Businesses, third sector groups and local authorities that collaborate to form ‘reuse and repair hubs’ could transform Scotland’s sustainable economy a report has found.
The report from Zero Waste Scotland said that a high quantity of quality goods as well as collaboration across private, public and third sectors were essential to expanding the reuse sector in Scotland through large scale retail of reusable goods, which has the potential to create jobs in communities across the country and relieve the pressure on increasingly scarce raw materials.
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It also highlights the opportunities for smaller reuse organisations (those trading less than 21,000 goods per year) to partner up with others to generate the supply of quality goods needed to make a large scale reuse hub work economically. It examines how reuse and repair hubs work internationally, and draws on this expertise to suggest models which could work in Scotland.
On the back of the report, Zero Waste Scotland is launching a fund, open to bids from groups interested in collaborating to form reuse and repair hubs in Scottish communities.
Zero Waste Scotland chief executive Iain Gulland said: “A thriving reuse and repair sector has to be a major part of the Scottish economy in the future, as global pressure on resources increase. Reuse and repair hubs will also progress Scotland’s ambitions towards a circular economy by providing hubs which maximise reuse and repair, creating jobs and training opportunities, especially as a local level, with skills to extend the longevity of products and the reuse of materials.
“Zero Waste Scotland is announcing both the framework and the funding to help develop the sector in communities across Scotland, which is one of our key priorities. We are encouraging local authorities, third sector organisations and businesses to get in touch if they are interested in being involved in a collaborative bid to form a reuse or repair hub. Please visit our website or contact our staff if you or your organisation wants to be part of a hub in your community.”
More information can be found at http://www.zerowastescotland.org.uk/reusehubs
