Young eco-hero is hoping for a green Christmas in Redbridge

A local teenager is helping create a greener Redbridge through her climate activism work and is hoping to inspire others in the borough to get involved, starting with having an eco-friendly Christmas.

Inaaya Ijaz, a student from Isaac Newton Academy in Seven Kings, has been championing greener living as part of her campaigning work on environmental issues.

From successfully pushing to get single use plastic banned at her school, and hosting her own environment themed radio show, to being Chief Voice Officer for youth-led charity Kids Against Plastic – Inaaya is one of the borough’s most active young environmental campaigners.

At just 13 she became one of only ten people across the globe this year to be awarded a ‘Wave Maker’ title and grant from Protec Blue – an agency dedicated to ocean conservation. The grant was to create educational content around protecting the world’s oceans, which could be shared as part of a campaign to raise awareness of ocean pollutants.

Inaaya’s music video, waxing lyrical about ocean conservation, was aired on public TV screens by ‘The Wave’ in Bristol for World Ocean Day 2023, and she even secured a primetime TV spot talking about ocean conservation on the BBC’s The One Show.

The teen is also in touch with other young budding environmentalists from around the world, through her work with Kids Against Plastic, in a bid to raise awareness of issues close to her heart, including tackling plastic pollution, protecting marine life and reducing waste.

Closer to home, Inaaya has been busy campaigning to minimise plastic pollution across the borough’s schools, starting with her own; was part of the borough’s first ever Youth Climate and Sustainability Forum; and is also hoping to secure a spot as a member of Redbridge Council’s Youth Council to help create a greener borough. She’s also a keen local litter picker!

Speaking about what ignited her spark for eco-activism Inaaya said: “I was watching an episode of Blue Planet that highlighted plastic pollution in the oceans and it devastated me. It really snowballed from there. I continued to do more research, and found ways I could make an active difference, and organisations I could work with to achieve this.”

Encouraging others to get involved Inaaya said: “We can all do our bit to help tackle plastic pollution and the climate crisis – it doesn’t matter how big or small – every action has a positive impact in tackling the climate crisis.”

Simple swaps are a great way to start making greener lifestyle choices that can save you money and help the planet. To help inspire local people to have a greener Christmas Inaaya has shared some of her top tips:

• Ditch traditional Christmas crackers filled with plastic items, which normally get thrown away. Instead switch to eco-friendly crackers. You could even have fun making your own filled with little sweet treats!
• Cut back on waste by sending out e-cards or video messages instead of single use Christmas cards.
• Reuse, reduce, recycle as much as you can! Christmas is the perfect time to start as many households produce more waste during the festive season. There’s lots of tips on Redbridge Council’s website on how to do this: https://www.redbridge.gov.uk/our-streets/
• From food to decorations, if you can make it at home - make it. Not only is this a fun Christmas activity to do with your friends and family, but it eliminates the use of lots of unnecessary plastic and waste.
• Don’t let good food go to waste. If you have leftovers try freezing it as a tasty treat for another day. If you’ve been gifted excess amounts of sealed food, consider making a contribution to your local food bank. For storage and meal planning tips to avoid food waste head to lovefoodhatewaste.com

For more information on reducing your household waste in the borough go to: https://www.redbridge.gov.uk/bins-waste-and-recycling/

(ENDS)