E-A-S-I
Earley Adopt-a-Street Initiative
Spring 2023 Newsletter

Welcome to EASI’s Spring 2023 Newsletter. Well done to all our litter pickers who braved the recent cold weather to help keep Earley’s streets clean throughout the winter. This edition of the EASI Newsletter features recent recycling news from Wokingham Borough Council and provides some useful links to finding advice on recycling specific items.

Membership
EASI membership stands at 315 litter pickers. We would like to increase that number, so if you are aware of any keen litter pickers who would take on local streets please get in touch. EASI Committee member Brenda Hill will be contacting members to see if they are still able to litter-pick their adopted streets, and to ensure that our records are up-to-date. There are currently only 5 streets in Earley needing new volunteer litter-pickers. This is a substantial drop from the 19 reported in October thanks to several existing and new volunteers coming forward; giving us the lowest number of streets without volunteers that we have had for many years. If you are able to take on any of the streets listed below, or to share streets or work as a group, please get in touch.

We have updated the EASI Litter Picking Guide. This will particularly be useful for those who are new to regular litter picking. The updated guide accompanies this Newsletter, along with an EASI Flyer which you can print off and hand to any prospective volunteers that you might meet whilst litter picking.

The Huge Earley Litter Pick (H.E.L.P.) - Sunday 26 March 2023
In conjunction with Earley Town Council and the Earley Environmental Group, EASI will be taking part in this Spring’s Huge Earley Litter Pick (H.E.L.P.) on Sunday 26 March 2023 to coincide with Keep Britain Tidy’s Great British Spring Clean, which runs from 17 March to 2 April.

• The Main Spring Litter Pick Sessions will be meeting at 10am and at 2pm at The Interpretation Centre, Instow Road.
• Additional Sessions will be meeting at 10am at the junction of London Rd/The Drive, at 10am at Chalfont Park car park and at 2pm at Maiden Place Community Centre.

EASI members and non-members are welcome. Equipment and bags will be provided but please bring pickers, gloves and hi-viz if you have them. We will send you a reminder closer to the date. For further details contact Grahame Hawker.

Recycling News from Wokingham BC
A recent Wokingham Borough Council Residents’ Round-up stated that over half of what goes in blue waste bags is recyclable, with food waste being the biggest culprit, followed by paper, cardboard, soft plastic bags and others. It is estimated that correct use of the recycling and food bags could save the Council about £1 million a year. To save costs, from April this year to March 2024, the Council will be reducing the number of blue bags that each household will receive from 80 to 54 in a roll.
WBC says that about one blue bag a week should be plenty if everything that can be recycled is put in the green recycling bags and food waste in the food containers. The Council will not be supplying food caddy liners this year because the cost has risen hugely. You can line your caddy with whatever bags you have at home or buy your own liners or just leave it unlined. If you live in a flat and have a bin store with a wheeled bin for rubbish, you can use any plastic bags because blue bags aren't delivered to these properties. Households will be receiving leaflet from the Council giving information on how to recycle more and waste less.

More Recycling News from Wokingham BC
You can take your unwanted items to re3 household waste recycling centres in Reading and Bracknell, so that they can be re-loved, re-homed and re-used. A wide range of items are accepted, from books, CDs, toys to bikes, sports equipment, stainless steels taps, sinks or basins. Any unwanted reusable items should be dropped off at the Reuse Area at the recycling centres. Donated items are collected by Sue Ryder for sale in their shops, if they meet the minimum criteria set out by the charity. re3 is also working with Precycle, a local recycling company specialises in collecting items that are sold for reuse either in the UK or more usually, abroad. You can find a list of wanted items on the re3 website.

Recycling Running Shoes
You can pop into one of the leisure centres managed by Places Leisure in the borough and drop off your unwanted running shoes in the donation box there. Even if your shoes are no good to be reused – you can still donate them rather than letting them sit in landfill! JogOn distributes them to 11 destinations around the world. For shoes unsuitable to be used again, JogOn will have them shredded and incinerated for energy or used for resurfacing playgrounds. Their mission is to remove one million shoes from landfill.

The EASI Recycling Directory
The EASI Recycling database can be found on the Earley Environment Group Website under ‘Environment’ and ‘Recycling in Earley – an updated guide’. The Main Directory lists items that can be recycled, examples of the item, and where they can be recycled; including the use of the TerraCycle site. The Recycling Points list includes a map of where to find the recycling points.

Still Wanted - Recycling Committee Member
We are looking for an EASI member who is interested in recycling to take on the role of updating EASI’s Newsletter and the EEG Website with information on local recycling schemes.

Contacting EASI
The EASI Committee Members are Chris Bassett, Tracy Collins, Bob Collis, Brian Hackett, Grahame Hawker, Brenda Hill, Stephen Kerry and Richard Tredgett. Contact us on EASI’s Email address, or visit the EASI Facebook Page ‘EASI Litter Pickers – Earley’. Information about waste recycling and reporting substantial amounts of dumped rubbish or fly-tipping can be found on Wokingham Borough Council websites, as follows:

• general information about rubbish and recycling at https://www.wokingham.gov.uk/rubbish-and-recycling/
• rubbish and fly-tipping clearance at https://www.wokingham.gov.uk/roadworks-and-outdoor-maintenance/fly-tipping/
• ‘Fix-My-Street’ which can be used to report excessive litter, fly-tipping, etc.

You can download a version of this Newsletter

EASI Newsletter No. 12, Editor: Bob Collis 11/2/23