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Sustainable Starts CIC, a not-for-profit organisation in Liverpool, has successfully launched a series of initiatives aimed at making sustainable living affordable and attainable for families, thanks to £8,000 in funding from the Zero Waste Community Fund 2024/25.

The project, which launched in summer 2024, has made significant strides in reducing waste and fostering a supportive, well-connected community. The funding has enabled Sustainable Starts CIC to deliver a range of impactful services, including:

Quarterly Clothes Swap Events: Promoting reuse and reducing textile waste.
A Growing Toy Library: Providing access to toys and reducing the need for new purchases.
Weekly Playgroups for Toddlers: Creating a space for families to connect and learn.
A Cloth Nappy Lending Library: Reducing disposable nappy waste and offering an eco-friendly alternative.
Monthly Cloth Nappy Library Workshops: Providing education and support for using cloth nappies.

Anna Martin, Chairperson of Sustainable Starts CIC, expressed her enthusiasm: “We are absolutely thrilled with the impact this project has had on local families. It means so much to our team to see the community coming together and embracing sustainable living. The funding from the Zero Waste Community Fund has been instrumental in making our vision a reality, and we are excited to continue building a more sustainable future for Liverpool.”

This month the project will reach a significant milestone with the opening of a permanent venue for its toy library at Queen’s Dock Business Centre in Liverpool’s vibrant Baltic Triangle. This dedicated space will further enhance the accessibility and impact of the toy library.

The Zero Waste Community Fund, delivered by Merseyside Recycling and Waste Authority and Veolia, aims to increase reuse, recycling, and sustainability across the region. Sustainable Starts CIC’s work directly contributes to this goal by promoting a circular economy and cutting waste levels.

Lesley Worswick, Chief Executive of Merseyside Recycling and Waste Authority, said: “We are delighted to see the success of Sustainable Starts CIC’s project. It’s fantastic to see how this funding is helping to cut waste and save families money. These initiatives are making a real difference in our community, and we are proud to support them.”

The project’s focus on lending libraries is a key component of its success, as these initiatives directly prevent the creation of waste, a crucial element in building a circular economy. By providing access to reusable items, Sustainable Starts CIC is empowering families to make sustainable choices while reducing their environmental footprint.

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Notes to editors:

Attached image captions: Sustainable Starts CIC parent toddler events in Liverpool

About Sustainable Starts CIC:

Sustainable Starts CIC is a not-for-profit community organisation based in Liverpool, dedicated to promoting sustainable living and supporting families. Through a range of initiatives, they aim to make sustainable practices accessible and affordable for all.

About Merseyside Recycling and Waste Authority:

Merseyside Recycling and Waste Authority is responsible for the management of household waste in Merseyside and Halton. They are committed to promoting waste reduction, reuse, and recycling through a variety of initiatives, including the Zero Waste Community Fund.

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Liverpool Half Marathon on SUNDAY 23rd MARCH 2025 – Restrictions to access at Otterspool Recycling Centre, Jericho Lane, Liverpool 

Access to and from Jericho Lane / Aigburth Road will be restricted between 9.00am – 12.00pm as runners pass from Sefton Park to Otterspool Park via the underpass and then across the top of Jericho Lane. The junction will be open as soon as the last runner passes into Otterspool Park.

To avoid disruption:

• Use Old Swan Recycling Centre, Cheadle Avenue, Old Swan, L13 3AF.
  
• Access via the Riverside Drive approach, by proceeding along Aigburth Road, Park Road left into Parliament Street, left into Sefton Street.

The road closure at the junction of Aigburth Road and Jericho Lane will be reopened when the last runner passes or at approximately 12.00pm.

For more detailed information on the half marathon and road closures please go to: www.btrliverpool.com

For your nearest Recycling Centre click here.

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A recent survey conducted ahead of Liverpool City Region’s Repair Week 2025 has uncovered that residents spent an average of £459.51 per person replacing damaged or broken items they believe could have been repaired over the past year. This figure represents a staggering £185 million[1] based on a sample of Liverpool residents, highlighting significant potential planet and money savings to be made through learning to repair rather than throwing away and replacing.

Liverpool City Region Repair Week 2025, running from Monday 3rd to Sunday 9th March, aims to address these issues with numerous events planned across the city – many of them free. Workshops will cover a range of skills, from mending clothing and fixing electronics to repairing furniture and bicycles.

What’s more beyond practical, money-saving skills, repair workshops offer social benefits; 69% of sampled residents surveyed agree that these workshops provide excellent opportunities to meet new people and build friendships in their neighbourhood. In fact, 57% report having made friends at a Repair Workshop.

