Hubbub’s Post

Crying over spilt milk? No, we’re celebrating over a virtual pint of milk! We’ve partnered with Modern Milkman, who – as well as offering sustainably packaged, plastic-free groceries – are supporting our Community Fridge Network to share food amongst communities and save food waste. For the month of August, every time you successfully refer a friend, The Modern Milkman will donate £5 to Hubbub. And for the rest of this year, you can ‘buy’ a virtual pint of milk with your regular order, and 95% of the cost will be donated to the Community Fridge Network. Wondering what a Community Fridge is? They’re spaces that bring people together to share food, save it from going to waste, connect and learn new skills. In partnership with the Co-op the Community Fridge Network has grown to over 650 fridges across the UK and last year they shared around 18 million meals' worth of food to over 600,000 visitors! We think that’s worth raising a glass for! 🥛 Find out more or pick up a virtual pint here: https://lnkd.in/dz23p8Ub

Six reasons Paris might be the ‘most sustainable Olympics yet’ 🤾🏽♂️🌍   Their aim was to cut carbon emissions by half compared to the London and Rio Olympics. Swipe to see how they’re doing it ➡️   It’s clear Paris has made enormous progress on sustainability - but is it enough?   With an estimated 80% of sporting events emissions coming from attendees flying in, there’s a huge environmental impact before the games even begin. We’ve not spotted any messaging around overland travel, for example, despite there being obvious potential for those travelling from within Europe to skip the flights. Take the BBC sports team, who cycled their way from Manchester to Paris to highlight sustainable travel, meeting different British athletes along their way!     We're curious about how sport can be a kick-starter for climate action – from getting football fans making tactical subs to more plant-based meals with #ManchesterIsGreen, to nudging fans to vote on sport related questions using their cigarette butts with the ‘Ballot Bin’. From harnessing the sense of community, the competitive spirit and the outdoor environment through to being influenced by our favourite athletes, we know sports can be a perfect starting point for creating change. Have any ideas on this? We'd love to hear them.    #Olympics #Sustainability    

Let’s play word association! If we say ‘compostable’, you’d think of...?    Soil, worms... your food waste bin? Ideally there’d be a universal symbol for recognising compostable packaging – like the green recycling arrow - but there’s no standardised disposal labelling yet.     As part of a two-year Compostable Coalition UK project with The University of Sheffield, we developed and tested two labels, aligned with OPRL Limited guidance, to help people identify and dispose of compostables.    Our favourite label design was the wiggly worm, but feedback from user testing was mixed, with people calling it a ‘moustache’ and even a ‘disgusting snake-looking worm’. 😢    We landed on two designs that:  - Included a unique symbol and clear disposal instruction. We tested a plant-pot-meets-cup design in three office canteens, before simplifying it to a big bold C in a second trial with 120 households  - Were colour-coded to match the bin or bin signage, to make the behaviour of identifying and disposing of the packaging more automatic. See pink? Think compostable.   - Included 'Do Not Recycle' to align with proposed UK legislation for compostable packaging.    The labels were tested along with other interventions, which saw 2.4 times more compostable packaging in the right bin in the offices trial and 1.8 times more in the households trial.      Agree there should be a standardised disposal label for compostable packaging? Let us know your thoughts in the comments. Want to dig further into the project? Read the full report here: https://lnkd.in/erk9Nq7e   #CompostablePackaging #WasteReduction 

When community called, this phone answered. (And, technically, so did 19,999 others... but let’s focus on this one for now).  In today’s world, access to the internet means access to medical services, educational resources, finances, socialising, entertainment, and pretty much everything you need to get by day to day. You’re probably reading this on a phone right now, huh?  Our Community Calling campaign has now rehomed an incredible 20,000 secondhand smartphones and counting, to get people who need them digitally connected, including: ☎️ Refugees and asylum seekers  ☎️ Victims of domestic violence   ☎️ People facing homelessness   ☎️ Elderly citizens And every phone is life changing for the person who receives it! From calling loved ones, to applying for jobs, booking a doctors appointment to being able to listen to music , and so many other benefits each day.  Not to mention all the very valuable metals and resources that are saved from landfill by reusing all this tech! So in hindsight, it’s kind of unfair to award #EmployeeOfTheMonth to this rehomed phone over any other - but we don’t have 20,000 months in a year... so, you get the idea. 😇 If your business has old phones that could help do more of this, get in touch at communitycalling@hubbub.org.uk.

