 Photo from The Tar Barrels of Ottery St Mary, which will be returning on 4 November
Hello,
With October around the corner, East Devon's lifeguard season has come to a close, and dogs will be returning to beaches.
In this week's newsletter we're celebrating the work of volunteers at community fridges and larders, who are stopping food waste, reducing environmental emissions, and saving residents money.
Keep scrolling to read more about upcoming events, and news from around East Devon👇
 News and updates:
Lifeguard season over on East Devon's beaches
 RNLI Lifeguards are funded by East Devon District Council. Photo credit: RNLI
A big thank you to East Devon's lifeguards for their hard work this season.
If you see someone in difficulty, call 999 and ask for the Coastguard. Don’t attempt to rescue them yourself. If you get into difficulty yourself, fight the instinct to panic, and float. Let a family member or loved one know if you're going in to the water, and take a floatation device and a means of communication.
Dogs allowed back on beaches on Sunday
 You're allowed to walk dogs on all East Devon beaches between Sunday, 1 October and 30 April.
To allow water birds to feed after their long migrations from the Arctic and northern Europe, please keep dogs outside the area marked with buoys as the Exmouth Wildlife Refuge.
Community fridges and larders stopping food going to waste
 Credit: The Ottery Larder
Community groups like The Ottery Larder offer donated, and surplus food, that would have otherwise gone to waste, for free to everyone.
The Larder is supporting residents with the cost of living, and encouraging reuse, providing second-hand clothes and children's toys too.
Since it was set up, more than 180 volunteers in Ottery St Mary have distributed at least £180,000 worth of food, and 4,000 items of kids' clothing, to around 3,000 customers. This has saved 500 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions.
To find a community fridge or larder near you...
Successful start for new service supporting voluntary, community and social enterprises
 DCT is an independent charity commissioned by East Devon District Council to run the VCSE support service
Four summer drop-in events in Axminster, Exmouth, Honiton, and Sidmouth, gave Devon Communities Together (DCT) the opportunity to meet and talk with people about what they need and want most from the new voluntary, community, and social enterprise (VCSE) support service that it is establishing.
The team was excited to meet dedicated and passionate individuals from local VCSE organisations. Great conversations took place about funding, volunteering, recruitment and retainment of volunteers, and networking. It was fantastic for people to share ideas, connections, and contacts with each other, as well as to offer help with each other's different challenges.
DCT will be continuing this approach as it co-designs the new service, supporting the VCSE sector in East Devon to grow stronger together.
To head to the DCT website, learn more, or to get in contact with the team...
This project is funded by the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.
Get ready for winter with Energy Saving Devon
 Alongside the free online tool is an advice line, to inform you about grants, loans, and energy-efficient technologies
Energy Saving Devon has launched the Upgrade Your Home campaign to encourage residents to explore the home upgrade options available to improve energy efficiency ahead of the colder season.
Drop-in session for communities impacted by the recent flash floods
 Photos of StreetScene's clean up operation following flooding at Knowle Village
The drop-in session will be an opportunity for residents to speak directly to teams involved in the flood recovery operation.
The nearest event for East Devon residents will be taking place at Matthews Hall in Topsham on Wednesday, 4 October from 2pm until 7pm.
Almost 60% of the materials collected at East Devon's households' kerbsides recycled
 East Devon District Council does not use landfill to dispose of waste collected from households
After East Devon District Council's Recycling and Waste team recycle everything they can, everything else, known as residual waste, goes to the Energy from Waste plant (EfW) in Exeter run by Devon County Council.
At the EfW plant, the waste is used as fuel to generate electricity. At the end of the process, all of the ash produced is collected to be recycled. The ash from the combustion chamber is taken to a facility where, after metals are recovered for recycling, it is used to make construction material. The ash recovered from the flue is taken to a specialist processor to be recycled into building aggregate.
Using the EfW means, that after recycling as much as we can, we still recover as much value as possible from the refuse that is left over. However, the more that we can reduce what we use in the first place and the more we recycle from the kerbside or at household recycling centres, reduces the amount we need to send to the EfW.
To find out more about EfW...
Have you downloaded our free East Devon App yet?
Join over 50,000 people using our smartphone app and get simple personalised collection reminders, the latest collection updates and tell us about a missed collection.
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Widened ban on single-use plastic coming into effect on Sunday
 It is estimated that England uses 2.7 billion items of single use cutlery each year, and 721 million single-use plates
From October, businesses across England will not be able to supply single-use plastic cutlery, trays, plates, bowls, and balloon sticks, as well as some types of polystyrene cups and food containers.
Events in East Devon
 Thelma Hulbert Gallery
Learn a new skill this Autumn
 If you’re feeling creative, take a look at these new courses. Places are limited, so remember to book early.
Thelma Hulbert Gallery, Dowell St, Honiton EX14 1LX thelmahulbert.com
Join Arts and Culture East Devon's next network event
 Manor Pavilion Theatre, Sidmouth on Wednesday, 11 October from 10am-12pm (coffee and networking from 9.30am)
The meeting will begin with an introduction to the National Lottery Heritage Fund from Kelly Spry-Phare (Senior Engagement Manager, NLHF), followed by sessions focusing on exploring digital and in-person audiences (Dr Eleanor Chadwick, Artistic Director, Sleight of Hand Theatre), peer to peer networking (Pip Piper, Director, OSBD Media Charity), and the Creative East Devon Fund (Sarah Elghady, Cultural Producer, East Devon District Council).
Discover more events in the local area by heading to the East Devon Excellence website
 Have your say
Latest newsletters
 Council meetings dates
Over the next week the following East Devon District Council meetings are taking place. Any public meetings will be streamed live to the Council’s YouTube channel, and in the event of difficulties these will be streamed on our Facebook page instead.
Session to help parents protect children from the harmful impacts of pornography
 The free online session, at 7pm on Wednesday 18 October, will help parents and carers create an environment where they can have sensitive, safe and honest conversations with their children about explicit content.
95% of ex-smokers see positive changes soon after quitting
 If you can stay smoke-free for 28 days, you're five times more likely to quit for good
It’s never too late to quit – stopping smoking brings immediate benefits to health, including for people with an existing smoking-related disease.
Next edition
We plan to send out our next bulletin on Friday, 6 October 2023
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