Key survey findings[2]:

• 67% of sampled residents are concerned about the cost of replacing broken items in the coming year
• 73% would prefer to repair items themselves if they knew how
• 78% expressed interest in learning repair skills to save money
• The most commonly discarded items without checking for repair options are: clothing (42%), toys (40%) and shoes (38%)

Despite these concerns, the survey reveals a growing appetite for repair culture in Liverpool:

• 66% of residents enjoy repairing items with others and want to learn more
• 70% would attend more repair events if they were available locally
• 77% report a sense of achievement from repairing things

When surveyed about their most repaired items, clothes, bikes, and items with sentimental value topped the list. For example:

“I have repaired my clothes and shoes so many times. Most of my clothes are years old. It’s hard to say which ones are the oldest at the moment, but I have a fleece I bought in 1999 which I wore for 20 years and now my daughter wears.”

“A patchwork quilt that has been repaired and added to for many years. I can trace it back to my great-grandmother (my mother was orphaned, so we’re not sure how far back it was started).”

“The same dog toy. I have sewn it back together multiple times because the dog tears it apart, but it’s his favourite toy. When we replaced it with the exact same toy, he wasn’t interested; he still wanted the old destroyed one.”

Lesley Worswick, Chief Executive Merseyside Recycling and Waste Authority (MRWA) said: “Liverpool City Region Repair Week is about empowering people to extend the life of their possessions, save money, reduce waste, and build their community. Whether you’re motivated by financial savings, environmental concerns, or simply want to learn a new skill and meet new people, there’s something for everyone at this year’s event.”

The Liverpool City Region Repair Week Showcase and Launch Event, which will be hosted at DoES Liverpool, is just one of many events included in a busy schedule. Several listed events are free to attend, with some requiring advance booking. For a comprehensive list of events, repair hacks, and a directory of professional repair services, visit https://www.zerowastelcr.com/repair-week-2025/.

By participating in Liverpool City Region Repair Week, residents can join a growing movement of conscious consumers, potentially saving hundreds of pounds while contributing to a more sustainable future for the city.

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[1] Extrapolations of the data to represent the whole of Liverpool for value of damaged or broken item(s) which could have been repaired. The survey data was weighted to ONS Mid-Year population estimates, 2022, 18 + population figures for Liverpool. 

[2] All survey figures obtained from combining answer options “Strongly agree” and “Somewhat agree”

Community groups in the Liverpool City Region are invited to apply for a share of £165,000 to support innovative projects that reduce waste and promote a greener future.

The Zero Waste Community Fund 2025/26 – managed by Merseyside Recycling & Waste Authority and Veolia – provides funding for community and voluntary groups, social enterprises, and not-for-profit organisations to implement projects that minimise household waste, maximise recycling and resource reuse, and mitigate carbon emissions.

Grants of up to £30,000 are available for projects that benefit at least four districts within the City Region, while grants between £1,000 and £8,000 are available for projects focused on a single local authority area.

Councillor Catie Page, Chairperson of Merseyside Recycling & Waste Authority (MRWA), emphasised the vital role of community groups: “We deeply value our partnerships with the region’s dedicated community groups. They are the heart of our communities, actively working to create a positive environmental impact. By empowering these groups to address local waste challenges, we not only benefit the environment but also foster a greater appreciation for resources and the value of reducing waste.”

Bids must tackle one or more of the five priority household waste materials which have been identified by MRWA as key, namely WEEE (Waste Electrical & Electronic Equipment), Food, Textiles, Plastics and Furniture. An analysis* of waste in the region highlighted that a greater amount of these materials could be re-used or recycled. Projects can also include other household waste materials, for example paper or metals.

Previous Community Fund projects have included local recycling guidebooks, lending libraries, repair cafes, cookery clubs to support healthy eating and reduce food waste, fruit and veg gleaning, restoring old furniture to sell for charity and refurbishing unwanted rugs for resale.

One organisation to have previously received funding is Wirral Environmental Network (WEN), who were awarded £6300 for their Clothes Swap Cafes project, which aimed to reduce textiles waste through clothes swap events, sewing and repair workshops, and educational activities.

Naomi Graham, project co-ordinator at WEN, said the Zero Waste Community Fund Clothes Swap Cafe project has helped people across Wirral to take a more sustainable approach to fashion:

“We have enjoyed getting to know the people who have attended our Sustainable Fashion workshops and volunteered at the Clothes Swaps. Through the workshops, we had discussions about the environmental costs of fast fashion, chatted about how to make greener clothing choices, and then upcycled unwanted clothes and fabric into items such as bags and hair scrunchies.

