eco groups across locations working towards sustainability, this Plastic Free July we chatted to Shenley Wood resident Brian who alongside a group of others at their village are working to move towards a more sustainable future.

You’ve recently created a recycling corner over at Shenley Wood. How did the recycling corner come about?

This was mainly the brainchild of fellow resident Rita. There already existed several ad hoc recycling schemes put together by individual residents in the village mainly supporting certain charities, namely with collections of ink cartridges, stamps, and blister packs and a milk bottle top collection. Rita contacted each of the residents involved and took the idea forward where collectively we bring things together and make it a feature within the village. Her overriding intention was to highlight recycling beyond that of our day-to-day disposal of household waste and to grasp as many opportunities as possible. In creating a Recycling Station we could focus minds towards the greater picture of sustainability and the future need to be more prudent switching away from just throwing stuff away.

Why do you think it’s important that everyone does their bit towards a more sustainable living situation?

Apart from the main sustainability message and following an eco-friendly route – we felt it would be beneficial to help local and national charities. Our campaign to do what we can to save the planet and not leave our grandchildren with a legacy of disaster through our irresponsibility has been subtly put forward, and hopefully gives all the feeling of involvement where they play their part.

What does the recycling area consist of?

Our thought process to ensure we achieved our aim revolved around the principle – if you’re going to do it, do it properly! We decide to make the station as though it were part of the village furnishings centrally located within the communal area, keeping signage down to a minimum and to go for a graphic display. Our organisation A3 size standee was to be clear with transparency being essential, plus the awareness of making things safe and easy to use. As you would expect, we had close liaison with our management team seeking views and advice. The final design utilised an eight-compartment storage unit, obtained via IKEA, with rigid and manageable sized boxes.

Who’s involved in the area? Who has ownership?

We formed a village activity group to administer the project. This in turn enabled us to apply for a grant from our RA Committee (ExtraHope Fundraising Group) and to press ahead – successful as we were, we also stipulated that there would be no monetary gain, with items either going to a charity or to the manufacturers or appointed recycling agents. Regular weekly inspection takes place with collections coordinated around the volume of products flowing through the system.

How are you helping to decrease plastic usage?

There is the broader issue of decreasing plastic usage, reducing emissions and energy consumption, our efforts to recycle hopefully mean that we help towards the reduction of further using the planets resources and materials. Our project is just a small cog within the overall sustainability wheel.

Would you recommend this to other villages?

The good point to all of this is the fact that within ExtraCare Villages and Schemes, we are all doing what we can, our particular goal was to further enhance the opportunity to recycle and make things visually appealing and to give residents a lift from their contribution. Our project is now an integral feature within the village and it is the residents that now come forward with new ideas for further products to be included.

Finally, in helping ExtraCare meet it’s Net Zero targets, we as a collective community can proudly say – we’re trying to put things right, not just for now but importantly for the generations to come. In our minds we felt there was a need to keep visiting sustainability as a driving force; in our contact with IKEA, who’s ethos is very much but around this value, they have shown interest via their Marketing Team and we hope for a mention in their Sustainability Newsletter.