February’s Waste Thoughts – 2026

Our next Zoom meeting is on Tuesday 10th March 7pm – Please contact simongibbon@casav.uk for further details.

Full notes below, after a quick summary – follow links for the detail:

  • Waste
    • Waste doesn’t cover what we do, so very interested in people’s thoughts on a more appropriate name
    • A school has solved its waste food problem by making compost which has restarted their allotments too
    • Are soldier flies the way to turn waste into protein for animals?
  • Clothes
    • The second Clothes Swap at Stokesley School saw over 230 items swapped
  • Energy:
  • Reduce / Reuse / Recycle / Circularity:
    • After no buy January, you can keep reducing waste by doing Frugal February
    • January’s Repair Cafe saw over 75 items and gone loads of surplus fabric and wool into people’s hand to make new things
    • Lots of way to reuse old CDs and DVDs
  • Food

Actions

  • Simon will summarise the options (favouring “Rethinking Resources”) in an email and potentially poll the Facebook group before a final decision is made.

Background – Our Monthly Waste Discussions

If you have just signed up to the Waste Group or stumbled across this page, then welcome, I hope these notes of our discussion make sense.

We meet once a month to talk about topics connected to waste and plan / report progress on our ongoing activities such as the Repair Cafes, Foodshare, Refill scheme and events such as the Bilsdale Show.  If you visit the “Thoughts on Waste” page on the CASaV website you can find all our past discussions – https://climateactionstokesleyandvillages.org/waste/thoughts-on-waste/

Please get in touch if you have any questions.

Notes form 10th February 2026 CASaV Waste Meeting

The meeting discussion ranged from the making Christmas more sustainable with jumpers, decorations and toy to blankets for the homeless and fragile newborns, with one thing in common, to do more with less damage to our planet.

Previous Actions

Michelle – share leaflet of recycling lists

Updates

  • Anne
    • TV Recommendation: Channel 4 program featuring Guy Martin, who retrofitted a terraced house to be a “passive house” without bills (PassivHaus Benefits). While educational regarding heat pumps and insulation, it was noted that the renovations cost a fortune.
  • David (North Yorkshire Council/Planning):
    • Anaerobic Digester: The planning committee approved a large anaerobic digester at Skipton airfield to convert farm waste into biomethane for the gas pipeline (BBC, NYC Planning Report).
    • Drax Power Station: David visited Drax. He noted the complexity of importing wood pellets from North America versus the benefit of not using UK land for fuel crops.
    • Solar Farms: A consultation is underway for a massive 2,500-acre solar farm in Selby. The group expressed frustration that agricultural land is being targeted without commercial roofs and car parks being utilised for solar panels. This is a choice in the UK, as previously planning in many areas made installation of solar panels on building difficult in many areas, lack of investment by grid operators also stops installation in many areas, while solar farms on agricultural land seem crazy, in fact across the whole country very little land is taken up by solar farms, compared to golf courses and crops for any food purposes.
    • Black Soldier Flies: David shared insights from a farming conference about using black soldier flies to consume waste and produce protein. While it can seem that soy production for animal food is unsustainable, while protein produced from animal waste will reduce the need for soy it can never replace it, and fundamentally human food produced from animals will always have a far larger requirement for land, than crops that humans eat. He suggested inviting an expert on this topic to speak to the group or listen to a podcast.
    • Food Waste Collection: It was noted that North Yorkshire may begin collecting food waste sooner than the 2043 derogation deadline, possibly influenced by neighboring councils in the Tees Valley Combined Authority starting their collections in 2026.
    • Hare Coarsing: Following a report of dead hares found locally, David confirmed that hare coursing is currently an “epidemic” involving rural crime gangs, and police resources are stretched.
    • Hedge Planting: Confirmed hedge planting will take place at Grange Farm, Kirby in Cleveland, on February 28th. Approximately 1,800 plants need to go in, and volunteers are welcome.
  • Joy:
    • Raised a query about recycling old DVDs, as charity shops are refusing them. Kate suggested repurposing them for crafts or Wendy has been repurposing as bird scarers, though acknowledged most will ultimately end up in landfill.
    • Kate has been upcycling CDs and DVDs at her upcycling workshops, mainly as decorations, but there lots of other ways even as solar powered ovens – https://www.instructables.com/Compact-Discs-CDs/
  • Pete:
    • Shared a humorous story about rewilding his garden, noting that it requires an “education” in aesthetics to appreciate dead stems and natural growth rather than a manicured look.
  • Wendy:
    • Composting: The Centre for Alternative Technologies’ Clean Slate Magazine had an article about a school successfully linking canteen food waste to composting and allotment growing. You can read the story here – https://cat.org.uk/join-donate/clean-slate/
    • Energy Saving: having been told that the only thing that could be done to improve the energy certificate rating for the house, so knitting a jacket for her hot water cylinder from surplus wool that is too thick for anything else.
  • Kate:

Discussion on the Name of the Group

Current Issues: The group feels the word “Waste” is negative, and “Zero Waste” invites cynicism as it is impossible to achieve.

Suggestions:

  • Materials: Suggested by David and Simon, though some felt it might imply “materialistic”.
  • Resources / Rethinking Resources: David and Kate supported focusing on “Resources,” noting that items like glass jars should be viewed as valuable commodities rather than trash.
  • Other Ideas: “No Time to Waste” (suggested as a strapline), “The Not Waste Group,” and “Circularity Group” were mentioned.

Action: Simon will summarise the options (favouring “Rethinking Resources”) in an email and potentially poll the Facebook group before a final decision is made.

Clothes Swap

The second Clothes Swap on Saturday 24th January. Stokesley School, 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm had over 60 swappers who swapped over 230 items of clothing. A third Clothe Sway is planned for 20th June at Stokesley School. Money was donated to help Stokesley School get their Fancy Clothes Botique up and running, here the students will be able to pass on clothes for proms, interviews, etc..

Repair Cafe

Review: The January session in Swainby was successful with 77 items processed and a large amount of surplus textiles and wools given away to people to upcycle.

Upcoming Session: The next Repair Cafe is this Saturday in Stokesley. The theme will be “Show the Love” (linked to the Climate Coalition), encouraging attendees to think about what they love in their environment.

Promotion: A poster will be displayed at the cafe to recruit volunteers for David’s hedge planting.

Equipment: There was a discussion about knife sharpening equipment. Phil (the sharpener) is investigating water-cooled sharpeners to prevent overheating the metal.

Lending Library Concept: The idea of a “Lending Library” or “Share Shed” for tools that people rarely use (e.g., heavy-duty tools, party equipment). This would solve storage issues for Repair Cafe equipment and benefit the community, though a physical location is currently lacking.

Future Meeting / Events

CASAV Meeting: Scheduled for next Tuesday at 7:30 PM in the Stokesley Library.

April Event: Planning continues for the major event on April 25th at the Town Hall. A suggested title/theme is “Tread Lightly,” focusing on reducing our ecological footprint.

Repair Cafe (February): Saturday 14th February. Theme: “Show the Love” (Climate Coalition). Activity: Distribution of “Morsbags” (fabric bags made from waste material) containing seeds, leaflets, and other sustainable goodies.

Next Meetings

Climate Action Stokesley and Villages (CASaV) Meeting: Tuesday 17th February, 7:30 pm at Stokesley Library Topic: Show the Love – Green Hearts.

Waste Group Zoom Meeting: Tuesday 10th March, 7pm – contact simongibbon@casav.uk for details.