Our BBC Radio 4 Appeal is now live!

We’re thrilled to feature on BBC Radio 4 this week where our fundraising appeal is being broadcast to the nation!

Renowned chef, vocal environmentalist, and journalist Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall is championing our appeal and we couldn’t ask for a better advocate. He shared our appeal on Radio 4 on Sunday, and it will be broadcast again this Thursday. You can also listen to it on BBC Sounds.

Being part of the BBC Radio 4 appeal is a huge step forward in our campaign to raise £1 million in time for our 10^th anniversary next year. Every donation made to the Radio 4 appeal is being matched by a generous donor up to a total of £15k so every pound donated is effectively doubled!

We’re hugely grateful for donations of any size – they all add up to allow us to support even more communities to find value in waste while addressing the health, environmental, and economic consequences of the global waste crisis. £30 provides collectors with protective clothing and safety equipment while £50 allows a waste-picker to attend a training day – improving their knowledge and skills.

To support the appeal, donations can be made via this link from Sunday 28th April: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001yqhr

Why Hugh has chosen to support WasteAid

Hugh has been vocal throughout his career about his conservation and environmental passions. He has seen the devastating impact of the waste crisis first-hand while filming his documentary series War on Plastics and Hugh’s War on Waste.

On the global waste crisis, Hugh said: “The true scale of the global waste crisis was brought home to me while filming in Malaysia a few years ago. We came across a mountain of dumped plastic containers, bottles, bags – all sorts and all shipped in from around the world.”

He added: “The thing I really like about WasteAid’s work is it isn’t just about cleaning up the planet, it’s about working with local communities and empowering them too.”

WasteAid works hard to support the people most impacted by the daily consequences of the global waste crisis. The communities we operate in don’t have the infrastructure in place to cope with the amount of waste produced, leading it to be dumped or burned which causes more CO2 to be released into the atmosphere than the global aviation industry. Through mentoring and coaching programmes, access to investments and technical knowledge sharing we work with communities to find lasting solutions to their waste challenges while also helping them to improve their economic outlook.

Our CEO, Ceris Turner-Bailes, said: “We are so grateful to Hugh for shining a light on the work WasteAid is doing to empower communities that are the worst affected by the global waste crisis and helping them to implement lasting and sustainable solutions that both improve their futures and the environment.

“With his support, we’re hopeful our BBC Radio 4 appeal will be a significant step forward in our  £1 million fundraising campaign.”

You can listen again to WasteAid’s BBC Radio 4 Appeal on Thursday 2nd May at 3:27 pm.

Donations can be made here https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001yqhr

Please note that donations can be made to this page until 11.59 pm on Saturday 4 May. Any donations made after this time may go to a different charity.

As part of the countdown to our 10-year anniversary in 2025, we’ve committed to raising £1 million. We’re on a mission to help people and the planet thrive.

Our fundraising campaign will allow us to support even more people impacted by the daily consequences of the global waste crisis. We need to expand our reach and build our programmes further across plastic, organic, electronic, and textile waste.

WasteAid’s approach is anchored by inclusive circular economy principles. We bring together people at every stage of the waste management chain from waste collectors and village leaders to policy makers and major business leaders. Through mentoring and coaching programmes, access to investments and technical knowledge sharing we work with communities to find lasting solutions to their waste challenge.

Across the globe, one in three people has no waste management service which leads to high levels of pollution, health challenges, and contributes significantly to global warming. Burned and dumped waste releases more CO2 than the aviation industry, while children in communities suffering the worst effects of waste are eight times more likely to suffer health complications.

Our vision is to create a world in which waste causes no harm, and where people in communities impacted by poor waste management are empowered to recover value from dumped materials.

Positively impacting one million people

More than a million people were positively impacted by our projects in Cameroon, Egypt, The Gambia and South Africa between 2022 and 2023. With your support, we want to benefit a million more.

What’s more, our programmes successfully saved 244.20 kilotons of C02 emissions through waste being reused or recycled. Shockingly, this is the equivalent of travelling around the earth’s equator by car 37 times!

Our programmes include plastic recycling schemes, supporting entrepreneurs and green businesses, e-waste and textile upcycling, food waste reuse and developing circular economy networks.

How will we use £1 million to transform lives?

Empowering women and youth waste collectors: Our ‘wastepreneur’ programmes provide waste collectors and green micro-business owners with the skills, knowledge, and investment they need to improve their earning potential from waste.

Mentoring and knowledge sharing: WasteAid brings together people at every stage of the waste value chain from policymakers to waste collectors. Our innovative partnerships share best practice insights, mentoring, and training between our partners in the UK and countries where we’re active.

Circular Economy Network: Inclusive circular economy principles are at the heart of our approach. We’ve seen the transformational power of our circular economy network in The Gambia, Vietnam, South Africa and India and plan to evolve and develop this approach further.

Innovative, lasting solutions: Ultimately, WasteAid works with community leaders, business owners, academics, politicians, and environmentalists to develop tailored solutions that will deliver lasting economic, environmental, and health benefits.

How you can help?

Donations of all sizes will help us achieve our fundraising target.

For businesses, partnering with WasteAid is a great way to support your ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) goals while bringing teams together to support an important environmental cause. Whether a one-off donation or longer strategic support, we will work with you to create a customised support package that meets your internal and external objectives.

