Each month at the Gate, we set ourselves a monthly Green Gate Challenge. Green Gate is what we call our sustainability policy and, for the past couple of months, we’ve embarked on monthly challenges.
The challenges are about changing how we think in the long term (and not just for that month), but we’ve found that giving each month a focus helps us keep sustainability and our Green Gate Policy at the forefront of our thinking as an organisation.
This February, we decided to give recycling and re-using our focus.
We picked three things to really think about and they were:
We asked ourselves to take a moment to wash out used coffee cups and lunch packaging to ensure our waste went into the recycling bin, rather than in the general waste bin which ends up on landfill.
Before ordering stuff (personal or otherwise) online, we asked ourselves to check in with a colleague or friend to see if they have the thing we needed.
We made an effort to triple check Gate stock – we specifically took time to check our over-spilling stationary cupboard to avoid buying something we already have.
We also joined our local Notting Hill Gate Library, with our Development Manager Fiona, taking us on trips to sign up.
Here’s how we found it!
“What I’ve found this month is that picking up these habits in the office and making a conscious effort to recycle more has really affected how I think of rubbish at home. Inspired by this month, I’ve had renewed energy for sorting through my big bags, salvaging any scrap of cardboard I could find, and have taken two big bags of clothes, books and kitchen knick knacks to the charity shop. It’s been freeing, getting rid of things I no longer need, in the hope someone else will find them valuable. And it brilliant how quickly being diligent about what’s going into the rubbish bin becomes a habit.”
Daisy
Producer
“I love the local library. I think it’s totally brilliant. It reminds me of childhood trips with my Dad to get copies of books by my favourite authors and hours spent happily snuggled in a corner discovering a secret world. We’re really lucky here at the Gate to have Notting Hill Library just a 2 minute walk from our office – a brilliant local library run by our local council – Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Since joining the Gate, I’ve whiled away many a lunch break browsing cookbooks, fiction and travel literature on their shelves. If you’re only planning on reading that book once why not take a trip to your local library rather than the easy option of ordering off Amazon? It’s better for the planet, more sociable and a better support of national spending!
“I always felt, if I can get to a library, I’ll be OK.” Maya Angelou
Fiona
Development Manager
“Although I might not have been as enthusiastic on certain challenges, I do like challenging myself with the Green Gate challenges every month. This month I surprisingly found myself doing more challenges or adapting bits of this month’s challenge to my situation. Since I already have several books to read at home, I didn’t join the local library. I instead bought a second hand book. I also found myself during my monthly food shopping, buying fair trade products. This was December’s challenge! I also realized that I’m now into the habit of bringing my re-usable bag every time I do my weekly or monthly shopping. This was September’s challenge. So I believe February’s challenges made everything seem as normal behaviour and not just challenges. Hopefully those habits I have picked up will stick and not just disappear once the challenges are over. One thing is sure though, I will definitely keep on questioning how things are done and how they can be more ‘green’.”
Suzy Sancho
Creative Apprentice – Theatre Administrator