Category: Events

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ADE #PLASTICFREEPARTY

Last week it was Amsterdam Dance Event (ADE), a huge gathering for electronic music and its industry. With 450.000 visitors spread over 1.000 events at 200 locations, Amsterdam turned into a crazy place for five days and nights. One event was titled ADE #PlasticFreeParty. According to the organizers “the evening will be boasting a Green Innovators Showcase where the most ground-breaking plastic-alternative companies will demonstrate what the future of a #PlasticFreeParty can look like.” This sounded like the ideal opportunity for us to meet like-minded people. But was it?

Event poster #PLASTICFREEPARTY

DRINKS SOLD IN CANS

As Refill Ambassadors, we expected a genius tap system crowded with visitors refilling their cups. This wasn’t the case. There was a small dance floor. At the bar most drinks were sold in cans, including sparkling and still water. Okey it’s not plastic, but not very sustainable either, as it requires unnecessary production processes and transport. Wine was served in real wine glasses. For those who wished a water refill, the toilets were the place to go. A bit disappointing.

GOOD MUSIC, BUT WHAT ABOUT THE THEME?

The second room was the so called Green Innovators Showcase. There was one table with bowls and ashtrays by PuriFungi. Interesting stuff, as they are produced with cigarette butts and mycelium. From waste to products!

Ashtrays made from cigarette butts and mycelium. Source: PuriFungi

But apart from the fungi-table, 3 signposts and a screen with a QR code, we could not discover anything else that contributed to the #PlasticFreeParty theme. Other visitors did not seem to care. They told us to haven chosen this party because it was cheap, or because tickets were still available, unlike most other ADE events. Nevertheless, we had a nice evening with good music. We do hope the next year’s edition will have more innovations on showcase and a real #plasticfreeparty vibe.

party vibe

MORE OPPORTUNITIES FOR A PLASTICFREE PARTY

What kind of products or services would you like to have at a #PlasticFreeParty? Please leave your comments below.

Like the topic? Read our blog: ‘ Refilling and recycling at festivals’.

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PLOGGING: RUNNING & STRETCHING FOR A CAUSE

I have a new hobby: plogging. This means running while picking up litter. The word plogging is derived from ‘placka’ (to pick in Swedish) and jogging. We all want clean parks, streets and forests. What if we collect not just our own trash, but also our neighbours’? Be prepared, plogging is addictive! 

Plogging

In a few months I hope to run my first marathon. Therefore I try to run three times a week. To make it more challenging I started to pick up trash along the way. It felt a bit weird in the beginning, but now it’s part of the drill. Tiny plastic candy wraps, cans, cigarette boxes and of course many empty plastic bottles. I invite you all to give it a try. Running for a cause while sweating a bit more! When I don’t feel like running (quite often!) I walk while picking up trash. So for those who are not into running, try trashwalking instead. Tip: bring your own bin bag in areas with fewer trash cans.

GLOBAL CLEANUP INITIATIVES

Do you want to participate in a group? Try one of these initiatives:

  • World Cleanup Day – coming up on Saturday September 19, 2020 (worldwide event). Its goal is to raise awareness of the global waste problem and help in finding sustainable solutions to the global trash problem. 
  • Trashpackers brings tourists in touch with local communities to gather litter. Last year, 10.924 people joined the challenge. Anyone can create a new Trashpacker Event. 
  • Many countries organise their own beach cleanup tours, although some events are cancelled this year because of Covid-19. 

Both World Cleanup Day and Trashpackers aim to better understand the scale of the global waste problem by visualising the data collected. So when you join, please help the organisation by using their app to register the collected waste.

JOIN US ON WORLD CLEANUP DAY

Do you want to join the Refill Ambassador cleaning team in Amsterdam on World Cleanup Day? When: Saturday, September 19, 2020. Please send us a message.

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COMING UP: NATIONAL REFILL DAY

On June 19th the second edition of National Refill Day will take place. The awareness campaign was invented by not for profit organisation City to Sea to encourage people to carry a reusable water bottle and refill on the go.

National Refill Day in the Netherlands

Refill Ambassadors will be joining National Refill Day and spread the #Refillution in the Netherlands. On June 19th free refills will be provided in Amsterdam, and everyone will be invited to share their refill experiences with us. To get involved in the chat around this day online use the hashtag #NationalRefillDay #PlasticFree #Refillution. More information is coming soon!

Plastic bottles consumption in the Netherlands

According to the Rijksoverheid, 1.4 billion plastic bottles are being used annually in the Netherlands, equivalent to more than 80 plastic bottles per person per year. Help! 750.000.000 of these bottles are small plastic bottles. There is no deposit on small plastic bottles.

Image on top: Refill.org.uk

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ZERO WASTE EVENT

Refill Ambassadors will be one of the speakers at the Zero Waste event on April 13th at The Green House, Utrecht. The day starts with a delicious vegetable breakfast from chef Peter Scholte, followed by an interactive program full of inspiring speakers and workshops on the theme “Zero Waste” organized by Plastic Diet and The Zero Waste Project.

PROGRAMME ZERO WASTE EVENT, APRIL 13TH

10:00 am Walk-in with a vegetable breakfast from chef Peter Scholte
11:00 am Interactive program with various speakers and workshops
14:00 pm End of program

The event will be in Dutch

Curious? Contact us for more details about the program or follow the event on facebook.

Price: € 19.50 including service costs, vegetable breakfast, coffee and tea, tour of The Green House and extensive program with inspiring speakers and workshops.

Registration: Due to the great success of last year and the limited number of places, advance registration is required. You can buy your tickets here.

ABOUT THE GREEN HOUSE

The Green House is a restaurant, urban farm, green hub and terrace. From April 8 to 13, The Green House celebrates its first year anniversary and this is celebrated with all kinds of activities around sustainability and circularity. The Zero Waste event will be the week’s final activity.

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REFILL AMBASSADORS X WORLD CLEANUP DAY

World Cleanup Day is coming… In exactly one month, millions of volunteers will come together to clean up litter and waste from cities, beaches, rivers and  forests.

STARTING BOTTOM-UP

The idea for World Cleanup Day started ten years ago in Estonia, when thousands of people cleaned the entire country of illegally dumped waste within in a few hours. Other countries got inspired to start a similar ‘one country, one day’ formula. The movement has grown and nowadays unites people from all over the planet. Besides the cleaning of trash, awareness is raised on the problem.

World Cleanup Day Movement is a big network of local cleanup teams. Within the Netherlands, the movement is led by the Plastic Soup Foundation and Nudge.

WHY IS THIS AN IMPORTANT DAY?

No one likes trash such as plastic packaging scattered on the streets or in nature. This alone would be enough reason to clean, but let’s take a look at the bigger problem. In nature, water bottles can survive up to 450 years. When not disposed properly, large particles fragment into microplastics (<5mm), causing serious harm to marine environments. Currently 95% of plastic packaging worldwide is lost (burned or dumped) after single use. Plastics in the oceans are expected to treble in the next 10 years. So we’d better pick it from the land before it reaches our rivers and seas.

JOIN

Refill Ambassadors will take part in this initiative. Want to join our cleaning team in Amsterdam on September 15th? Send us a message. It will be fun!

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