Recycle Week round up & Cybermummy!

Blimmin' 'eck, I've hardly had chance to stop for a cup of tea since Recycle Week began last week. I've been too busy hanging around with 'Shedwyn' our mascot for the Stand up for Recycling out on the Street Campaign and 1000 bin challenge, which I launched in conjunction with My Zero Waste only last Monday.

For those who are new to the challenge, the mission is to collect 1000 photos and videos of on-street recycling bins, the aim of which is to raise awareness of "recycling-on-the-go" facilities.  It's a totally independent social-media campaign, which although supported by WRAP's Recycle Now team, is simply a bloggers' grassroots initiative to inject some fun into the subject of recycling.

But crikey, what an amazing week it's been, with photos coming into our Facebook page  from as far as Greece and Shedwyn impersonators coming out of the woodwork from all sorts of unexpected corners.

It started with a gaggle of Shedwyn imposters popping up at a recycling bin in Bury St Edmunds ready for Monday's launch.

I don't think it was that difficult for folk to spot the real Shedwyn from the line up of imposters that included a very busy mum, a local soap maker, a borough councillor, a wildlife volunteer and a children's clothes shop owner.  To see who the Real Shedwyn is, you'll find there's a huge clue on the new website, which was also launched on Monday.

Monday was brilliant. Not only did the Facebook page reach over 100 followers, but photos started to come in too.  What really made it though was the announcement by Suffolk's comedy club "the Chortle Factory" on BBC Radio Suffolk that they were getting behind the campaign and planning all sorts of frivolity for pop up entertainment at local recycling bins as well as comedy litter picks.

Next, came confirmation from a whole range of performers including Abi Roberts, Doug Segal and Checkley Bush, as well as Crouch End's new comedy club Boom-Tish!, that they would all be doing something over the summer at an adopted recycling bin.

But it's not just comedians, singers and entertainers who are getting involved.  News in at the end of last week was that talented artist Penny Lindop would be getting her sketchpad out at a recycling bin and submitting her entry of support too.

And throughout the week, Shedwyn popped up in all sorts of places, including:

A random waterside recycling bin in Ely (and it is random, especially as it is the only one):

An eco-club visit to Abbots Green Community Primary School in Suffolk

On a train to London

And of course the Cybermummy conference in London, where she mingled with some fabulous bloggers, including the gorgeous Clare from The Babbling Mummy.

and the amazing Melinda from Her Melness Speaks....Out!

And look who else she bumped into...

...none other than Michael Douglas, the One Show's very own Street Barber...who just wanted to get on record that he's not actually responsible for Shedwyn's barnet, but he did let on that he's got up to some recycling shenanigans of his own in recent years.  Shedwyn's on a promise to get a link to one of his videos for the 1000 bins campaign and I can tell you now, she's very excited at that news indeed.  Look at her.  Bless her. She just can't contain herself!


Then it was down to business and the hunt for recycling bins at Cybermummy's conference venue (The Brewery in London), which was kindly modelled by the most wonderful Surprised Zoe.  Of course, she's not always surprised,. but that's how I've come to know her.

And last but not least, the event just wouldn't have been the same without a truckload of Shedwyn imposters popping up at the after-show party.  And here's a fabulous line-up of the suspicious characters, but I'm not going to reveal who they are.  That would spoil the fun!  I'm going to leave it to my blogging pals to guess and see if they can spot themselves too.

So...Cybermummy Shedwyns....here's over to you........a dozen imposters to make your minds boggle.

  1. I think this Cybermummy Shedwyn was startled by the flash

2. And this Cybermummy let her hair down in style

 3. This Shedwyn imposter just knows the glass of wine will give her away.

 

4. This CyberShedwyn hangs around more bins than she might reveal.

 5. This Shedwyn is dreaming of her next blogpost.

  6. While this Shedwyn imposter doesn't blog at all. Could she be an imposter in more ways than one?

  7. This disguise is good baby!

 8.A bearded Shedwyn. Whatever next!

  9.  Yeah baby. Work it Shedywn number 9!

10. And check out this rock chick!

11. Glam rocks! But there was no funny business in this Shedwyn's powder room.

12. And this Shedwyn is so hot, she's simply "smokin'"

It was a great day hanging out with so many Shedwyns at the Cybermummy party and my only regret was that I had to leave early to catch the train home.  However, I did catch a few extra Recycle Week snaps to add to the 1000 bins Facebook page.

And yesterday, a fitting end to Recycle Week, The Rubbish Diet got a mention in  The Independent on Sunday's Cybermummy feature.  I caught up with the article whilst on a family excursion to Southwold.  I did notice that I'd been re-christened as Kate.

Oh well, I'm sure there's a touch of royalty in the sentiment and Kate is rather fashionable, just like "recycling-on-the-go"

So I kept the feature and when the rest of the newspaper was finished, I popped it into the "newish" recycling bin on The Green

A fitting end to a fun-packed Recycle Week. 

For more information about what else I got up to at this year's Cybermummy, check out my post over on my other blog...Anything but rubbish.  It's the place where I ramble about things away from the bin.

Although Recycle Week is over, this is only the very beginning for the 1000 bins challenge, which runs right up to the end of Zero Waste Week on the 11 September.  It would be great if you could join in and encourage your friends to submit photos as well as entertaining videos.  There will even be a competition too, details of which will be announced at www.myzerowaste.com at the end of July.

For details of how you can participate, please vist www.1000bins.com.

In the meantime, I am sure the CyberShedwyns (who were such great sports) will reveal themselves very soon.

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