No Waste November is back for 2021, and we want you AND your friends, family, colleagues and classmates to get involved. It’s a month-long event that supports and empowers individuals and institutions to tackle a waste form in their own communities and in turn create positive global impact.
With world leaders meeting shortly for COP26, it’s more important than ever before that we act to help save our planet.
What is No Waste November?
No Waste November was inspired by youth leaders at the 2017 Roots & Shoots gathering in Windsor, which was dedicated to developing methods to inspire action on topics including climate change, conservation, sustainable living and conservation.
No Waste November is all about inspiring action to reduce waste and to think about the effect of what we throw away has on the environment, climate change and conservation. Over the month, Roots & Shoots invites you to notice and reduce your daily waste in simple and creative ways. Even little changes add up to a big difference on a global scale!
Make a pledge and join people around the world making a difference
No Waste November 2021
No Waste November is all about connecting with local communities and harnessing the power of individuals who, working together, can achieve something that’s greater than the sum of its parts. So while we want everyone to take a pledge, we’d LOVE it if you could get your local school, college, council, workplace and community involved.
We also want you to connect online using our Facebook and Instagram pages so we can share ideas, celebrate success, and inspire each other in the global Roots & Shoots family, an amazingly diverse and united group of young people.
The four main themes for No Waste November 2021 are:
- Plastic
- Energy/Fossil Fuels
- Food
- Clothing
What do I need to do?
There are two ways to get involved in No Waste November for 2021. The first is to make one or two big pledges to stick to over the month, and the second is to follow the daily prompts in the calendar above. Pick whichever one works best for you – every action makes a difference!
To make a pledge for the month, use our pledge sheet below. You can fill it out online or download and print it, then take a photo of yourself with it so you can encourage others to join AND it’ll help you stick to it!
Not sure what to pledge? See if you can think of something based around the four themes for 2021. For example, you could pledge to:
- Not use any single-use plastic for the month
- Cycle or walk to school or walk rather than drive or catch a bus
- Don’t buy any new clothes, and donate clothes you don’t wear to a charity shop
- Use up all my leftovers and avoid throwing out any food
Download and print out this card and add your pledge, or make a digital version
Don’t forget to share your progress!
We think every positive action deserves a little appreciation, so don’t forget to give yourself a pat on the back for everything you do – and to give your friends, family and colleagues a thumbs up too!
We also want to give you a virtual pat on the back, and help you inspire others, so when you complete a challenge, make a change or come up with a brilliant idea, don’t forget to let us (and everyone else) know about it!
Share an image or comments on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook, and use the hashtag #NoWasteNovember
Some great resources
Great articles references on how fossil fuel companies are pivoting to plastics:
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/27/opinion/plastics-fossil-fuels.html
https://newrepublic.com/article/159225/big-oils-evil-stupid-plan-drown-world-plastic
To Die for: Is Fashion Wearing Out the World? by Lucy Siegle is the early, highly influential bible
Greenpeace’s Detox campaign did fantastic work transforming textile supply chains to cleaner water – from Adidas to Zara – over the last decade, with some great data, case studies and success stories to draw on:
https://www.greenpeace.org/international/publication/17612/destination-zero/
https://www.greenpeace.org/international/act/detox/
https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-04843-3_4
https://chemicalwatch.com/98112/greenpeace-confirms-it-has-paused-its-detox-campaign
https://cfda.com/resources/sustainability-resources/detail/greenpeace-detox-fashion-reports
Other recent articles on environmental impact of clothing – especially fast fashion:
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2021/03/ultra-fast-fashion-is-eating-the-world/617794/
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