Viva Brighton Issue #73 March 2019

FEATURE
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The Green Centre
Sustainability know how hub
The Green Centre began
as a mobile project on
the streets of Brighton
and Hove in 2006,
engaging with the public
to understand their views
on global warming and
climate change.
“From the first time we
went out, people wanted
us to give talks at their schools, their companies;
They were incredibly interested,” explains
founder Melanie Rees. “But we’re also here to
just answer questions. One of the things people
hate is when they feel like they’re being lectured
to about the environment.”
The organisation has spent the past 13 years
bringing global campaigns to Brighton,
educating people through their garden, reuse
shop and recycling programme and playing
a central role in the city’s One Planet Living
sustainable living framework. More recently,
they’ve taken up residence in the Open Market
and are grappling, for the moment, with the
nefarious commodity that has horrified and
shamed people in equal measure: plastic. It’s a
subject Melanie knows well.
“There’s an upsurge in engagement since
Blue Planet, coinciding with negative feelings
about how much plastic Brighton and Hove
City Council recycle – which is currently only
bottles.” The Green Centre has developed their
own plastic guide, but the key, Melanie says, is to
look beyond recycling to reusing and ultimately
to completely refuse the material.
“Recycling plastic is energy-intensive and there’s
not a massive demand for second-hand stocks
but there’s an enormous supply and the Council
Photo by Yanwen Lin
have to pay to have it
taken away. It’s difficult
to manage, so we must
look at our consumption.
We’re creatures of habit
and it takes a massive
change. In my former
role as a special needs
Headteacher, I did a lot
of work on how to change
behaviour, and it’s incredibly difficult.”
In a city with so many events, two universities
and the seaside attracting huge numbers of
tourists, it perhaps makes sense the Council
have focused their energies on the ubiquitous
plastic bottle. But The Green Centre wants to
show people that – with a little effort – there are
plenty of other ways to recycle other items. “You
can recycle plastics 1-5, plus yogurt pots, with
Magpie Recycling, and various supermarkets will
take things like cereal, bread and carrier bags.”
Plus, the Green Centre’s stall is at The Open
Market on Thursdays from 9am-5pm, staffed
by volunteers who’ll take things like crisp
packets, baby and pet food pouches and foil.
It’s the tip of an iceberg but, with every chat
Melanie and the team have, the hope is that
hearts and minds are shifting. The Centre has a
double-decker bus being kitted out for a future
of talks, focus groups and an exhibition of the
One Planet principles. Once it’s on the road, the
conversation could soon be growing louder.
With a little knowhow, explains Melanie, we
can recycle around 75-80% of our waste, “but
you have to do a little work. The key thing is to
change one thing at a time – and we’re here to
help.” Amy Holtz
thegreencentre.co.uk
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