Our primary goal is not to benefit our members but the entire community. This is done by investing in long-term schemes that will bring multiple benefits to the community. Perhaps this group will be a model for others across the UK in 2022.
MacRebur, The Plastic Road Company
Toby McCartney worked with landfill pickers in India and saw workers melting plastics to fill potholes in roads. So he decided to bring the idea to the UK. He established MacReburTo collect and mix waste plastics with asphalt to make roads.
The CompaniesMission: To kill two birds with one stone: end the plastic crisis and improve road quality. Each mile is capable of recycling the equivalent of 80,000 bottles or 1.2 Million plastic bags. The carbon emission offset for a one-mile, two-lane road is approximately 33 tonnes.
Gift hampers that have an eco-friendly impact
Social Stories Club has teamed up with The Big Issue to create limited edition gift baskets. This hamper is full of social venture-made treats and would make the perfect gift this holiday season.
Thermify
According to the government, all new gas boilers will be banned by 2035. ThermifySmart technology energy provider that processes computer data for businesses via heat hubs instead of gas boilers
in peoples homes. Instead of computers heating up, heat from data processing could be used to heat your home.
Garry Felgate is the energy lead at the organisation. He says that normal data processing centres spend 30% of their budget cooling down devices and that heat is wasted. We don’t need to [perform cooling]That means that energy costs are very affordable. People who are unable to afford heating can have their heating costs reduced. In 2021 ThermifyPlaced an order for 1,000 heat hubs. The first one will likely be installed in a UK residence in 2022.
Clean river campaigners
Following a long campaign, the UK’s first bathing waters were awarded to River Wharfe at Ilkley, West Yorkshire, in December 2020. Residents have been calling the river Wharfe at Ikley in West Yorkshire “Bathing water” since then. Ilkley Clean River GroupWe campaign to stop the dump of raw sewage in the Wharfe.
They are responsible for preventing storm overflows of sewage in the river, upgrading treatment works, and ensuring that spills don’t leave waste on riverbanks. The groupShe was a prominent voice when the government voted to ban water companies from dumping sewage in rivers under the Environment Bill. MPs voted to reduce the amount sewage being dumped in our rivers in October.
COP26 indigenous groups
For the first-time in history28 indigenous peoples from each UN region participated in COP26 in November as experts under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.
Rodion Sulyandziga is a member the UNFCCCs Local Communities & Indigenous Peoples Platform Facilitative Working Group. He said: This is a strong achievement under the UNFCCC to bring indigenous knowledge and find solutions to climate change.
Philip Waltham
Philip Waltham, a London homeless man in the late 1990s, was struggling with addiction and selling The Big Issue magazine. He now runs Bulk Vintage Wholesale, a sustainable fashion business. Philip claims that the firm is fighting fast fashion and saving 600 tonnes of clothing each year from landfill.
Guy Shrubsole
ShrubsoleAuthor and environmental activist, whose blog Who Owns England?The book was published. Its purpose is to discover who owns the land. Land ownership can often mean wealth, power, and influence. It matters who owns the land, as it has implications for everything. This includes where homes are built and how food is grown, flood protection, wildlife space, and flooding.
Shrubsoles 2nd book will be published October 2022 The The Lost Rainforests in BritainBased on his discovery of rainforest habitats during his move from London to Devon in 2020.
Williams Collins, Publisher: This is the story about a unique habitat which has become so fragmented and degraded that most people don’t know it exists.
Earthwatch/tiny tree planting scheme
Help reduce the effects of climate change, one small forest at a. This is the message of an environmental charity EarthwatchWith its small forest scheme,, it is helping to create thriving and resilient urban areas. Inspired by a 1970s technique developed by Dr Akira Miyawaki in urban forests, the idea brings together volunteers to plant urban forest the size of tennis courts across the UK.
It is not only beneficial for the environment, but it also reconnects locals with nature and raises awareness about climate change. The CharityIt collects social and environmental data on every forest it plants to help it assess their benefits over time. In 2022, expect to see more small forests being planted.
You can also see our other Changemakers for 2022 here.
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