Environment / recycling
Find out how to really reduce, reuse and recycle
Tackling waste and reducing the effects of climate change is at the forefront of everyone’s mind, and next week environmentally-conscious Bristolians can learn about the complexities and challenges of recycling and waste management, at an exclusive Funzing talk.
Livvy Drake, 37, is a freelance sustainability consultant and behaviour change consultant who works with companies in Bristol to help them reduce and better manage their waste. She says the talk is centred around “looking at waste and recycling and going from the beginning. Recycling is not as we thought it was. It’s about looking at the process. ”
Rewinding a few years, Livvy was in Australia when she had and “epiphany moment”, saying: “I reconnected with nature in the Great Barrier Reef and saw such a mass of packaging. I’d always cared about recycling and the environment, but I went on a mission.
is needed now More than ever
“I went on a raw food diet to reduce waste, went plastic-free for lent, and the more I learnt the more I wanted to share.”
Livvy Drake is spreading the message about what really happens to our recycling
Since Blue Plant II aired, there has been a cultural shift towards waste reduction and increased recycling. Livvy says: “It’s great to cut down, but we need to learn more about society’s wider issues and it’s structures. There are good things happening, like new government strategies, but we all need to be thinking about the environment.
“We need a circular economy instead of our current linear economy. We’re using the world’s resources, and everyone needs to think about it and we need to spread information and work out if alternatives, like compostable plastic, are actually any better. A lot are actually not as great as they sound – they’re really hard to recycle and will often go in landfill.”
It’s starting to sound hopeless, but Livvy reassures that the aim of the talk is not to depress attendees about the state of the world, but to instead inspire people to feel confident to talk to others, question alternatives and lobby businesses.
“It’ll be a fun evening,” says Livvy, “And I want people to feel able to ask questions. The talk is for businesses too. I want industry players to be inspired to think about the earth. It’s our planet but it’s also our home.”
The talk takes place on Thursday, March 21 at 7pm at The White Rabbit. Find out more and book tickets at www.uk.funzing.com/funz/tipping-point-what-happens-with-our-waste-bristol-21557
Read more: How to be a plastics activist in Bristol
Our top newsletters emailed directly to you
