FROME company Upcycle has won the Best of the South West Award at the P.E.A (People.Environment.Achievement) Awards for its work in changing people’s attitudes to being green.
Upcycle deploy teams of people known as eco-rangers, into festivals in the UK to try and reduce the amount of litter and maximise recycling in the campsites.
The P.E.A Awards is the UK’s sustainability awards, recognises the individuals and teams behind the products, services and businesses that are ‘changing the face of our planet’. Upcycle won the award for their work in using of festivals to influence thousands of people’s behaviour, and encourage individuals to contribute to a more sustainable society
Company director, Chris Hardy said, “We are very pleased to have won the award – it’s recognition of all the hard work put in by all the whole team.
“Upcycle isn’t just about picking up litter, it’s about changing people’s attitudes and behaviours when they are at a festival. We connect with people, communicate a message to individuals to try and shift their attitude towards tackling environment degradation and climate change.
“I believe the attitudes of the festival organisers have to change. The only way we can build a more sustainable society is by creating behavioural change and festivals are the perfect opportunity to do that.
“We started at one Festival, Boomtown Fair and now we have eco-rangers at three; we hope other festivals will come onboard to help make sustainability part of the festival culture. I envisage smaller events whereby organisers are much more conscientious about the planet and then together we can shift people’s behaviour and attitudes.”
To find out more about Upcycle or to become an eco-ranger, visit www.up-cycle.org.uk
