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Zero Waste Pamphlet

Photograph of zero waste pamphlet
Zero Waste pamphlet designed by Frances Howe

The United Kingdom Without Incineration Network (UKWIN) is proud to announce that copies of an illustrated Zero Waste pamphlet are now available for purchase.

These attractive and charming pamphlets are works of art that can be used as a valuable campaign resource, helping convey the messages that incineration has no place in the circular economy and that Zero Waste is the way forward.

Prices (including Postage & Packaging within the UK)

  • £5 for 5 copies
  • £8 for 10 copies
  • £16 for 20 copies
  • £20 for 28 copies
  • £50 for 70 copies
  • £64 for 100 copies
  • £75 for 120 copies
  • £100 for 169 copies
  • £115 for 200 copies
  • £125 for 225 copies

How to order & payment methods

To order copies of the illustrated pamphlets you can send an e-mail to shlomo.dowen@gmail.com with your name, postal address and the desired number of copies.

Payments can be made by bank transfer to the UKWIN account (Sort code 08-92-99, Account number 65276853) or by cheque made payable to: UKWIN and posted to: UKWIN c/o Shlomo Dowen 25 The Birchlands, Forest Town, MANSFIELD NG19 0ER.


The story behind the pamphlet

The Zero Waste pamphlets were designed by graphic artist Frances Howe as part of an assignment for her Masters Degree in Graphic Arts at the University of the West of England. Frances received a Distinction for her creation, which has now been published with support from UKWIN.

Speaking with UKWIN Coordinator Shlomo Dowen, Frances explained how the project took some 9 months from conception to birth. The idea for the pamphlet arose from the Bristol-based artist’s experience of living “too near” to a waste wood biomass plant in Avonmouth. This inspired her to take more of an interest in waste matters and in the problems associated with “extreme energy”.

In France’s words: “Avonmouth has been given quite a raw deal by Government and industry, and it was quite inspiring to see local people getting together to resist two new proposals for a biomass power station and a waste wood incinerator”.

Frances took part in an extreme energy gathering, also attended by UKWIN Director and Zero Waste Europe’s Associate Director Mariel Vilella. Frances subsequently worked with Shlomo, Mariel and others to research and fact-check the narrative that accompanies the pamphlet’s distinctive illustrations. The style is reminiscent of graphic novels, and uses an innovative design – it is printed on two sides of A1 folded down to A4, so that you unfold the pamphlet as the story unfolds.

When asked about her creative process Frances explains: “My work attempts to generate debate and provoke more questions than it answers. I like working with visual narratives – or comics – because they provide a variety of different ways for people to experience a piece of work. For example, do they focus on the pictures or the text? Do they read it in a linear way or take it in all at once? This makes comics an inherently democratic medium because the viewer has so much choice about how to interact with it.

“I wanted to make comics about extreme energy in general, and waste incineration in particular, because it brings up a lot of topics and questions that are not always easy to discuss; questions about energy, climate change, pollution, social and environmental justice, as well as consumption, capitalism, local democracy and community agency for change.

“My hope is that using a medium such as comics, which encourages freer thought and associations between things, can help people to engage with these topics in a way that gives them more agency to get involved in making change.”

The pamphlet’s Zero Waste message

The Zero Waste pamphlet explains how incineration is part of a linear economy, and how “we need to transition to a circular economy with Zero Waste”. The points are made that incinerators are bad neighbours, and that incineration schemes are often forced on communities against their will.

The pamphlet explores how incinerators burn material that could have been re-used, recycled or composted, sending “the energy-saving potential of these materials up in smoke”.

The positive benefits of Zero Waste are explored in this engaging and thought-provoking pamphlet, alongside some examples of communities coming together to make Zero Waste a reality.