Zero Waste Festival: Spring Clean

A big thank you to all the people who made our Spring Clean Festival a big success. We are excited to see our festival and the interest in the Zero Waste lifestyle grow from festival to festival. A special shout out goes to all the volunteers who contributed with their time and skills and made this festival possible. We hope to see you all again at our next Zero Waste Festival, themed “Make It Last”, at the St. Andrews Resource Centre on June 24.

Video recap

Gallery

Supporters

We thank Smallchanges Wholefoods Store for supporting the Spring Clean Festival. In their shop in the ABC Drumcondra, Dublin 9, they have a large range of eco-friendly and Zero Waste products waiting for you.

If you would like to support us or any of our upcoming events, feel free to get in contact with us.

Program

Ticketing

Access to the market and swap-shop is free and is buggy and wheelchair accessible. A day pass is required for workshops and talks can be bought for €10. The pass entitles you to entry into as many workshops as you like on the day, but since places are limited you must sign up in advance on the day. The workshops and talks venue is not wheelchair and buggy accessible, please contact us directly for more information.

Workshops (in the Caligraphy Room)

Time	Workshop	with
11:00 am	Cleaning chemistry simplified	Tita Jones of Lilly’s Eco Clean
12:00 noon	Clean Green Wardrobe	Íde Mhic Gabhann of Bring Your Own
1:00 pm	Spring Cleaning Your Cleaning	Molly Aylesbury of Bare Necessities
2:00 pm	Healthy Eating with Zero Waste	Zdenka Priehodova of Coming to Zero
3:00 pm	Decluttering/Minimalism	Laura Cahill

11:00 am - Cleaning chemistry simplified with Tita

Cleaning, like anything, is not chemical free. But not all cleaning chemicals are equal. You will learn about debunking cleaning product labels and how you can reduce waste in relation to home cleaning. There will also be a conversation of what is currently realistic and will make a difference. This talk will be led by Titta Jones, co-founder and CEO of Lilly’s Eco Clean, an Irish producer of natural cleaning chemicals. This small company has a big dream about making a difference in both the cleaning chemicals used in daily lives as well as how to do it best by least amount of waste.

12:00 noon - Clean Green Wardrobe with Íde

We explore the idea of starting with the wardrobe you have and moving towards a collection that will be lighter on the planet, as well as freeing up time and space in your home, luggage and mind. Íde loves shopping and clothes, but also travelling and using everything she has. In the last two years she has been able to consolidate these interests as she strives for the perfect capsule without harming the environment on the way.

1:00 pm - Spring Cleaning Your Cleaning with Molly

Cleaning can be a dirty business. Whether you are worried about the environment or your health, this workshop will show you how to switch to less wasteful alternatives. Going room by room, learn what changes you can make from simple product swaps, zero waste tools, or completely natural alternatives. If how to get the most from baking soda and vinegar has you a little stumped or if you just want to learn a little more come along for demonstrations and recipes!

2:00 pm - Healthy Eating with Zero Waste with Zdenka

A welcome side effect of living towards producing minimal waste is that you end up eating healthier - mainly because you cut processed, lazy pre-packaged food. So if you want to start eating better this spring, Zdenka will show you how to choose (and make) healthy and package-free alternatives, while making your gut happy and minimising food waste in the process.

3:00 pm - Decluttering/Minimalism with Laura

The last talk of the day will be a conversation about the concept of enough, how having less can have a positive effect on mental health and what the true meaning of minimalism is. You can also get practical ideas on how to declutter! The conversation will be led by Laura Cahill, who is a minimalist and aims to create simplicity in her life to be able to have more time, energy, and money for her family, career, and her passion to travel.

Workshops (in the Theatre)

Time	Workshop	with
11:00 am	Free Recycling Workshop	VOICE Ireland
12:00 noon	Rags with Stitches	Belle from OtherMother
2:00 pm	The Urn (recycled art)	McBett

11:00 am - Free Recycling Workshop with VOICE Ireland

Confused about your household recycling? You’re not alone - everyone else is too! Thankfully VOICE Ireland have sorted it out (with the help of REPAK and the Department of Communications, Climate Action and the Environment) and at 11 am they can show you what you can and cannot recycle in this easy interactive workshop.

12:00 noon - Rags with Stitches with Belle

From 12 - 2 pm on the Stage in the Theatre, we will have a drop in workshop with Belle from OtherMother. OtherMother Creations is all about reusing fabric and materials to make useful and eco-aware products. This drop-in workshop will be a guide and tutorial on how to make unpaper towels and face wipes, what to use etc.

2:00 pm - The Urn (recycled art) with McBett

From 2 - 4 pm on the Stage in the Theatre we will have “The Urn”, a collaborative art workshop facilitated by artist McBett, where we will explore the changes we are making on our journey to Zero Waste. Bring something that represents your personal journey (or craft something from the waste materials supplied), every individual contribution will be crafted together to form one piece.

Swap Shop (free)

From 12 - 5 pm in the Theatre our popular Swap Shop will be back again. Bring good quality, good condition Men’s, Women’s, and Kids clothes that are clean and ready to wear and swap for other pre-loved items. We’ll operate a “1 token for each item of clothing” system.

Activities (in the Community Garden)

Time	Workshop	with
11:00 am	Forest Friends Activities	Forest Friends
2:00 pm	Community Planting Workshop	Forest Friends

11:00 am - Forest Friends Activities (free)

ABC Drumcondra is home to Forest Friends, a group that is working toward Biodiversity and Food Sovereignty. In addition to their info stand in the Ballet Hall, their Tree Hugging Competition and a workshop later in the day, they will be giving a tour of their garden (which is in fact many gardens hidden all around the campus) with insight in what grows well where and the benefits of different plants, it will be time well spent for any garden enthusiast.

