Trashcatchers Carnival draws crowds in Tooting, helping unite community behind Transition message

The Trashcatchers Carnival, a unique summer event with floats and costumes made almost entirely from household rubbish, saw over 800 participants from schools, community groups and clubs take part. To create the extravaganza, over one million plastic bottles and shopping bags were used, half a million crisp packets, half a tonne of renewable willow, and all sorts of other materials that had been collected over a six month period.

During the last 18 months, event organisers Emergency Exit Arts, and Project Phakama UK — a youth arts group working with refugees –0 helped Transition Town Tooting make the day possible. Hindered by red tape, and with only two days to go, it looked like the event might not happen at all. The carnival is a testament to the persistence and determination of all those involved.

Fantastically-attired carnivalistas danced the route on foot and procession vehicles were fuelled by recycled vegetable oil — although many of the floats were driven by bicycle. The South London Swimming Club had a pedal-powered float with an iceberg and sea made out of plastic bags and bottles. On board were swimmers dressed to look like the colourful doors of their changing rooms at the Tooting Bec Lido — the second largest open-air fresh water swimming pool in Europe.

Among the more amusing floats were the cycle-powered living rooms, transporting some of the elders of the local community. Sitting comfortably on her recycled armchair, Jaya Patel, a born-and-bred Tooting resident, said: “The best thing about this Carnival is that it has brought the whole community together, from all sections young and old, and from all ethnic backgrounds.”

Lucy Neal, the co-chair of Transition Town Tooting, emphasised that the artists involved played a very important part in helping people conceptualise. “The role of the imagination is to create the world we want,” she said, “and ‘no’ doesn’t come into it!”

Speaking at the ‘Unleashing of Transition Town Tooting’ a few days after the Carnival, Transition Network co-founder Rob Hopkins announced: “The best people to know how to do Transition in each particular place are the people from that place. If someone had come to us two years ago and asked us how to do Transition in Tooting, we would never have said ‘well… you need to get a million plastic bags, half a million crisp packets, some shopping trolleys and march it all down the street.’”

At a half-day forum examining the impact of the Trashcatchers Carnival, it was concluded that for a community to develop and create networks, it needs to come together through activities and participation so that conversations become real connections. “Individually we may seem insignificant,” said Lucy, “but when we connect up in a community, we are very strong and can make a huge difference.”

Website: transitiontowntooting​.blogspot​.com

‘Trashy’ outfits. Photo: copyright Simon Maggs