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Our use (and waste) of resources
is causing serious environmental
problems - from biodiversity
depletion, water shortages,
global warming to land litter and
ocean plastic. Environmental
organisation Transition Oundle
has recently launched a project
named Oundle Waste Less (OWL)
to provide some local solutions to
these global issues.
OWL, which has been awarded
National Lottery and East Northants
Resource Management Facility
Funding, aims to encourage
people to make simple changes
to how they use goods to reduce
unnecessary waste. The project
activities already underway include:
Refill Revolution Oundle
Founded in Market Harborough,
Refill Revolution is a packagingfree
shop where customers use
their own containers to stock
up on dried foods, spices, tea,
coffee, hair care, body wash
and household cleaning liquids
as well as buy other reusable,
environmentally friendly household
items. Refill Revolution Oundle
has proved to be very successful
with customers delighted to find
a shop which ‘walks
the walk’ – each product has been carefully sourced and its
environmental credentials checked out. Initially a
‘pop up’, Refill Revolution will be opening weekly
from September at Oundle Wharf, beside the Nene
Valley Brewery. Full details are available on the
@RefillRevolutionOundle facebook page or visiting
www.refillrevolution.co.uk
Repair Cafés
Repair Cafés are based
on a simple idea: people
bring in their broken or
damaged items and a team of skilled, voluntary
repairers do their best to mend them. The owner
has the chance to watch and learn from the process
whilst enjoying a cup of tea and maybe a slice of
cake.
The first Repair Café in July was very well attended
with all sorts of things brought in, from a torn pair
of trousers, to a skull-shaped Bluetooth speaker, a
broken stool, a bike whose brakes needed replacing,
a favourite stuffed toy with a split seam, a 45 year
old transistor radio, a beautiful pair of antique lamps
and much else. The blade sharpener was also
kept constantly busy! The Repair Café team will be
back in action on Saturday 9th November, at Fletton
House, off Glapthorn Road in Oundle.
Those with items to be repaired
should book them in by emailing
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
uk or try one of the local repair
shops listed on the OWL facebook
and website pages.
Refill East Northants
Around 7.7 billion
plastic water bottles
are bought across the
UK each year; Refill
East Northants, as
part of the national Refill Scheme,
aims to reduce that. Cafés, pubs,
shops, museums, visitor centres
and others throughout the local
area are now offering free water
bottle refills for customers and
non-customers alike, which makes
drinking ‘on the go’ as easy,
convenient and cheap as possible.
Users should look for the sticker
in venues’ windows, download the
Refill app or check the
refill.org.uk website to see
which venues are kindly
offering this service, and
log their refill, which will
generate a 13p donation
for the charity which
runs the project. There
are already 15 venues
signed up in the local
area, stretching from
Kings Cliffe to Thrapston;
please use them and
bring a bottle!
The OWL Events
From September, the OWL project will be arranging
a series of environmentally themed talks, films &
events which cover subjects such as electric vehicles,
switching to renewable energy, food production
and how our choices affect the environment, and
how green business is better business. The series
will start on Thursday 3rd October at 7.30pm with
‘Electric vehicles: when is the right time to plug
in?’, a discussion with Tim Pollard, Editorial Director
of Bauer Media’s digital motoring portfolio including
CAR magazine, followed by ‘Are we winning the
war on waste and recycling?’, a discussion with
Charlotte Tompkins, on Thursday 7th November, both
in the Queen Victoria Hall, West Street, Oundle.
Entry is free and bar opens from 7pm.
The OWL Fund
The OWL team will be working with local organisations,
groups and schools to raise awareness about
waste reduction and environmental issues. Small
amounts of funding will be made available for ‘waste
less’ projects – such as signage or equipment to
reduce the use (or waste) of any type of resource.
Anyone interested should email the OWL team with
a brief description of their request and how they will
encourage
Full details are available on
www.transitionoundle.org.uk on the
Oundle Waste Less page, or on the
@OundleWasteLess facebook page.
Alternatively, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
to ask specific questions.
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