“The success of the Clothes Swaps and workshops has encouraged some of the venues to hold more swapping events and think about ways they can provide support for reducing textile waste within their communities.”

Interested groups can apply to the 2025/26 Community Fund via www.merseysidewda.gov.uk/zero-waste-community-fund/

The deadline for submissions is 11.59pm on Sunday 9th March 2025.

Successful projects should receive the funding by mid-April 2025 and will have to deliver their schemes by March 2026.

Organisations interested in this year’s Community Fund can:

• Apply online at www.merseysidewda.gov.uk
• Contact the Authority:
  Community.fund@merseysidewda.gov.uk

DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION OF APPLICATIONS:
Sunday 9th March 2025, 11.59pm

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Note to editors

*Statistic from Merseyside and Halton Waste Composition Analysis 2021/22

Image captions: Attached images show Wirral Environmental Network Clothes Swap Café events.

• The £165,000 comes from the Zero Waste Community Fund 2025/26, which has been running annually since 2006.
• The impact of the 2022/23 Fund saw 13 projects stop 467 tonnes of materials from going to waste, held 731 events and training sessions, and engaged with over 16,000 people across the Liverpool City Region.
• The Zero Waste Community Fund is open to community and voluntary sector groups, faith groups, not for profit social enterprises and schools in Merseyside and Halton.
• Merseyside Recycling and Waste Authority is responsible for the disposal of municipal waste on Merseyside. Established in 1986 following the abolition of Merseyside County Council, it is a statutory Authority that works with all the local authorities on Merseyside – Knowsley, Liverpool, Sefton, St Helens and Wirral. MRWA takes a lead in advocating recycling, waste minimisation and safe and effective disposal of waste for Merseyside residents.

Friendly weekly Upcycling group at Calderstones Park is looking for new members, launching a Saturday group and appealing for furniture donations.

The Reader’s dedicated community Upcycling Group, which has been running for more than five years, is looking to expand and is offering free workshops for members.

Two friendly and open weekly volunteer group sessions committed to restoring or ‘upcycling’ furniture and other items meet every Friday at The Coach House – one of the Liverpool charity’s spaces in Calderstones Park, in the same courtyard as the Ice Cream Parlour and The Storybarn. They take place between 10am-1pm; and 1-4pm.

Thanks to new funding from Merseyside Recycling and Waste Authority (MRWA) the Upcycling group is able to offer three free workshops for volunteer upcyclers in January and February.

Designer and upcycler Nicky Cash, who runs Done Up North, a Wirral-based upcycling business, and has appeared on the BBC’s flagship upcycling programme, Money for Nothing, as an artisan, will be leading workshops on Wood Revival and Restoration; Upholstery skills and Metallic design.

Lesley Worswick, Chief Executive of Merseyside Recycling & Waste Authority (MRWA), said: “This is an outstanding project, and I extend my gratitude to everyone involved in its successful delivery. By empowering people with the skills to repair and refurbish items, this initiative promotes a circular economy by reducing waste and unnecessary consumption.

“The workshops are inspiring, demonstrating the value of keeping usable furniture out of the waste stream and ensuring it continues to serve its purpose within our communities. I strongly encourage the development of similar initiatives that divert valuable furniture from the waste stream and ensure it continues to serve its purpose within our communities.”

The Upcycling Group is also looking for new members on a Friday, as well as announcing plans to establish a second group on a Saturday, with thanks to further funding from Merseyside Recycling & Waste Authority and launching an appeal for furniture donations which could be upcycled.

No upcycling experience is required by anyone interested in joining the group, and the group has projects ready to be worked on. It receives support from volunteer leads and members of staff from The Reader, who will train members to use equipment when necessary.

Mary Crotty, Engagement Manager at The Reader, the UK’s largest Shared Reading charity, which runs more than 490 shared reading groups across the Liverpool City Region and rest of the UK, said: “Our Upcycling Group is a friendly and dedicated community of volunteers. The drop-in group – which has morning and afternoon sessions – is incredibly welcoming and keen to get stuck into new projects and ideas.

“They add such a unique string to our bow of community wellbeing groups. I’d strongly encourage all who are curious to get in touch and have a go.”

Members of the group restore second hand, antique or vintage wooden furniture by sanding, re-varnishing, waxing or painting. They make repairs as needed, upholster and re-purpose older pieces of furniture or household items.

