Make, Grow + Mend Norwich: Social Sorting!

Do you want to help tackle the plastic problem?
We want to set up a plastic recycling workspace in NR3, and we need your help to do it!
About this Event

Join us for these relaxed, weekly drop-in sorting sessions for a brew & a chat, and help us collect, sort, process & recycle local waste plastic into useful stuff!

We're Precious Plastic East: we manufacture new stuff from locally collected plastic, alongside running unique workshops and pop-up interventions to transform our relationship with plastic.

We clean, shred and make new stuff out of waste plastic from our workshop in Great Yarmouth, where we also offer public workshops. You'll also find us popping up with our Litter Arcade for events and festivals, and our Mobile Mend & Makery bringing repair, plastic recycling and making to any setting.

Now we want to set up a new Precious Plastic workspace in NR3, and we need your help to do it!

What to Expect:

This weekly Thursday afternoon session is part of Make, Grow + Mend: Norwich, and takes place alongside our weekly Wastesmiths Wednesdays session.

We'll open The Smithy every Thursday afternoon for folks in the community to drop off any plastic they may have collected, and together we'll sort donations of plastic by colour and type, ready to be shredded and recycled!

We'll alternate these social sorting sessions with afternoons spent building and crafting with waste plastic, making pots, planters, small products and more!

We'll make sure these sessions have ample time for chatting, drinking tea & eating biscuits. We'd also love to hear your ideas for what we should work on!

If you want to be part of a global movement supporting communities to help tackle the plastic problem, you like getting together with other folks to drink tea and work on purposeful projects, or you just like the idea of sorting stuff by colour, we'd love you to join us!

What to Bring:

You do not need to bring anything with you for these sessions, as all materials and equipment will be provided. There is no charge to take part, but donations to support our running costs are always welcome.

However, you may wish to bring a water bottle, particularly during the summer months. You may also like to bring a reusable cup so that you can make and drink a hot drink!

Who is Make, Grow + Mend for:

The group is for people of all ages, genders, and backgrounds – the only requirement is that you’re interested in changing our relationship with plastic, drinking tea or coffee, or having a chat!

While these sessions are aimed at adults, under-18s are very welcome, as long as they are accompanied by an adult. As we will be touching and sorting plastic waste, some of which may be small pieces, as well as potentially using tools or specialist recycling equipment, these sessions may not be suitable for young children to take part in every aspect. However, they are still very welcome to be with us. Carers and support workers are also very welcome to join us.

Social Sorting sessions are part of the Make, Grow + Mend project, organised by Wastesmiths CIC. Alongside these sessions we host a weekly Wednesday morning group: 'Wastesmiths Wednesdays', organise regular Plant Playdates, a monthly Mend With Friends group, and monthly Dr Bike sessions, all at St Saviours Yard.

We also run Make, Grow + Mend activities in Great Yarmouth and Aylsham. If you would like to find out more, you can visit our website, find us on Facebook, or follow our updates on Instagram.

If you’d like more information about Make, Grow + Mend, or anything else we do, we would love you to get in touch – send us an email to [email protected].

Getting To Us

We meet at 'The Smithy', Unit 5 St Saviours Yard, Norwich, NR3 1GQ

If you're coming by bus, the closest stop is Anglia Square. There are other nearby stops at Tombland, Upper King Street and Magdalen Road near Stacey Road, which are likely to be unaffected by any future Magdalen Street road closures.

If you're coming by bicycle, there are numerous bike racks on site, including directly opposite our container and by the nearby toilet block.

If you're coming by car, Colgate Car Park is 0.2 miles away, and Monastery Court car park is 0.4 miles away. St Andrews Car Park is 0.5 miles away. We can share a full list of local car parks and walking distances upon request.

Please note that there is no parking available at the site, however car drop-off is possible if required for access reasons- please get in touch with us so we can organise this at [email protected]

Accessibility

The Smithy is a 40-foot shipping container with step access that we can adapt using a temporary ramp in order for wheelchair users to access the space. There is an accessible loo nearby on-site than can be accessed with a code. However, the loo requires self-transfer.

Please get in touch if you would like us to provide photos/video of accessing the space, or the loo.

Please note that the site sadly does not make provision for disabled parking, but if you would require this in order to participate, please do get in touch so we can discuss some possible workarounds/solutions at [email protected]

These Thursday afternoon sessions we will mostly be sorting plastic materials by colour and type, which can usually be done standing up or while seated. We may sometimes be using specialist plastic recycling equipment or even hand tools.

It is possible that we may not be able to make every aspect of every activity physically accessible for everyone, but we will work to make everything as accessible as we can.

If you would like to participate, and you have specific access needs, or any questions related to access, please get in touch and we will do our very best to adjust our sessions for your needs. You can reach us by sending an email to [email protected].

As we will be providing refreshments for these sessions, please let us know if you have any dietary restrictions or allergies that we need to be aware of: you can reach us by email at [email protected]

If you have any questions about access, or if there's anything you would like us to be aware of, please get in touch with us: email [email protected].