Or why not challenge yourself to a fundraising activity? Bake sales, charity runs or raffles are all fun and effective ways of raising money for a charitable cause that’s close to your heart. If you’re lacking inspiration about how you can support us, we can provide you with a fundraising pack that is full of ideas.

You can donate to our 10^th anniversary campaign here.

We are taking part in this year’s Big Give Christmas Challenge. It’s the UK’s biggest match-funded campaign and will enable us to double the value of your donations meaning your support will have twice the impact!

The week-long challenge runs from Tuesday 28 November until Tuesday 5 December and, with the help of our supporters, we aim to raise £10,000. The total raised will then be doubled by match-funding from our corporate supporter Beyondly and our Big Give champion funders, Mike and Helen Brown. In April, we participated in the Big Give’s Green Matching Appeal where we raised a fantastic match-funded total of £10,000 in one week – an amount we are hoping to double with our Christmas challenge.

We recently launched our 10^th anniversary fundraising campaign which aims to raise £1 million over the next two years. Funds raised from the Big Give Christmas Challenge will be the first step towards reaching this target, allowing us to continue our projects and provide support to vulnerable communities.

With your support, we can transform the lives of people living in communities most severely impacted by the global waste crisis. WasteAid works to give individuals the skills, expertise, support, and investment to empower them to earn a decent income from waste management and recycling.

Together we can reduce pollution from plastic, organic, textile and electrical waste, alleviate poverty by creating sustainable employment opportunities, and develop an inclusive circular economy that works for the benefit of all. A donation of £30 can buy a complete community recycling kit for one village and just £2 could buy a simple mould which turns organic waste into valuable fuel. So why not take the opportunity to see your impact doubled?

You can donate to our Big Give Christmas Challenge here.

WasteAid, the UK-based environmental and development charity, is aiming to celebrate its 10th anniversary by raising £1 million over the next two years.

The non-profit organisation will mark a decade of reducing the environmental impact of dumped and burned organic, plastic, electronic, and textile waste around the globe in 2025. The campaign will allow it to continue existing programmes and expand its support to even more communities in need.

WasteAid’s work supports communities around the world that are facing some of the greatest challenges caused by the global waste crisis. The charity connects key decision-makers at every level of the waste value chain, from governmental representatives to waste collectors, to find lasting solutions to waste management. By providing technical expertise, training, mentoring, investment, and creating circular economy networks it not only aims to reduce the environmental impact of dumped waste but to also alleviate poverty and reduce the health impact caused by toxins leaking into the water and air.

Ceris Turner-Bailes, Chief Executive at WasteAid, said: “There has never been a more urgent need to empower communities around the world to find lasting solutions to the global waste crisis. This isn’t someone else’s problem. It’s something that impacts all of us – dumped and burned plastic, organic and textile waste, as well as electronic items account for more CO2 released into the atmosphere than the aviation industry. That’s why at WasteAid we think globally but work at a local level to deliver lasting solutions.

“As we look towards celebrating a decade of making a difference in 2025, we want to launch an ambitious campaign that will allow us to continue to make positive changes to communities and the environment. This is our largest campaign to date, and we hope that with the help of our supporters, it will be a huge success and allow us to make an even greater difference in the future.”

WasteAid helps some of the most vulnerable communities around the globe to reduce waste pollution. Through its collaborative approach with local authorities, businesses, and community leaders, WasteAid delivers targeted, impactful programmes that support a local circular economy, and provide livelihood opportunities, training and skills for its programme participants, while also investing in locally appropriate infrastructure.

The charity is committed to supporting the informal sector – which is often among the most marginalised – and showcasing how a circular economy benefits everybody.  Its response is always practical, locally appropriate, and focused on delivering lasting sustainable change. WasteAid’s whole-systems approach combines community behaviour change programmes, household collection infrastructure, and supporting collector groups, right through to identifying end-market solutions for waste.

Since 2020, more than 1.3 million people have been positively impacted by WasteAid’s work. In the last year alone 228 entrepreneurs have completed their green business incubation training and almost 1,600 people have taken part in circular economy network events, webinars, and campaigns while WasteAid has invested more than £113,800 in waste entrepreneurs’ business initiatives.

The charity has most recently implemented programmes in Cameroon, Egypt, South Africa and The Gambia. Its fundraising efforts will focus on expanding its partnerships with organisations in the UK and internationally to expand its programmes. It already enjoys successful collaborations with organisations including Biffa, Bunzl Plc, Chartered Institution of Wastes Management (CIWM), Norwegian Retailers Environment Fund (NREF), Partners Group and Huhtamaki. WasteAid’s programmes have equally been supported by UK Government and European Union grants. It will also be appealing to individual donors through its participation in the Big Give charity appeal later this month and another high-profile broadcast appeal in the new year.

WasteAid’s circular economy networks deliver long-term solutions to the waste crisis by bringing together key local stakeholders from government, commerce, academia, and the community. They provide a forum to develop a tailored response to local waste and recycling challenges. They also help to develop an integrated approach to a circular economy by providing access to training and support for people at every level of the waste management value chain.

Within these networks, there are opportunities for mentoring of green businesses, support for ‘wastepreneurs’ and fast-tracking local solutions through piloting innovations. These networks are key to ensuring that an inclusive circular economy is on the policy agenda and WasteAid’s programmes provide strong evidence of the positive impact of this approach on people and the planet.

Find out how you can support WasteAid’s campaign here.