Projects can vary from turning an armchair, an old bike and standard lamp into a pedal-powered reading-light-chair for children in The Storybarn to repurposing bookcases and picture frames.

An upcycled piece of furniture can be returned to the owner, sold to raise funds towards The Reader’s charity work, created for use within the charity or sold to partner organisations, such as housing associations at a discounted rate, ensuring furniture goes to go to those most in need.

• Anyone who has a potential item they would like to donate should programmes@thereader.org.uk including a photograph of the piece. Furniture may be in need of minor repairs. The group is unable to collect furniture from people’s homes.
• Anyone who would like to join the upcycling group or like some more information can email Mary at programmes@thereader.org.uk

CASESTUDY (with photo of Hilda Kiernan)

Hilda Kiernan, from the Wirral, came to attend a Shared Reading group at The Reader after the pandemic around three years ago and ended up joining the charity’s community Upcycling Group.

A creative and former medical secretary, she has a degree in fine art and literature while also volunteers for Heart4Refugees on the Wirral, running art therapy for Syrian refugees.

She said: “I am very much into recycling and upcycling. It is so satisfying to create something new out of something which would have been thrown away.

“I did up a couple of piano stools and am currently sanding down a rocking chair – what I like about that is being in the fresh air of the park surroundings, chatting to the dog walkers. It’s very rewarding especially when someone likes what you’ve made and buys it.

“It’s lovely to see creativity around you and we are guided and supported by The Reader’s Operations and Facilities team.

“There are half a dozen of us in the Friday morning group and they are all absolutely lovely people. We are a mixed group from all walks of life but everyone is welcome. Outside of the group we have a meet up lunch and over Christmas both groups we all went to a pub for a Christmas lunch together which was great.

“We’re all looking forward to the upcoming workshops.”

Householders in the Liverpool City Region are being asked to recycle right this Christmas and New Year.

Merseyside Recycling & Waste Authority (MRWA) and its contractor Veolia are reminding local people that the region’s 16 Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs) are open most days – except for Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day.

Many items are accepted at Recycling Centres such as cans, cardboard, garden waste (including real Christmas trees), glass jars and bottles, paper, large plastics, scrap metal (including metal artificial trees), textiles, toys and white goods. All the Centres accept electrical items – don’t forget to remove any batteries and recycle them separately.

If visiting a Recycling Centre in a van or with a large trailer (2-3m) then householders need to make an appointment. Bookings can be made online or by telephone on 0151 255 1444. Visits cannot be booked on the same day. For van and trailer bookings at Halton HWRCs, householders should contact Halton Council*.

As the Recycling Centres are particularly busy at this time of year, MRWA and Veolia are asking householders to consider the following:

• Try and separate your waste before visiting your local Recycling Centre. This way you’ll be able to deposit things more easily and help reduce queues at sites.

• Remove polystyrene and flatten cardboard boxes before placing them into the recycling container – it will take up less room.
  
  
• Don’t fly-tip your waste outside a Recycling Centre as this is illegal and you could be fined or prosecuted.
  
  
• Wrapping paper (not including plastic wrapping) can be recycled using your local council’s kerbside recycling bin, bag or box and at your local Recycling Centre. If your wrapping paper has a decorative / shiny / glossy / glittery surface it should be disposed of in your local council’s kerbside general waste bin.

• Please don’t bring us plastic bags – try to reuse them as much as possible and next time you go shopping why not buy a bag-for-life?
  
  
• Avoid putting recyclable items in your general waste bin. If you cut down on this then there’ll be less chance you’ll have excess black bin bags to bring to your Recycling Centre.
  
  
• Bring us your cans and bottles – millions of extra drinks cans and bottles are used during the festive period!
  
  
• After Christmas you can bring your real Christmas trees to our Recycling Centres where they’ll be shredded and turned into chippings for compost.
  
  
• An excess of oil is used over the Christmas period, with festive food such as turkey, roast potatoes and fry-ups on the menu. Used cooking oil tanks can be found at all local Recycling Centres.
  
  
• If there are items like toys, electrical items, bric-a-brac you don’t need after Christmas, you could donate them to local charity shops or community groups.

• Please dispose of old batteries correctly – never put them in your kerbside bins – they can be taken to any Recycling Centre, or alternatively most large shops and supermarkets offer battery recycling points.
  
  
• Why not make a New Year’s resolution to recycle more often? Visit www.recycleright.org.uk  for more information about what you can and can’t recycle.

