Too weak to lift empty crisp bags
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Keeping children off the rubbish dumps in Manilla
I always thought I was quite strong, but something really weird happened this week.
I couldn’t even lift some empty crisp packets.
Just a few, empty crisp packets which often get picked up by a light breeze and wafted around the streets and I couldn’t manage to lift them up.
It was horrifying.
I haven’t been ill or hurt my shoulders, but I woke up so weak one morning that this simple task was beyond me.
I remember a friend of mine waking up one morning with a weakness in her legs. She went to bed perfectly ‘normal’ and got up the next day and her legs gave way – she literally ended up in a heap on the floor. It was really scary. It happened a couple more times and never happened again. And she never figured out what it was or what caused it.
Well I hope my affliction goes away soon too.
Oh, but hang on a moment. Maybe there is a very good reason why I couldn’t lift these crisp bags.
Maybe, it’s because, since the launch of our crisp packet recycling scheme, we’ve gathered over 40 kgs of them!
Yes my lovelies, thanks to all your hard efforts and munching of crisps over the past 4 months, we’ve collected 17,500 bags which are now on their way to the Philippines. Do you know what this means? It means that once these crisp bags are made into products, the profits will keep 24 children out of poverty for a year and enable them to get an education through the Philippine Community Fund.
How happy are we!? Twenty four children!
We’ve had an update from the little girl we are sponsoring and she’s doing brilliantly. She is second in her class and out of all the things we send her, she says the thing she is most grateful for is food. A little girl of 8 – not interested in toys or fancy trinkets, but in an parcel of food.
Humbling stuff.
So as you’re eating your crisps, think about the great work you are doing to put food into the bellies of these gorgeous children and their families over in the Philippines.
Thank you SO much to everyone who has gathered up and taken their crisp packets to Tesco. I get several emails every week from readers outside Gloucester who have set up their own collections and are posting them off to the Philippine Community Fund themselves. Ange in the office is now collecting two big boxes a week from the post office, so you’re keeping her busy! And a huge thank you to Tesco Community Champion Glynis Chambers who goes out of her way to support our cause. Thanks to her we have some local schools collecting for us too.
I’ll post up the figures another day, but to say the scheme is growing in popularity is an understatement!
1st collection - even I can manage to lift this!
2nd collection - good job we have a big car
3rd collection - needing my good man to help me!
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That’s fantastic news Mrs G, just imagine if every Tesco got onboard. Do you want us all to start requesting a collection point at our local stores?
Oh well done for collecting so many. I still send mine and other wrappers off to them and recently got in the post from them a laminated certificate of appreciation. Makes it all seem worthwhile doing when you get that sort of thing. Let’s keep up the work.
we have more as well! Llew even has some of his friends making sure they give him there Crisp packets after lunch.
Wow well done! we have started sending ours off from school this week and the children think it is great!
thank you for the inspiration!
Brilliant! Well done!
@Eunice: Hi Eunice, yes some readers are asking their local Tesco. At this stage it’s likely nothing will happen, but we should still ask to help raise awareness of the success of this scheme. Thank you!
@Julie Day: HOw lovely you’ve had a certificate Julie; it does make you feel appreciated doesn’t it? 🙂
@Sian Lawton: Great news Sian – thank you!
@CAROLINE: THanks so much for all your support Caroline; I know you’ve worked hard at your school to get them on board – it’s much appreciated.
@Sarah: thank you ma’am 😉 Hope the blog rebuild is going ok
What a great idea for crisp packets. We don’t eat them very often but now I know that I can collect them and send them to a good place. Thanks!
Hello,
Interesting to see what crispbags are good for.
I’m following your site with lots of interessest.
Over here(Leeuwarden, netherlands) we try do recycle as much as we can.
Not all as is done in the UK.
Like recylcling plastic bottles, some cities collect separetely, our area the seperating is done at the site where the rubbish is collected.
Also (you probably know) cars can run on something else than patrol or gas.
Some of our rubbishcollecting vans drive on rapeseadoil( oil from brassica rapa).
Apparently you can also use other kinds of oil, like oil you use for frying things.
Keep up the good zero wasting!
Mieke Elgersma
Leeuwarden
The Netherlands
@Michelle: You’re welcome Michelle – guilt free crisps is a good thing LOL!
@mieke: Hello Mieke, welcome to the site. It’s good to hear of life in the Netherlands. I’m always interested to hear how other countries deal with their waste as I get asked this question a lot 🙂