Our next Zoom meeting is on Tuesday 10th February 7pm – Please contact simongibbon@casav.uk for further details.
Full notes below, after a quick summary – follow links for the detail:
- Waste
- A list of non-recyclable items would help to reduce waste.
- Legality of dumping 2 million tonnes of dredged sediment 3 miles off the coast at Redcar is being challenged.
- 2026 is the year when the long talked about changes to waste regulations start to come into force from simpler recycling to food waste collection.
- Energy:
- Curtains on doors are a great way to stop draughts.
- Reduce / Reuse / Recycle / Circularity:
- The blister pack collection in Stokesley Community Library is proving popular collecting a full bin bag every month
- It would be great to have a library of things locally (where you can borrow things you don’t really need to have your own – often tools from laminators to rotavators), we just need a location and somebody to run it.
- Should our repair cafe have a pop-up at a festival this summer?
- Local primary school raising money by selling old books.
- Communication
- Article about local climate action group activities in Positive News highlighted CASaV’s upcycling activities.
Actions
- Michelle – share leaflet of recycling lists
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 9th December 2025 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
- Kate – Media Coverage: An article about Climate Action Stokesley and Villages (CASaV) was published on the “Positive News” platform. It covered community initiatives such as the food share and repurposing materials.
- Simon – Forest Schools: Pete and Robert have been connected to discuss transferring hazel trees for the forest school project.
- Tracey Provide the group with the new “Hard to recycle” leaflets.
Updates
Kate
- Recycling Initiatives:
- Bra Bank: Looking into siting a bra bank, potentially in the doctor’s surgery in Stokesley or the library, noting that the nearest current location is Northallerton.
- Pill Packets: The collection box at the Globe has been a “resounding success,” filling up regularly with approximately three to four substantial bin bags collected over three months.
“Buy Nothing New” Month: Keep Britain Tidy has designated January as “buy nothing new” month. As part of our support of this there will be a display on circularity and repurposing resources for at the upcoming Repair Cafe.
Anne
Times article about taking Repair Cafes at summer festivals how about Swainby / Stokesley repair cafe popping up at Glastonbury (Deershed?).
More things are being recycled so instead of list of things that can be recycled, there should be a list of things people can’t recycle. This would also help people to avoid buying things that are not recyclable.
Needs to be more pressure on manufacturers to not use non-recyclable packaging materials, Extended Producer Responsibility legislation and regulations should increasing do this.
Fred
Home Efficiency: Installed curtains at the door to stop drafts and improve warmth.
Pizza Boxes: Contaminated pizza boxes could be used for “recycling derived fuel” rather than incineration.
Michelle
Schools and Libraries: Michelle is working with schools and East Coast libraries to potentially replicate a costume swap for World Book Day. Also on World Book Day they are planning a parents morning with old books to swap / take.
Libraries great examples of circularity – infinite recycling. Circular Malton run sewing classes, wreaths from old fabric, Pickering Climate group are running a Plastic Free Community. Stokesley School has a Fancy Clothes Boutique which hires outfits for Interview / Prom / Events, all showcases / models of good behaviour.
Book Recycling: Success story from a primary school where old book stock was sold to raise £300, and great project before Christmas with Tracey involved Afghan women in Richmond making Christmas trees from damaged books.
Council Leaflet: Confirmed there is a leaflet regarding recycling lists from the council and will attempt to locate and share it, as it may not have been uploaded correctly to SharePoint.
Action: Michelle – share leaflet of recycling lists
Wendy
A sustainability-themed joke regarding “recycling the old year”.
Simon
Tees contaminated sediment disposal – seeking judicial review of the Marine Management Organisation’s granting of a 10 year disposal licence for the maintenance dredging of the Tees and Hartlepool statutory harbour authority area. Basically so few samples are taken that it is not certain that disposal is illegal as the chemical state of the sediment has not been properly sampled. Sadly, the River Tees sediment is contaminated with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons to a level which is known to be toxic to the marine environment, but disposal of this material is still legal as no UK upper limit has been set above which disposal is banned. Protect the Tees – Challenge the Licence.
Legislation and Waste Strategy: a lot of the things that have been talked about since at least 2018 are finally starting to happen:
- Food Recycling: By March 2026, food recycling collection is meant to be mandatory nationally. However, North Yorkshire Council has a “get out” clause due to existing commercial contracts (specifically with Allerton Waste Recovery Park), meaning they will not implement separate food waste collections yet.
- Deposit Return Scheme is scheduled for October 2027.
- Extended Producer Responsibility (eco-modulation) will increase in 2026, taxing manufacturers on non-recyclable materials.
- Soft plastic recycling at the curbside is mandated for 2027.
Get more details / views of the what is going to happen – UK Government – Simpler Recycling, Business Waste – Five Waste Developments Set To Reshape the UK in 2026, Circular – The Great Policy Shift: What 2026 Means for Councils and Operators, Oates Environment – UK Waste Regulations in 2026: What Businesses Must Know to Stay Compliant.
Recycling Clarifications: Clarified that pizza boxes can be recycled if the greasy parts are removed; if the box is wholly contaminated with grease, it cannot be recycled.
Events
Repair Cafe (Swainby): Saturday (January 17th). Activities: There will be a display on circularity and a “big box” of crafting resources (fabric, wool, needles) available for people to take for free to encourage repurposing. Winter Lunch: A winter lunch is also scheduled for this Saturday for Repair Cafe volunteers.
Clothes Swap: Date: Saturday 24th January. Stokesley School, 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm. Details: Entry is £2, which includes Fairtrade tea/coffee. Participants can bring up to five items to swap. Strict rule: you cannot take away more items than you donate (maximum 5).
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 20th January, 7:30 pm at Stokesley Library Topic: Flood resilience, with a speaker (Freyer – Environment Agency).
Waste Group Zoom Meeting: Tuesday 10th February, 7pm – contact simongibbon@casav.uk for details.
Climate Action Stokesley and Villages 