2020 Walk for WasteAid to take place in Bristol and Yorkshire

By Olivia Rutherford | 13 March 2020 | Add a Comment

Waste management charity WasteAid has announced its fifth fundraising walk will be held on 20 June 2020 in Bristol and Yorkshire.

An image of last year's WasteAid walkers in Manchester
WasteAid is a UK-registered charity aiming to address the global waste crisis by bringing local recycling solutions to some of the most marginalised communities in the world.

This year’s walk will be in Bristol with a tandem event held in Bingley, Yorkshire. The funds raised will go towards supporting a plastics recycling training centre based in Douala, Cameroon, and the introduction of community-led waste management in rural zones in Rajasthan, India.

Zoë Lenkiewicz, Head of Programmes and Engagement at WasteAid, commented: “By sharing waste management and recycling skills, WasteAid is empowering people in poverty to create long-term solutions for waste, preventing it from being dumped and burned.”

Covering a distance of around 15 miles, the Bristol route will take walkers between key sights such as Clifton Suspension Bridge, SS Great Britain, Banksy paintings, the docks and Clifton Downs.

Sally Talbot, who kickstarted the Walk for WasteAid back in 2016, commented: “We hope the Bristol event will be both challenging and interesting for those taking part, as the 15-mile route will involve ascending and descending up to 1,000 feet across the day taking in some of Bristol’s iconic scenery.”

Gill Mulroe from the recycling and waste management company Biffa is organising the tandem event in Yorkshire which is a 13-mile route along the Leeds and Liverpool Canal from Bingley Five-Rise Locks to Skipton.

Mulroe added: “I will be collaborating with partners in the north to raise funds to support the great work WasteAid are doing worldwide. I hope this event becomes a future walk within Yorkshire and part of the North East CIWM annual event calendar.”
Lenkiewicz commented: “The Walk for WasteAid has become a popular feature and is a great way to meet new people and contribute to something positive. All the sponsorship money raised will be used to help people in poverty to protect their health, and prevent pollution and climate change emissions.”

She added: “After organising the first two Walk for WasteAid events, climbing Snowdon and Scafell Pike, we decided to come down from the mountains and into new parts of the country.

WasteAid estimates last year’s event raised around £15,000, running alongside its big UK Aid Match campaign.

“The London 2018 and Manchester 2019 events were both really successful, and by running two this year in Bristol and Bingley, we're hoping to attract even more WasteAid supporters.
“We are keen for the Walk for WasteAid to be accessible and to raise awareness among folk who have never heard of us, so please get together with some friends and come along!"