Talking half as much rubbish in Wanstead

8 March 2011

On 19 March local groups all around the country will take part in a day of action to persuade David Cameron to talk half as much rubbish.

In advance of this, Wanstead & Woodford Friends of the Earth teamed up with another local community group to find out what people think about waste and recycling.

Joint effort

Members of the group went along to an evening event hosted by Transition Wanstead. They spoke about the waste campaign and gave short questionnaires to about 50 people.

Packaging overload

Everyone who filled in the survey agreed that things come in too much packaging. Some people said they try to avoid buying packaged goods, and refuse packaging when given the option.

One of the most enlightening responses came from someone who works for the local council - they claimed that nothing was recycled at their workplace.

Ann Williams, Wanstead & Woodford Friends of the Earth

Positive outcome

As well as using the event to strengthen links between the two groups, Wanstead & Woodford Friends of the Earth collected 28 responses and possibly one new member.

A few days later the group had a stall at a local farmers market.

Similar results

Once again the main theme from the questionnaire was excess packaging as well as plastic bags in supermarkets. People also highlighted how recycling is often made more difficult by recycling facilities changing from one borough to the next.

Do it yourself

If you'd like to use a questionnaire like this for your own group why not adapt the one used by the Wanstead & Woodford group. Download the questionnaire.

Get involved

You can also find your nearest Friends of the Earth group and get involved in local campaigning.