The Art of Sustainable Living Handbook

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Magpie Recycling

Magpie Recycling began life in 1990 at Hanover Community Centre. Three volunteers collected drink cans and glass, plus office paper from a small number of local residents and businesses, including the Universities. 

Starting out with a modest 17 subscribers, the company now has around 2000 customers throughout Brighton & Hove. Learn more.

Meat Free Monday

Launched by Paul, Mary and Stella McCartney in 2009, Meat Free Monday is a not-for-profit campaign which aims to raise awareness of the detrimental environmental impact of eating meat, and to encourage people to help slow climate change, conserve precious natural resources and improve their health by having at least one meat free day each week. Learn more. 

 

Melanie Rees

Melanie is the founder and Creative Director of the Green Centre and leads the day-to-day operation of the organisation. A former Special Needs Head teacher, she has 30+ years experience in education and is the founder of several projects;

  • 1989:  National Non-Uniform Day now called Day for Change. Founded by Melanie and a group of Year 9 students at Fazakerely Comprehensive School in Liverpool. This was supported by UNICEF and became its most successful school fund-raising event, raising millions of pounds for overseas aid. 2019 saw the 29th anniversary of the project.
  • 1995: Cornerstones Independent School now called The Lioncare School. Founded my Melanie, the school provides education for children with emotional and behavioural problems. Supported by a fantastic team, Melanie led the school through registration from the Department for Education and Skills, and two successful OFSTED inspections.
  • 2005: - The Green Centre. Founded by Melanie as a mobile project called the Green Workshop which then found a permanent home in 2009 and became known as the Green Centre. 2019 sees the Green Centre take to the road on the Green Centre double decker bus.

Mindful

Mindful is an adjective and describes a state of being;
  1. conscious or aware of something.
  2. focusing one's awareness on the present moment, especially as part of a therapeutic or meditative technique.

Learn more about being mindful

Mini Freegle

Mini Freegle is an adaptation of Freegle, the internet-based service where people can give away and ask for things that would otherwise be thrown away.

Mini Freegle is a term coined by the Green Centre and refers to a table on our weekly Brighton Open Market stall which holds small items which people can take for free. These items are too small to warrant being advertised on Freegle requiring people to travel to collect said items.  

Milk

You can get your milk locally and therefore support local business and minimise your carbon footprint.

Support your local milkman by having your milk delivered by Milk & More.

MP3 Players

It is possible to reduce the energy used by your MP3 charger.

Britons waste £134 million a year by overcharging phones, MP3 players and laptops. Overcharging your MP3 player can reduce the lifespan of the battery. It takes 4 hours to fully charge a MP3 player.

Electric toothbrushes, hand-held vacuum cleaners and cordless phones are also likely to zap unnecessary juice.

Spending a few minutes unplugging ten common household gadgets when they are fully charged could save around £60 a year.