Who are we?
We are Little Blue Dot, a group of art activists. We use creative direct action to campaign on climate issues. Our work raises awareness and pressures decision-makers. We persuade people by surprising them, shocking them, making them laugh. We have a track record of success that we want to build on.
What are our plans?
We plan to make a large model to help us campaign against waste incinerators. To do so, we need £500 funding for studio space, materials, transporting the model. We volunteer our time for free.
Our model will add a new dimension to two existing local campaigns against waste incinerators in Cambridgeshire. Art has the power to persuade people in ways that words cannot. Our model will plant a picture in people’s minds of what these incinerators mean. It will encourage people to back the campaigns and make it harder for politicians and decision-makers to ignore them.
What is our track record?
We are best known for making six giant emoji-style poos, which we floated down the River Cam in Cambridge last September. Our aim was to highlight increased levels of sewage dumping into our rivers by Anglian Water. It led to SOS Whitstable inviting us to take our models to a protest they were organising against Southern Water dumping sewage into the sea. These activities helped grow what has now become an influential national movement. Our models formed a link between groups who were protesting about sewage in rivers with those protesting about sewage in our seas. The figurehead of the river protests is ex-punk Feargal Sharkey. He is among people who have used their powerful social media platforms to express support for our work:
Why oppose waste incinerators?
Waste incinerators:
- Emit ultrafine particles that are hazardous to health
- Worsen pollution and congestion on local roads due to lorries transporting waste
- Produce climate-wrecking CO2
- Discourage recycling and a circular economy
- Are three times more likely to be built in poorer areas
Many scientists, doctors, politicians, environmentalists and ordinary people oppose waste incinerators. Despite this, there are plans to build 50 more incinerators across the UK which would double the volume of energy-from-waste incineration by 2030. Investing in this new generation of incinerators will lock us into an outdated and environmentally destructive way of dealing with our waste. Instead, we should follow the lead of countries such as Denmark, which has pledged to phase out energy from waste. We should focus on cutting waste and improving recycling, rather than incineration.
Find out more from:
- The report from the all-party parliamentary group on air pollution in December 2021. It calls for an immediate halt on the expansion of incinerator capacity to protect human health and cut carbon emissions.
- A C4 Dispatches TV programme about waste incineration, 'The Dirty Truth About Your Rubbish'
- UKWIN - The United Kingdom Without Incineration Network
The bigger picture
Our campaigning against waste incinerators and sewage dumping are part of our wider mission for action on the climate crisis and the inequalities at its heart. The next few years are crucial in saving our planet and all the life that depends on it. We are confident that what we do helps but we can’t manage without support from people like you. So please donate whatever you can and watch our latest plans come to fruition. Thank you so much.