A hot take on compostable packaging🔥: Is it really a win for convenience and the environment?🌍🥤 This one’s been 2 years in the making...      We’ve been busy running three trials to explore how well people can identify and correctly dispose of compostable packaging, working with psychologists from The University of Sheffield as part of the UK Research and Innovation-funded Compostable Coalition UK project.    Are you using, producing or just curious about compostable packaging? Swipe through our top 3 key recommendations and considerations below.     So, should compostable packaging be used at all? It’s not the quick fix it’s often treated as. Without widespread access to industrial composting, or clear evidence it will have a lower environmental impact, less packaging or reusable options could be much more effective at reducing waste instead.    For all the ins and outs of the three trials and our stance on compostable packaging, dig into the full report, Unearthed, here:  https://lnkd.in/erk9Nq7e    And sign up to hear more in our webinar at 2pm this Thursday (link in comments).    Know someone who knows someone interested in compostables or reducing single-use packaging? Give them a tag ⬇️    #CompostablePackaging #WasteReduction 

Ever seen a shark celebrate a recycling bin? 🦈♻️ Happy Monday. ‘Top bins’, ‘Tens all round’, ‘Bins never looked so glam’ Ahem! Those are some direct quotes from our team call this morning looking at our new #InTheLoop recycling bins in Blackpool and Haringey. And we weren’t the only ones celebrating! Club legend Ledley King ⚽️ came down to show support for Haringey In The Loop’s 18 new recycling bins introduced along Tottenham High Road. It’s been great to work with Haringey Council, Veolia, Transport for London and Tottenham Hotspur Football Club In Blackpool, SEA LIFE Aquariums’s mascot Sharkey 🦈 and Strictly Star Jowita Pryztal 💃🏻were there to see the new bins make a splash along the promenade, famous for its iconic Tower, Comedy Carpet and three piers. Thanks to the team at Enveco Blackpool, Blackpool Council, BLACKPOOL TOURISM BID, and Beach Patrol. These bins will make it easier for locals and visitors to recycle plastic bottles and cans on-the-go. Collaborating is key for scaling successful projects and since our first recycling on-the-go campaign in 2018 we’ve worked with countless local groups and businesses to bring the campaigns to life. We’re grateful for the funding from the Natural Source Waters Association so we can continue to expand our recycling on-the-go work. We’re at 18 locations now - if you’d like to help us reach 20, let us know! You can find out more about #InTheLoop at www.intheloop.org.uk   

You (and your laptop) overheating in the office this week? 🥵 Turns out nature gave us a natural air con! Have you figured out how to turn it on?  The world is getting seriously hot. In fact, every month since June 2023 until now has seen the warmest global average on record for that month (NASA, 2024)   Stats making you sweat? Enter nature’s air con - trees. They’re a powerful, affordable, simple, long-term way to help manage extreme weather like heatwaves (and inequalities that come with them).    How?   🌳 They take in and store carbon dioxide  🌳 They provide all important shade  🌳 They can even evaporate water from their leaves to cool the air According to Trees for Cities, trees properly planted around buildings can reduce air conditioning needs by 30%. And they’re not just helpful for heatwaves. Their roots can hold huge amounts of water, which helps reduce flooding risks too. So green spaces (especially in urban locations surrounded by heat-binding glass and concrete!) can help keep everyone cool. For the last few years we’ve been co-creating and funding functional, community-led green spaces across the UK. These spaces offer direct benefits to people who use them, and some ~cool~ indirect benefits to everyone nearby, even if they don't visit 🧊. We have exciting news coming soon about even more green space projects, so sign up for our business newsletter to get the latest updates straight from our CEO, Alex Robinson: https://lnkd.in/eswFvz8W

One week to go until Unearthed, our webinar digging into compostable packaging and consumer behaviour!    Think compostable packaging offers all the convenience of conventional single-use with less environmental impact? There’s a bit more to the story...     Join us on 25th July at 2pm, where Rosie Sharp, Hubbub, and Dr Nicola Buckland, The University of Sheffield, will be sharing insights from three trials, exploring how well people can identify and correctly dispose of compostable packaging at home, in the workplace, and in a retailer take-back scheme.    We’ll be discussing improvements for packaging and disposal, plus our recommendations on when compostable packaging should, or shouldn’t, be used.    Find out more and sign up here: https://lnkd.in/eXNJx9jT    #CompostablePackaging #WasteReduction #Webinar #SingleUsePlastic