Whilst it might not be the first thing that springs to mind when you think of the area, Hackney is increasingly becoming London’s go-to borough for the innovation and development of eco-friendly and environmentally conscious products. Here at the Hackney Post, we’ve compiled a list of all the great initiatives taking place, so you can make the most of the services they have to offer:
Community “parklet” gardens
As part of a council-funded initiative, Hackney residents have been converting old parking spaces outside of their homes into small gardens. The project seeks to improve the overall quality of life for Hackney residents, with green spaces linked to everything from reduced pollution levels to a boost in overall happiness.
It’s also an important step towards improving bio-diversity in the borough by creating spaces for insect and plant life to thrive at a time when numbers are on the decline globally. With under 30% of Hackney residents owning a vehicle, there’s plenty of opportunities to develop these spaces.
Affordable organic food
As much as we’d all like to shop organic, doing so usually comes with a notable price increase, which isn’t really manageable for most consumers on a budget. This is particularly true in London, where wages have largely failed to rise in line with rent and other living costs.
That’s why Hackney based organic food scheme, Growing Communities, is such a valuable proposition for the borough. By keeping growth local and supply chains short, GC is able to undercut supermarket-range organic produce and offer food at a price that’s affordable to Hackney residents.
Reusable nappies
It’s probably not the first thing you think of when looking to cut down on your carbon footprint, but nappies are a major contributor of plastic waste, and are difficult to engineer for biodegradability.
That’s why Nappy Ever After and its founder, Joy Vick, opened a shop all the way back in 2003 to try and sell reusable nappies to infants. With around 6% of waste in the borough comes from disposable nappies, equivalent to the weight of nearly 456 double-decker buses each year, it’s a surpassingly essential service that’s grow in polarity since environmental issues in the borough have grown.
Plastic-free shopping
The last addition to Hackney’s growing eco-development scene, The Bulk Market seizes on a trend that first sprung up in the United States: plastic free shopping.
In order to encourage shoppers to cut down on packaging, the store uses large dispensers and scales to allow shoppers to deposit their produce directly into containers that they’ve brought with them. The hope is to make shopping a zero-waste experience and reduce the amount of plastic waste that large scale food production creates.
Whilst the initiative started as a pop-up store, it’s received a great deal of interest and financial support from the local community, and even Morrisons has expressed interest in the project.
