On Wednesday 28th August, as part of Thirty4/7 Communications Quarterly Team Day, we took to the streets of Newport on a litter-picking activity. This was part of our ongoing commitment to sustainability and aimed to blend team-building with a hands-on effort to care for the environment.
We kicked off the afternoon with a tour of RE:MAKE, Wales’s first permanent community repair and reuse space. This unique initiative offers a wide-ranging “library of things”, from carpet-cleaners and drills to tents and board games, where items can be rented at a low cost. The space also hosts a repair and reuse area that runs free daily sessions with expert volunteers to encourage people to fix or repurpose their broken belongings. These sessions teach valuable skills that users can practice for future repairs and attracts volunteers from the ages of 16 to 86! Knowing that items such as drills are used for only 13 minutes in their entire lifetime[i], the project promotes a culture of borrowing and re-using instead of buying to reduce mass consumption and waste.
In addition to this, RE:MAKE regularly hold workshops and skill-sharing sessions, covering a range of activities, including sewing, mending, woodwork and other DIY projects. They also collaborate with Sero Zero Waste, Newport’s popular refill shop where customers can refill their household items, and the charity Keep Wales Tidy, serving as a hub where litter-picking kits are available to borrow.
The project is largely driven by volunteers who generously share their skills with the public. It fosters a strong community spirit, inviting visitors to enjoy a cup of tea and engage in conversations with volunteers and other patrons.
What truly sets this project apart is its ability to connect people from all walks of life while simultaneously addressing social challenges such as loneliness, local skills shortages, the cost-of-living crisis, and the climate crisis. By offering low-cost items for borrowing instead of buying, and promoting the repair of items rather than purchasing new ones that might rarely be used, RE:MAKE encourages a shift in consumer habits, countering the disposable culture that has contributed to the current environmental crisis.
This approach has proven effective elsewhere as well, with repair café’s and ‘libraries of things’ popping up all over the UK. At Planet Cheltenham, a similar project running in England, project coordinator Rachel Kelly said it is estimated that the scheme has saved residents about £6,000 and roughly 20 tonnes of carbon[i].
After exploring the store and chatting with volunteer Hayley about the project’s impact, we equipped ourselves with litter-picking kits provided by Keep Wales Tidy and set off to Newport Riverfront to clean up the streets. By the end of the day, we successfully collected 15 bags of rubbish from the streets and green spaces of Newport.
The day was a great success, reminding us of the impact we can have when we come together to support sustainable initiatives. We’re proud of the contribution we made to Newport’s streets and look forward to more opportunities to make a collective positive difference.
If you’d like to support RE:MAKE or find your local “library of things” or repair café, please see the useful links outlined below.
RE:MAKE Website: https://www.remakenewport.org/
Sero Zero Waste Website: https://serozerowaste.com/?srsltid=AfmBOoqDh8gVWrpSbcoTPaV4-If69tPIsIwgOKWFMwDOyjIY3ht4Lb7Q
Keep Wales Tidy Website: https://keepwalestidy.cymru/
Find your local litter-picking hub (Wales): https://keepwalestidy.cymru/caru-cymru/litter-picking-hubs/
Find your local repair café (Wales): https://repaircafewales.org/locations/#locations-map
Find your local repair café (England and rest of UK): https://communityrepairnetwork.org.uk/find/
Find your local “library of things” (Wales): https://www.benthyg-cymru.org/find-your-nearest-library
Find your local “library of things” (England): https://www.ethicalconsumer.org/home-garden/library-things-directory