Charlbury Area Waste Action Group

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About CAWAG

Last updated 27 April 2010

The Charlbury Area Waste Action Group (CAWAG) is a voluntary group established in 1997 which has worked closely with both West Oxfordshire District Council and Oxfordshire County Council to help Charlbury "Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle" to reduce its impact on the environment, to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill and increase the recycling facilities via the black boxes, the green waste scheme and the recycling bins at the Spendlove carpark. Our CO2 What Can I Do? page lists over 100 easy ways to reduce your carbon footprint. We are part of the Community Action Group Project - read their latest newsletter. New volunteers are always welcome - if you'd like to get involved in slowing the rubbish flow and reducing the impact on the environment, please email info@cwag.org.uk.

In May 2008 we produced a Quick Guide to "Reduce, Reuse & Recyle" for Charlbury which was distributed to every household with the Charlbury Chronicle, with the aim of reducing the amount of rubbish going to landfill. This leaflet summarised and updated the key parts of the printed A-Z Directory which was put together jointly by CAWAG and the Finstock Recycling Group in 2004, and the earlier A-Z Directory produced by CAWAG in 2002. The more detailed A-Z is now available on-line  on this website and is constantly updated.

We also provide information displays at the annual Wychwood Fair, Charlbury Street Fair, and Charlbury Riverside Festival and the quarterly Charlbury Farmers' Markets. Periodically we organise public talks on waste and recycling.

REDUCE

To reduce energy use, reduce carbon-dioxide emissions and reduce the number of broken lightbulbs to be disposed of, we loan out a Low-energy Lightbulb Library containing about 70 different varieties of bulb to help people find the right bulb for their individual light fittings. The library also includes a wattage and current meter to check the electricity being consumed by appliances when working or on standby. Phone Louise Spicer on 01608-810745 to arrange to borrow the library, full details are included about where to buy the bulbs.

In March 2008 we produced a jute shopping bag with the faces of 60 Charlbury children being sold by Charlbury Primary School to raise funds for their Eco Project and to reduce the use of plastic bags. The jute bag project was funded by Resource Futures who fund Community Action Groups. We also ran an incentive scheme to use these bags during the summer of 2008. Shoppers using the jute bag received a 5p voucher when they spent more than £4 in one of the local shops, then they redeemed the voucher for cash (or donated it to the School's Eco Project) at the CAWAG stall at the Street Fair on 20 September 2008. The vouchers were also entered into a free prize draw for prizes donated by the local shops.

  Now . . . and the Future?

In June 2008, we launched Charlbury Sharecroppers to help put people in touch with each other so that locally grown food does not go to waste and so that as many local people as possible can be involved with growing, picking and eating fresh, healthy food. This will reduce food miles, reduce packaging and reduce food ending up in landfill.

RE-USE

We organise a Bookshare Library of environmental books and DVDs - books need to be read to share ideas rather than gather dust on shelves.  The Library is available at the quarterly Farmers' Market, Sustainable Charlbury events, and the annual Wychwood Fair. Books can also be borrowed at any time via the website.

We organise Bring and Takes (swap shops) at the Memorial Hall every six months in March and October, no money changes hands - you just bring what you don't want and take what you fancy! Bring stuff along from 9.30 until 11am and take  away from 10am until 12 noon. In December, bring your old Christmas decorations along to our stall at the Farmers' Market, you might be fed up with them but someone else is bound to love them and be delighted to take them away and start a whole new set of memories.

Frock Swaps were held in May and September 2009 at The Bell. The first raised money for a Romanian charity, the second for the Charlbury Community Centre Appeal.

Christmas Decorations Bring & Take at the Farmers' Market just before Christmas in December from 9am-1pm.

Bring tools along for sharpening to the Green Waste collections in May, June and July at the Spendlove (10am until 12noon). Don't throw out and buy new.

Charity Shops & Gift Aid In April 2009 Oxfam launched their new Tag your Bag scheme to reclaim tax on donated goods at shops. You sign up for Gift Aid and the charity tracks  your donated items and reclaims the income tax on the resulting sale - this is a marvellous money earner for the charity and is no bother to you.

RECYCLE

Remember - there are two sides to recycling, the obvious one is recycling your waste materials but equally important is to buy products made from recycled materials. It is not the recycling of your paper that saves trees, it is the purchasing of paper products made from recycled fibres. It is sometimes more expensive to buy recycled products but when you look at the cradle to grave cost to the environment it will always be a lot cheaper.

Since 1 February 2010, the Co-op has started collecting dead batteries for recycling - they now have a box on their counter. Until now, only 3% batteries have been recycled nationally and the government hopes this to increase dramatically now that shops selling batteries are responsible for recycling them. Many thanks to everyone who used our CAWAG battery boxes at the Post Office, the Corner House and the School. Since November 2007, we have disposed of about 10,000 batteries for recycling.

FREE Green Waste collections at the Spendlove on the first Saturday of EVERY month from 10am until 12 noon (prior to 2007, these collections were every other month).

From 2009, Yellow Pages telephone directories CAN be put in the black recycling boxes, previously they used to be collected in a special bin at the Spendlove.

From the beginning of 2008 we also provide a collection bag for Tetra Paks at the Spendlove from 10am until 12 noon on the first Saturday of each month to coincide with the green waste collection. We take the Tetra Paks to Dean Community Recycling Centre for disposal. Tetra Paks are a composite cardboard and plastic material and should not be put in the black boxes. The number of Tetra Paks brought along each month steadily increases - by December 2009, nearly 10,000 Tetra paks had been collected.

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