Lesley Worswick, Chief Executive of MRWA, said: “A lot of waste is created at this time of the year so it’s a good chance to boost the region’s recycling levels. The Recycling Centres will happily accept people’s packaging, bottles and cans – and we’d love real Christmas trees. If you are coming in a van – whether that be your own, a hire vehicle or a work van – then make an appointment. And whatever you do, please don’t fly-tip outside the Centres as this is illegal and you could be fined.”

Household Waste Recycling Centres will be CLOSED on the following days ONLY over Christmas and New Year:

CHRISTMAS DAY (Wednesday 25th Dec)

BOXING DAY (Thursday 26th Dec)

NEW YEAR’S DAY (Wednesday 1st Jan)

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Household Waste Recycling Centres:

The MRWA Van Booking line is open Monday to Friday, 8.30pm – 4.00pm. Bookings can also be made online at www.merseysidewda.gov.uk at any time.

Until March 31st 2025 Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs) will be open from 8.00am until 5.00pm*. The Centres are located at:

HALTON:

Runcorn- Picow Farm Road – WA7 4UB

Widnes – Johnsons Lane – WA8 0SJ

*Both Picow Farm Road and Johnsons Lane open 8:00am – 6:00pm. For van and trailer bookings at Halton HWRCs, please contact Halton Council.

KNOWSLEY:

Huyton – Wilson Road, Huyton L36 6AD

Kirkby – Depot Road, Knowsley Industrial Park L33 3AR

LIVERPOOL:

Old Swan – Cheadle Avenue L13 3AF

Otterspool – Jericho Lane, Aigburth L17 5AR

SEFTON:

Formby – Altcar Road, Formby L37 8EG

Sefton Meadows – Sefton Lane, Maghull L31 8BX

Southport – Foul Lane, Scarisbrick New Road PR9 7RG

South Sefton – Irlam Road, Bootle L20 4AE

ST HELENS:

Newton-le-Willow – Junction Lane WA12 8DN

*Rainhill – Tasker Terrace, Rainhill L35 4NX (Saturday 9.00am to 5.00pm / Sunday 9.00am to 3.00pm)

Ravenhead – Burtonhead Road, St. Helens WA9 5EA

WIRRAL:

Bidston – Wallasey Bridge Road, Birkenhead CH41 1EB

Clatterbridge – Mount Road, Clatterbridge CH63 6HB

West Kirby – Greenbank Road CH48 5HR

A local, green-fingered group have secured funding to help grow food and cut waste – all from their community garden in a Bootle park.

Friends of South Park in Bootle, Sefton, have received £7985 from the Zero Waste Community Fund 2024/25 to deliver the Compost Creators! project. The Fund supports local waste prevention, reuse and recycling initiatives and is managed by Merseyside Recycling & Waste Authority (MRWA) and Veolia.

The food-waste fighting Compost Creators! project will see household kitchen and food waste taken to South Park on Balliol Road (pic below) for composting. The group will deliver food skills and cooking sessions to local residents, who will also take part in food gleaning and seed saving.

Chairperson of Friends of South Park, Nick Karstens, said: “The funding is allowing our project to engage people into thinking differently about types of waste and how they can reuse, recycle, donate or share food they may have at home, creating and contributing to a circular economy on their doorstep. We want to introduce participants to the concepts and methods of preventing food waste and composting and to encourage small changes to daily routines that will contribute to long term positive changes in household waste management.”

The funding will help the project to train new volunteers, giving them knowledge about where food comes from, learning different ways to cook, preserving foods, increase the reuse of containers to store food, and how to recycle food waste through garden composting.

Friends of South Park have just hosted The Great Pumpkin Smash Day for families and the local community (Sat 2nd Nov – pic top) where they encouraged people to bring their carved Halloween pumpkins for composting. For intact pumpkins there was a cooking demo and tasting, to show how to cook and eat leftover pumpkins. Another open day in August attracted 30 families who took part in upcycling craft activities and harvested and cooked food ‘on the spot’ whilst in the garden.

For the eight month long project, Friends of South Park hope to:

– deliver 27 weekly drop-in sessions at the South Park Community Garden

– host two community events (one general food waste/recycling event, one an celebratory end of project community meal for 30 people)

– recruit 20 local households for involvement in community composting

– help 15 people to attend a veggie glean/forage in partnership with the South Sefton Foodbank

– engage with over 400 people

Nick Karstens continued: “We have made a big effort to include families and children as a target audience alongside our volunteers and individuals, to build a future culture of responsibility for waste. By the end of Compost Creators! we hope those involved will be eating a more balanced diet, will have confidence in teaching others about composting and recycling, and will have reduced the amount of food waste they were previously creating.”

