First published: 23/06/2023 -
Last updated: 21/03/2024 -
Verified by our Editorial Panel
Recycling enterprise & charity saves tonnes from landfill
A repair and re-use centre in Newport is preventing over 1,000 tonnes of household items from going into landfill each year, while saving families hundreds of pounds.
Wastesavers is a social enterprise and charity based in Newport, operating across South East Wales. It runs a network of re-use shops, two repair cafes, a nappy library, library of things, an interactive recycling education room for schools and an alternative education programme called PEAK. It also runs the kerbside recycling for Newport, along with a comprehensive source-segregated commercial recycling service to businesses in Newport, Monmouthshire and Torfaen.
How do enterprises like these help us make green choices?
Wastesavers collects six times the weight of an average house in unwanted household furniture across South East Wales, diverting it from landfill.
It offers a free collection service (at selected outlets) for people wanting to get rid of larger items of furniture such as sofas, beds, or cabinets, but also welcomes people to drop off their unwanted items at one of its 10 re-use shops located across Cardiff, the Valleys and Newport.
These items are stored and displayed in one of Wastesavers’ re-use centres for people to purchase at a low cost. This gives customers the chance to buy large household items at a fraction of the price compared to new, saving them hundreds of pounds.
Charity Manager of Wastesavers, Alun Harries, said:
Saving good-quality household furniture from being disposed into skips means we can make these items available for other people to purchase at a low price. This helps people to not only save money, but also help tackle the problem of waste going into landfill, helping to reduce furniture poverty and create a more circular economy. It’s a win, win situation.
Why take action?
Climate Change Minister, Julie James, said:
Organisations like Wastesavers are a great way of helping people take action to reduce their impact on the climate, as well as to save money.
If everyone could do their bit by re-using and recycling unwanted furniture and IT equipment, and considering buying second-hand, rather than new, it would make a huge difference to the amount of waste ending up in landfill each year.
This will go a long way to helping us to create a greener, cleaner Wales.
What is Wales doing?
Wales is already the best in the UK for recycling, and the third best in the world, saving around 400,000 tonnes of CO2 each year.
