About thisisrubbish.org.uk

Posts by :

Here is the FEAST evaluation report and video. Made over the dark winter months, involving direct consultation with our audiences and partners, we hope that these resources help tell the story of what we were up to over 2011. Download the TiR FEAST Evaluation report pdf here.

More

This is Rubbish at the Oxfam GROW tent, Festival of Nature, Bristol

0

This is Rubbish gathered their tablecloths, wicker baskets, framed photos of FEAST and a few other trinkets integral to the food waste campaign, and became part of the wonderful Oxfam GROW campaign tent at 2012’s Festival of Nature. Held on the Waterfront, adjacent to the tidal ebbs of the port water, the festival was a pituresque meeting place for all people interested in celebrating and stewarding the natural world. This is Rubbish was celebrating the 2011 Feast tour, talking to the public about our two key aims, and shairng information on their newest project; Industry Food Waste Audit project, funded by Esmee Fairbairn. Rubbisheers were also signing people up to the mailing list, to ensure that all interested could stay up to date with our news and projects. If you would like to sign up to our mailing list, click here. This is Rubbish are still open to giving talks / holding stalls. However we are currently unfunded, so travel expenses will need to be covered.

Fabian Society Report Launch

0

On the 16th May the Fabian Society launched a report, Waste Not Want Not

Rachel from This is Rubbish attended the launch at the House of Lords, which brought together politicians, industry representatives, activists and campaigners to discuss the findings of the report and to try and find positive actions for movement forward.

The two more interesting findings of the repots were that individuals are just as likely to respond to environmental reasons for changing habits as economic ones, and that industry should be transparent and open about public leading the way in food waste reduction.

Discussion in the room was varied and fast moving, with little time to get into the nitty gritty on anything in particular. There was as always a disproportionate focus on consumer waste, and although there was some gentle support for TiR’s proposal of mandatory food waste auditing in industry very little focus was given to market regulation of any kind.

An interesting event worth attending, and the report is a good quick read, so have a gander.

 

A lesson in Applied Theatre

, , , 0

In February Rachel of the This is Rubbish team was invited to give a presentation and workshop to a group of undergraduate applied theatre studies students at Aberystwyth University. Some of the participatory methods of engagement that This is Rubbish uses are synonymous with applied theatre, especially pop up, public FEASTING.

After a brief TiR history and a run through of relevant events the group of 26 students was split into three and given the task of designing a Feast. Each group was asked to concentrate on 6 key areas, being as creative, inventive and ambitious as possible. These areas were: Food sourcing, Location, Logistics, Messaging, Theatrics, and Equipment.

The workshop resulted in the germination of plans for a medieval banquet to celebrate local food and educate on the plethora of fantastic welsh ingredients we have growing and grazing around the area. Group two plotted a 50’s barn dance to bring together the youth and the elderly. And the third, ‘Celebrate the shape’ a waste space picnic, drawing our attention to all the wildly wonky and weirdly wasteful from a whole plethora of industries.

All in all a really fun and educational afternoon for all, with the students really absorbing how theatre and participatory event design can be used to educated and inspire action on complex and difficult issues…. and I got to go home knowing that apparently what we do is called ‘Applied Theatre’. Who knew?

Calling for your Food Issue Film Shorts

0

TiR are calling for your Food Issue Films to show as part of This is Rubbish’s Forum and Feast on November 5th at the Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT).

This is Rubbish are looking for suggestions of short films / animations that explore food waste issues such as:

  1. the global issue; food supply chains / industrial agriculture…
  2. the environmental issue; resource use / GHG impact…
  3. the social issue; food equity / UK food banks / food poverty / lack of connection with our food…
  4. alternatives and solutions; success stories / case studies / celebrating wonky vegetables / co-operative growing schemes…. More

Why do we throw away over half of what we grow -before we even have a chance to buy it?

, 0

Here’s a disturbing statistic: UK households waste a third of all the food they buy. Or how about this: every year we produce 5.3 million tonnes of avoidable food waste.

This picture – in which we waste £12 billion each year – is a particularly concerning one in the current age of austerity and deepening environmental concern.

Thankfully, there’s inspiring work being done by the like of Fare Share, FoodCycle, and Food Not Bombs. These three groups share a common ethos: that food headed toward landfill can be put to good use, feeding those in need, providing opportunities for volunteer cooks to build skills, and to engender community spirit.

Yet, while it’s heartening to think that we’re combating the issue of food waste by redistributing what’s left unwanted, it’s worth considering that what can be found out the back of a supermarket isn’t representative of the large-scale losses the workings of the food industry cause. More

Load More