Councillor Catie Page, Chairperson of MRWA, said: “We are delighted to support this project. The facts show that on average we throw away an estimated 122,000 tonnes of food every year on Merseyside – that’s almost a third of the average general household waste bin. That includes millions of loaves of bread and litres of milk.

“Food waste is a big issue with significant environmental effects. Projects like Compost Creators can help people to recognise the impact of wasted food and hopefully save households money on grocery bills.”

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Notes to editors

• Image captions: Photographs from The Great Pumpkin Smash Day (Sat 2nd Nov) at South Park, Bootle, Merseyside. 
• Merseyside Recycling and Waste Authority is responsible for the disposal of municipal waste on Merseyside. Established in 1986 following the abolition of Merseyside County Council, it is a statutory Authority that works with all the local authorities on Merseyside – Halton, Knowsley, Liverpool, Sefton, St Helens and Wirral. MRWA takes a lead in advocating recycling, waste prevention and safe and effective disposal of waste for Merseyside residents.
• The MRWA and Veolia Community Fund 2024/25 has seen 16 community groups from Merseyside and Halton receive a funding boost to help make the region a cleaner and greener place. The financial support will see the groups help reduce household waste, encourage recycling and resource re-use, and prevent carbon emissions. Funding total is £165,000.00.

Roadworks at Sefton Meadows Household Waste Recycling Centre (Sefton Lane, Maghull).

Please be aware that next week from Monday 21st October there may be some disruption getting in and out of Sefton Meadows Recycling Centre due to a relaying of the carriageway at the entrance.

Work is due to finish on Friday 24^th October.

Thank you for your patience.

A Knowsley-based youth and community centre is on a mission to help local people save money and adopt zero-waste principles in their everyday lives.

Centre 63 in Kirkby has been awarded £7,200 from Merseyside Recycling & Waste Authority (MRWA) and Veolia’s Zero Waste Community Fund to deliver a Community Food & Recycle Hub.

The project includes a ‘Social Supermarket’ which, amongst essentials such as nappies and period products, stocks a variety of plastic-free fresh produce and ethical goods at affordable prices.

For every £10 spent, local shoppers receive around £25-£30 worth of goods in return. Furthermore, the centre often gives away free products which vary from day to day, but have in the past included foods such as fresh bread and fruit teacakes.

Jackie Croft, Chief Executive of Centre 63, said: “We want to make sustainable shopping accessible. The reality is that people primarily want to save money, so it’s then up to us to help them do that in a way which protects the environment. That’s why, where possible, our Social Supermarket stocks items that are locally produced and are either loose or sustainably packaged. We also sell pre-measured portions, as well as food bags which contain recipes and ingredients, to encourage food waste reduction.”

In keeping with its food-related theme, the project also features monthly cooking sessions, designed to help participants eat healthy on a budget.

Additionally, Centre 63 has engaged members of the youth community in starting an environmental garden. Participating children have helped to plant foods such as tomatoes and chillis, with plans to eventually sell the locally grown produce at the Social Supermarket.

Jackie Croft continued: “We’ve found that, as well as bringing members of the community out of social isolation, engaging participants in various activities helps to build momentum. For instance, the food growing sessions will give the kids a better understanding of where our food comes from, whilst creating memories and building skills which they may share with their own children one day.”

Alongside food-related activities, the project encourages reuse through clothes donations and clothes swap events, with recycling sessions also being delivered to help community members know what they can and can’t recycle at home. The latter has been cited as an important measure in alerting residents on the issue of recycling contamination and the waste that it causes.

Councillor Catie Page, MRWA Chairperson, said: “The work that the Centre 63 team is doing is a huge credit to them and their community. Food waste is a major component towards residual waste across Liverpool City Region. This project seeks to genuinely help people by making food affordable, whilst also encouraging important factors such as meal planning and portion measuring. All of this – in addition to the great work which they are doing to encourage reuse and recycling properly at home – is crucial in helping to reduce waste and fight the effects of climate change.”

Beyond the excellent work being carried out as part of the Food & Recycle Hub project, Centre 63 has previously encouraged reuse through the sale of recycled school uniforms at heavily discounted prices. The centre also uses clothes donations that are no longer fit for reuse to create items such as memory cushions during crafts sessions.

To find out more about Centre 63, please visit centre63.org.uk.

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