Zero Waste Week at Tops

Zero Waste Week is an annual environmental campaign aimed at reducing landfill waste, held during the first full week of September. At Tops, we are committed to creating a sustainable nursery environment for our children. We care deeply about our local community and the environment and therefore strive to minimize unnecessary waste. Read on for some practical ideas you can implement at home this September to contribute to a greener future!

Why Reducing Waste is so Important

In the UK alone we waste approximately 9.52 million tonnes of food every year. The UK in 2023 further produced more than two million tonnes of plastic waste. This translates to almost 60,000 tonnes of microplastics released in waterways, and more than 1,500 tonnes of chemical additives which can have harmful impacts on ecosystems and human health. With statistics like these it is clear to see we need to strive to make change. This is where the concept of Zero Waste Week was born. See below a proposed model of how we should be handling waste as a society.

What We Do at Tops

At Tops we have many buildings with solar panels, and the whole fleet of our 28 vehicles are electric. Many of our nurseries have insulation installed, double glazing, water butts to reduce waste and help with reduction in CO2 emissions.

Educating our children

We spend time discussing with our children how we can take care of our environment and are lucky enough to have the space to grow our own produce at some of our sites to be harvested as and when needed. We teach eco-friendly habits like recycling, saving water, and reducing waste through fun, age-appropriate activities. By making these practices part of their daily routines, our nursery helps children become responsible stewards of the environment early on.

Our Partnership with Harvest Fine Foods

We are in partnership with Harvest Fine Foods, a local company and have an ethical, sustainable approach to their business, sourcing everything with this ethos in mind. This supplier are actively looks to reduce plastic packaging and source local produce to reduce their carbon footprint. By working with Harvest Fine Foods we reduce our impact on the planet whilst also supporting a local business.

To find out even more of the efforts we make to reduce waste at Tops why not have a read up on our sustainability goals here.

How you can get involved

• Pick a goal or target for your house, for instance for one week aim to avoid purchasing any single use plastic in your weekly shop.
• Challenge yourselves as a family to create new recipes that use up leftover ingredients in your home. This idea not only reduces waste but can help with your little ones fine motor skills while having fun in the kitchen.
• Encourage Family and friends to get stuck in with their own goals too|!
• Find ways to reuse items from your recycling bin and have fun with it. Why not check out our blog on sustainable craft ideas

Hopefully this guide has provided some useful tips and advice to reduce waste in your household this September! When we work together, even the small changes individuals makes it adds up to more sustainable consumption patterns for everyone. Let us know how you get on.