WASTEENDERS - EAST LONDON PARTY KIT

17 Feb

Back in 2020 during the height of the global pandemic I wrote a blog post called Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. As my daughters grow, so do the presents and of course the packaging that goes with it. My oldest is also becoming more aware of birthday parties. For her 4th birthday she simply asked to have rainbow cupcakes in the park with her friends. Being a September baby we usually have the weather on our side to have an outdoor party. We’re also fortunate that our girls only have 9 days between their birthdays, so will be having joint parties for the foreseeable future!

Outdoor parties have many advantages, especially when it involves lots of small children, (and helped with Covid-19 restrictions), but serving up cake and drinks with paper plates and cups is not only wasteful but not the easiest for small hands. So I was very excited when I discovered WasteEnders - East London Party Kit hire through a local parent Facebook group.

WasteEnders was set up in Bow, London by local mum of two Aneeta, as part of the Party Kit Network, which is a nonprofit organisation working to make parties more sustainable, affordable, and provide a practical alternative to single-use tableware.

So what can you borrow?

Plates, bowls, cups and spoons in sets of 10 up to 45, in a handy bag.
Homemade bunting, upcycled from bedding and curtains.
And you can borrow everything for FREE! You only need to pay a refundable deposit and make sure everything is clean and dry for the next party.

Using the party kit for the girls’ party was great. There was minimal waste and no-one dropped their cake off a flimsy paper plate. The bunting was also a lovely touch as it made our little picnic area look extra fun. Although the service is free, people can donate to WasteEnders to help the upkeep of the kit on Kofi.

I was so impressed with the kits I offered up my sewing skills to make more bunting. I really enjoy craft projects but rarely have the time to come up with ideas. I find making bunting very therapeutic, from cutting out the flags, turning them inside out to press with the iron, to sewing them all together. The sewing is also very straight forward and you can do the tasks in batches.

This robot bunting was made out of some old children’s bedding. After cutting all the flags out I was left with quite a lot of remnants so I sewed what i could together to make tape to sew the flags to, which meant less wastage.