Whether it’s turning off lights at home or planting trees, we all have our ways of being eco-friendly.

But a Wivenhoe charity wanted to help the planet… stitch by stitch.

Transition Town Wivenhoe has launched a new recycling scheme, where they take old curtains and duvet covers heading for landfill and are instead recycling them into shopping bags.

The scheme has been running with the support of St Helena Hospice in Colchester, which provides the materials, and aims to reduce the amount of plastic carrier bags used.

Transition Town Wivenhoe has been running for more than ten years and is actively relaunching its activities now with the bags campaign.

There are 15 volunteers working together on the scheme and between them they are producing an extraordinary 250 carrier bags a month.

Some of them go back to the hospice for sale while others go to Colchester’s Foodbank.

Wivenhoe residents are also encouraged to purchase a bag and reduce their use of single plastic.

Diane Kilgour, 68, of Wivenhoe, who is the brains behind the project, explained how she got the inspiration to put old duvet covers and curtains to good use.

Gazette: Recycled bags

She said: “I have always been a very green person.

“I just found out they were going to landfill, asked a few people to join in that’s how I started.

“Everything is recycled, even the labels are old cardboard with stickers on.”

The way the scheme works is the charity collects the material and pre-cuts the bags, so they are ready for volunteers to sew.

The material is delivered to volunteers and collected when finished.

Any eager members can also get another batch to help and the only thing you need to contribute is time and skill.

Diane added: “Because of lockdown and Covid everyone is using their own sewing machines at home.

“The awareness of climate change is obviously getting much bigger so more people are interested in what we are doing which is good.”

Gazette: Diane Kilgour, 68, of Wivenhoe

The group has been holding regular outdoor meetings every two weeks to discuss their activities and had to rely on zoom calls during lockdown.

The charity has a number of active campaigns at the moment, including a chicken shed and a communal allotment, which all aim to make Wivenhoe greener and even more sustainable.

The group is also offering a small amount of funding to volunteers who want to set up their own campaign, instead of joining an existing one.

Diane added: “Transition Town Wivenhoe aims to facilitate a transition to a sustainable community.

“We aim to support projects and bring together people who are interested in creating a zero carbon community.”

If you want to take part in one of the Transform Town Wivenhoe’s projects, email dianekilgour@aol.com or call 07512809624 for more information.