South Bank and Waterloo Eco Fest

Where: St John’s Church, Waterloo

When: 2 – 5pm Sunday 13 September 2026 (drop-in activities across the afternoon)

Join your neighbours on Sunday 13th September for the South Bank and Waterloo Eco Fest – a free community celebration of sustainability, creativity and family fun in the heart of London.

Building on the Wonderful Waterloo and South Bank Fun Day in 2025, this year’s event explores how we can reduce waste in our neighbourhood with practical ways to swap, share, repair, recycle and reuse. Drop-in throughout the afternoon to enjoy hands-on workshops, live performances, family activities, and inspiring local organisations!

Register here

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We’ve got a bunch of exciting activities planned for the afternoon including…

• 👚A clothes swap – give your pre-loved clothes a second life and discover new-to-you fashion.
• 📖A books swap – come give a book a new home and find your next read in a book swap supported by Waterloo Library.
• 🚲Dr Bike bike check-ups with Cycle Confident
• 🪴Have a go at low-waste planting with Bankside Open Spaces Trust
• ⚡Get personalised energy-saving advice – student energy advisors from London South Bank University’s Energy Advice Centre will be on hand to give guidance on reducing energy use and lowering bills.
• 🥁Come jam as part of the Junk Orchestra sound garden on instruments created from recycled and reinvented materials by Saul Eisenberg, formerly of STOMP and Blue Man Group. You’ll also be able to have a go making your own junk instruments.
• ♻️Get up close with a waste lorry, ask your waste questions and hear about the services Serco offer Lambeth residents.
• 🥕Food for thought – drop in for fun and informative sessions exploring the connections between food, sustainability and health with Serco.
• 🦖Explore a children’s art trail in the St John’s wildflower garden loosely inspired by the book Dinosaurs and All That Rubbish by Michael Foreman.
• 🧵Get your clothes repaired by Nafisa Tosh Studio and Kundakala‘s repair cafe and learn practical repair skills by joining short tutorials on how to fix a hole in your jumper and how to hand hem a garment.
• 🕺Take part in a jazz dance class and live performance.
• Learn about retrofit and HB Reavis‘ redevelopment of Elizabeth House.
• 🎨 Face painting and sustainable family arts and crafts with SoWN and Coin Street
• 🫙Stock up your pantry with low-waste refills from Reflex Refill‘s mobile refill shop.
• 🎉Be in to win prizes by sharing how you save waste in South Bank and Waterloo.
• And more!

📋Come prepared to make the most of Eco Fest! Click here for a quick checklist of things you might like to bring along

• Good-quality clothes for the Clothes Swap.
• Books for the Book Swap.
• Clean clothes you’d like mended/altered with Kundakala.
• Your bike for a check-up by Cycle Confident.
• Old electric leads/cables, batteries and small electrical items to be recycled with Serco.
• Old laptops, tablets or phones to donate to Community TechAid so they can wipe the data, refurbish them and give them to those in need.
• Clean containers and jars to stock up on pantry essentials with Reflex Refill‘s mobile refill shop.
• And don’t forget a reuseable water bottle or keep cup to refill on site.

Registration is not required to attend, but sign up for event updates, reminders and to add to your calendar. We hope to see you there!

If you are interested in volunteering on the day, joining the Sustains Us Residents Group or finding out more, please get in touch at sustainsus@sbeg.co.uk.

Organised with South Bank and Waterloo Neighbours.