As COP26 shines a light on efforts in the UK and globally to tackle climate change, Future Directions, a not-for-profit social care provider based in Greater Manchester, are working with people with learning disabilities and complex needs to find new and creative ways to teach people about environmental issues and help people understand the difference they can make so we can all live a greener, healthier and more sustainable life.

Future Directions received a grant from the Recycle for Greater Manchester Community Fund, accessed through the Greater Manchester Environment Fund. The Recycle for Greater Manchester Community Fund (2021-22) is a joint Recycle for Greater Manchester and SUEZ initiative to support Greater Manchester Community and Voluntary sector groups to deliver projects that help to reduce household waste in Greater Manchester.

This funding has enabled Future Directions to recruit people with learning disabilities to be ‘Green Superheroes’ and develop a project about recycling. As part of this work, the Green Superheroes are creating easy-to-read information, videos and training sessions about how to recycle. All information is fully accessible, inclusive and easy to understand. They are also holding craft workshops in the community to encourage people to upcycle and be inspired to use waste materials to create something new, rather than throw it away.

The idea for this project came from Eric Logan –a person supported by Future Directions. He drew a picture of a ‘Recycling Man’ and said that he wanted to show people how to recycle and tell them why it is so important.

Jenny Neville, Project Manager at Future Directions said: “Global warming is a massive challenge facing us all. People with learning disabilities have often been excluded from conversations around protecting our environment and sustainability so we’re really excited to be able to develop these projects to help make a real difference.”

Discover our other Recycle for Greater Manchester Community Fund projects:

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