Meet at the Forest Friends Garden beside the Calligraphy Room at 11am. This is a free tour and no ticket is needed to attend.

2:00 pm - Community Planting Workshop by Forest Friends (free)

This workshop, run by Forest Friends Ireland in their on-site garden, is for those interested in helping out with their food sovereignty project, those interested in picking up some planting tips for their home garden or balcony, or those looking to diversify what they are growing by taking home some seeds or saplings. By planting together you will share skills and experience while helping the project progress.

Meet at 2 pm in the Forest Friends garden beside the Calligraphy Room. This is a free workshop and no ticket is needed to attend.

Market

Shopping for loose food is a big part of going Zero Waste. To help you, Minimal Waste Grocery, Bare Necessities Ireland, and Bring Your Own will be in the Courtyard at the festival.

Minimal Waste Grocery sells plastic free groceries, household cleaning items, and beauty and wellbeing products.

Bare Necessities Ireland sells loose, organic, food staples and hygiene products to help you live a zero waste life. They are Leinster-based, with a weekly Saturday market in Skerries Mills and once a month in Brooklodge, Macreddin Village, Co. Wicklow.

Bring Your Own sell loose, organic wholefoods from teas and coffee to grains and flours. Bring your own containers to cut down on packaging.

In the Ballett Hall you will find the following vendors to help to help you getting started on your Zero Waste journey:

FlopsyShop is an Irish eco-conscious web boutique that buys and sells quality guaranteed pre-loved baby & toddler clothing. They help parents to reduce waste and create value from clothes that are not worn anymore.

Botanical Soap Therapy is a small company based in Co. Wicklow specialising in natural handmade soap bars and cosmetics and most are vegan and vegetarian-friendly (excl. where honey and yoghurt are added). Their soap bars are lovingly handmade, using traditional cold process methods and are made from numerous high quality plant oils, butters, clays and extracts and infusions of plants, flowers, herbs, minerals and spices. All their soap bars are palm free, SLS/SLA free, parabens free, petroleum free, free from any artificial preservatives and free from animal products (excl. honey, yoghurt).

The Weed Solution sell organic hemp products such as clothing, bags, cosmetics, paper, food and CBD. The possibilities of the hemp plant are endless!

AB studio sells conditioning shampoo bars and fresh soap handmade in Ireland. They use plant oils, herbal infusions, mineral clays and essential oils. All their products are free from SLS, parabens, perfume and harmful unnecessary synthetics. You are left with NO plastic bottle or non-recyclable packaging to throw away. In October 2017 they opened the first zero waste body care shop in Ireland: AB Studio - Clean Design in the Avoca courtyard of Mount Usher Gardens, Ashford, Co. Wicklow. Visit them to experience their products with all your senses or attend one of their events.

Sonett are a producer of organic soaps and detergent, protecting natural water resources, the essence of life.

Little Green Shop is offering eco-friendly, sustainable household and beauty products from reusable water bottle to beeswax wrap to biodegradable toothbrushes and washing up brushes and everything in between. A visit to their stall is a must, whatever stage of the journey to Zero Waste you are at.

OtherMother Creations. Belle is the Other Mother who makes eco alternatives to disposable mother and baby products, be it cloth sanitary pads, postpartum pads, cloth make-up wipes, nursing breast pads and more.

Infostands

Revived Yarn is a charity project aimed to collect the scrap yarn that every knitter and crocheter owns and upcycle it to obtain scarves, hats, gloves, and more at zero cost in support to the homeless of Dublin. The knitwear handmade by our volunteers will be handed directly to the homeless on the streets to keep them warm in the cold days. Do you have any leftover yarn in your stash that you’d like to donate? Would you be happy to volunteer as a knitter? Revived yarn is waiting for your help!

WeShare is a Gift Economy Community, sharing skills, knowledge, practical support, ideas, stuff and time and all for free. Sharing is easy through our online platform – ask for anything; offer what you no longer need. We aim to reduce the over-consumption that is depleting the Earth’s resources by sharing what we have with each other. This supports a transition from consumption to contribution; transaction to trust; from isolation to community. Putting more soul in the society!

Refill.ie is an environmental social enterprise project leading the way to make Ireland a tap water refill country, where filling up our reusable water bottles from FREE refill locations is an everyday task. The Refill Ireland Tap Map allows members of the public to find the closest water dispenser to them, whether it’s a public water fountains or a cafe/business who has pledged to offer free water. We hope to remove the need to purchase plastic water bottles - helping our environment, improving our health and keeping more money in our pockets all at the same time.

The Cloth Nappy Library Ireland is a not-for-profit company that seeks to educate and support parents who’d like to consider cloth nappies as an alternative to disposables. They also offer a ‘try before you buy’ service, a loan… hence we are a library!

OpenLitterMap empowers people with the tools to become a citizen scientist. People photograph and record litter and get paid for this in a virtual currency. This mapping helps them communicate the problems and solutions to stop plastic reaching the ocean. Come and talk to them at their stand to see how you can get involved.

Forest Friends Ireland provides an alternative to a rampant monoculture forestry policy. Through art, social media, conferences, seminars they aim to educate communities on forests, conserving woodlands, tree growing and planting, influencing government policy for trees and forests, rainforest conservation, cross-border projects, school and community biodiversity nature gardens, training volunteers and organising outings.