Sustainability Week kicked off at the Clock Tower last weekend with the Mayor of St Albans, Cllr Salih Gaygusuz, cutting a recycled paper chain to mark the official launch.

The tech-support charity Computer Friendly also helped the mayor to work out his carbon footprint which showed that if everyone’s carbon footprint was that size, we would need three Earths.

Cllr Gaygusuz said: “Our district is lucky to have such a dedicated group of people finding practical and creative ways to address the challenges of living more sustainably and moving towards a low-carbon economy.”

More than 200 people attended Saturday’s launch and the subsequent events, which included stalls on water-saving and recycling and live music from Katie’s Jumping Fleas.

Mums, dads and children also participated in a community litter-pick through Verulamium Park with Cllr Jessica Chivers. As well as finding cans and crisp packets, the team also found two chairs and a sofa.

Cllr Chivers spoke of residents’ “growing intolerance of litter” and said that the fact that three chairs were hauled from the park reminded people “how important it is to dispose of our rubbish responsibly, because fly-tipping is just as big a problem as litter”.

Sustainability Week chairperson Catherine Ross said: “We are delighted with the reception that Sustainable St Albans Week has received so far with over 200 people coming to the events over the first weekend.

“There are so many fantastic events planned for the week and we hope that as many people as possible will join in and work towards making our district more sustainable”.

On Tuesday (24), Green party leader Natalie Bennett visited St Albans as part of Sustainability Week to talk about climate change. More than 150 residents crammed into the Trinity Church to hear the discussion and asked questions of Ms Bennett for a hour after the event.

Cllr Simon Grover, who chaired the evening, said: “It was fantastic to have such a great turnout on a cold evening like this. I booked the biggest hall I could find, but it still wasn’t quite big enough.”

Many more events will be running throughout the rest of the week and over the weekend, including a repairing event on Saturday (28), to which residents are asked to bring broken appliances to be fixed for free; and a screening of the documentary Cowspiracy at 10.45am on Saturday.