Themes: - consolidation, development, networking, partnership, caring, strengthening, connecting, building a movement
Slide 1
Welcome to the ZWNW AGM 2022 - our first AGM in our own premises.
Slide 2& 3
‘Zero Waste is the conservation of all resources by means of responsible production, consumption, reuse and recovery of products, packaging and materials without burning, and with no discharges to land, water or air that threaten the environment or human health.’
This is the mission we took on when we formed in 2013 to stop the planned building of a waste incinerator at Campsie. Our opposition was based on research about the toxic nano-particles released into the air and earth by incinerators as well as on our commitment to reducing the amount of resources being produced for single-use and then discarded - with disastrous consequences. A recent report commissioned by ZW Europe has also shown that energy from waste is not even a viable sustainable alternative to energy from fossil fuels.
Slides 4 & 5
We have adopted the three principles of the Circular Economy. We are building community and are most definitely (and proudly) part of an anti-growth coalition. Infinite growth with finite resources is not possible.
Slides 6, 7, 8 & 9
We were delighted in the last year to launch the ZW Hub 84 Spencer Rd. Here we are creating the Circular Economy in action with The Use Less Shop, Foyle Fair Trade, the Cloth Nappy Library, Life Cycles, Little Footprints, ZW crafts with a Toy Library launching at the end of the month.
We are part of the new Transform Trade movement and are reaching out to link up with others such as the More and Less refill shop opening in Pliots’ Row during Eu Week for Waste Reduction, the team of people working on reopening Ethical Weigh as a Cooperative, along with farmers and food producers locally and worldwide.
The ZW Hub also hosts Teach the Future workshops and film screenings and has been the launch pad for Repair Café Foyle.
The ZW Hub is a a welcoming place and part of the warm space network. It is a place for people to call in to have a chat, learn about practical sustainable changes we can make in our own lives, find out how to become involved, even get support in developing our own ideas for a CE project. Helen and Maeve didn’t know us or each other this time last year and they are now co-facilitating the Little Footprints weekly ZW peer parenting group, creating a safe, fun space for babies and toddlers and a supportive, empowering space for their parents/carers.
Connection and working in partnership with others forms a strong part of the ZWNW ethos. This year, with funding from two local participatory budgeting processes, we were able to facilitate a very popular ZW Parenting programme in collaboration with Maria from ibreastfeeding and Lihi’s taster workshop for mothers ‘From Surviving to Thriving’. Yasmin is facilitating monthly Nappucino sessions in community groups. The Teach the Future team are working in partnership with local business Eco-Art and Maeve has been facilitating Singing Mamas sessions. The ZW Parenting team have also been extending their work beyond the ZW Hub, linking up with DCSDC, The Playhouse, Women’s Aid, Dress for Success and Ukranian Refugees to host clothes and toy swaps, creating new ways of being and doing as part of a worldwide consciousness and culture shift as part of the worldwide climate movement.
Slide 10
Sometimes partnerships don’t work out. After a lot of discussion, we have this year formally withdrawn from nine years of attempting to work in partnership with Derry City & Strabane District Council as there has been no evidence of action from them on their adoption of a ZW/CE Strategy in 2017 or their commitment in 2020 to becoming a ZW City Region. We continue to be open to
working with council officers and councillors but will no longer be endorsing Council’s work as the local affiliate of ZW Europe. One of the recommendations of the 2017 Strategy was kerbside sorting of recyclables rather than commingling everything in the blue bins. We are supporting the newly launched Keep Recycling Local campaign calling for a 3-stream approach producing highquality materials which can be recycled locally - better for jobs and the environment.
Slide 11
We continue to be active members of ZW Eu and their parent network GAIA. A recent GAIA report places Zero Waste practice firmly as a climate game changer and we are as always inspired by the work of other ZW Communities (this year, in particular, ZW Ukraine). Our member, Tom Craig represented us at the ZW Europe gathering in Brussels this June. A big congratulations to Tom who won Farmer of the Year in the Farming Life Awards 2022 for his continuing work on changing his farming practices in the interests of the environment and sustainability.
Slide 12
Life Cycles has grown from an idea Monica sketched out on a scrap of paper during the first lockdown through working from Monica’s house and Jim’s shed (still there) to becoming an inspiring CE initiative in partnership with Sustrans. The growing team of volunteers rescue bikes from landfill, repair them to an accredited standard, train people in repairing them, train people in cycling skills. Bicycles are collected at Pennyburn Recycling depot, stored at Jim’s place and The Playtrail, repaired at the ZW Hub and now The Transport Hub at the Railway Station and sold from the last two venues plus the Thrift Shop in Northside. Since launching Life Cycles has repaired 300 - 400 bikes and saved 4.2 tonnes from ending up in landfill. Fair play to Monica and the team.
Slide 13
Caroline joined ZWNW in 2021 to set up the Cloth Nappy Library. Now she is working with Marcella and another great team of committed fixers - Repair Café Foyle. They have been working this year in partnership with the Fashion & Textile Design Hub in Shipquay St as part of the growing reuse and repair movement linked in with NIRN. RCF has been moving around community venues to encourage the sharing of local skills and have so far hosted repair cafes in Foyle Food Bank, Creggan Country Park, Eglinton Community Centre and the YMCA with one coming up in November in Rosemount Factory. So far they have prevented 195 kg of waste and 1,698 kg of CO2 emissions over 4 events with 93 hours volunteered across a range of clothes and other textiles, electrics and computers/phones, bikes and recently toys. At the last event RCF linked up with Artitude to facilitate people telling stories about the items they were bringing.
Slide 14
ZWNW are founder members of the Artitude: Climate, Culture and Circularity Partnership along with The Playhouse, NIRN, QUB and DCSDC. It is great that ZWNW member Paula is leading this project as Climate Action Officer for the Playhouse. Over 18 months artists, musicians, writers, film makers, dancers and others from the local cultural community are working with climate activists to engage with communities on climate action culminating in a festival next summer. ZWNW team members have had the opportunity to take part in workshops on systems design plus storytelling for leadership and change giving us the chance to meet up together and with other climate activists to strengthen our connections within a network for change.
Slide 15
The Environmental Gathering started by ZWNW member Mary Mc Guiggan is a subgroup of ZWNW and a whole world of connections in itself, continually working to connect environmental activists, to hold public agencies to account and to ensure open public access to information and decision making. The Gathering arose from conversations about holding those responsible plus the regulators to account for the illegal dumping of waste at Mobouy outside Derry. Finally criminal proceedings are being brought against three waste management company directors with the court case planned for later this month (Nov 7th).
This year, after the spring gathering with its focus on the politics of seeds in the usual venue of SCPH, the summer gathering was held outside Derry for the first time in Rostrevor County Down organised in partnership with FOE NI and EJNI. There were discussions, films, campaign updates, music, poetry, dance and shared food all on the theme of Rights of Nature. The successful Rights
of Nature campaign group are working with the NI Councils who have already adopted the motion to ensure they take action. Last year The Gathering joined with a network of other groups to organise joint action at the time of COP 26. We will be following the discussions at COP 27 in Egypt next week.
Slide 16
It is good to get recognition for our work and this year we came first in the Derry Journal People of the Year Awards in the new Green Champions category.
Slide 17
Managing the range of work being done by the ZWNW team in democratic, non-hierarchical ways requires continuing reflection. In December Brian O Neill Enterprise NW facilitated a conversation in which we agreed that the most important things we need to do in ZWNW are - more team building and conversations, strengthening our wider connections and networking, strengthening our internal comms systems, building our external communications and educating the wider community. At the last committee meeting in Oct it was agreed that the new committee won’t continue to use the monthly meetings for a report back on the work of the sub-groups but instead will be focusing on nurturing the sub-groups and supporting connections. Some of that will be done through maintaining the administration systems (even revolutions need housekeeping). Most of it will be done through paying attention to ‘how’ people are doing and continually improving the communication and decision making processes. We are building a movement from the ground up and its strength and resilience depends on how we look after ourselves and each other. This will be an ongoing conversation for the next year.
Slide 18
You will have noticed our super new logo representing all the different and energetic ways we are coming together to create a circular economy. A big thanks to local designer Mark Willett who joined us to work on a brand for Life Cycles and then became so enthusiastic about our work that he stayed with us.
We have also revamped the ZWNW website - soon to be launched as a vibrant place for sharing info about the ZW mission and the CE imperative. Thank you to Kal Kler from Alley Kat for his work with us on this and to the ZWNW website team who have been sharing the workload in getting the site up and running - Conall, Brad, Marcella, Jim.
Slide 19
Please check out the new website to read about our ZW/CE mission, learn about our CE projects and to update on current events. New volunteers are always welcome. If you don’t have time at present to be a volunteer please consider joining us as a member or making a donation to support our work.
Slide 20
A big thank you to our funders and supporters.
Slide 21
And a big thank you to the amazing team of activists who with such good spirits, energy, warmth and care are co-creating this ZW/CE movement.