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Give and Take Re-use Event

I have just been to the most fabulous event hosted by my local council ” Give & Take Re-use Event” – Wow.

Electrical items_0

The premise is simple bring along a variety of items you no longer require, and take items for free which you do need. This covers electrical items (which are PACT tested on the day and offered out), textiles, furniture and books.

I took along an old working kettle, electric shaver, plus mouldy curtains, a storage bin, and two pieces of furniture. Whats not to love about parting with items you longer require but could be of use to someone else?!

South norfolk council

I was amazed by the quantity of items that had been dropped off, and were readily available to be taken home. The tot and I spotted breadmakers, Jamie Oliver cook books, crocheted blankets, chairs, toys, foot spa… amazing. Just delightful to see the event so supported by the local community, we were even offered free refreshments:)

The council’s energy advice officers were also available to talk to in the flesh about the offers the local council have regarding insulation. I have been meaning to make enquiries for weeks. Admittedly I was not surprised but a little disappointed to learn that our property (which is deemed as hard to treat regarding insulation) does not meet the criteria for free insulation .

What did I come home with? I was restrained (yeah!!) but couldn’t resist some fabulous vintage sheets and a wireless mouse for the laptop.

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If you also live in South Norfolk they have more such events coming up:

  • Tuesday 2 June at Breckland Hall, Costessey
  • Tuesday 28 July at Cringleford Primary School
  • Tuesday 1 September at Diss Community Centre
  • Tuesday 27 October at Ketts Park, Wymondham
  • Monday 7 December at Lincoln Hall, Hingham

Fancy hosting your own re-use event? There are some guidelines/ points to consider here.

Update – here are the amazing stats about how much has been redirected from landfill as a result of the event:

Reuse

  • 0.89 tonnes/223 items of safety tested electricals, furniture, textiles and books were removed by local residents from the reuse area
  • 1.2 tonnes/189 items of tested electricals and furniture were removed by British Heart Foundation
  • 0.22 tonnes/25 sacks of shoes/clothing/textiles were removed by Salvation Army
  • 0.25 tonnes of books were removed to be distributed to local charity shops
  • 0.15 tonnes/20  DIY items were removed for use in the ‘Men Shed’ project. Other items were brought along on the day, by the group, to be safety tested.
  • 3 large sacks of knitting equipment were collected to be donated to the charity, ‘Norfolk Knitters’
  • Donations-£249.13 were raised through donations for the Chairman’s Charity (currently Nelson’s Journey)

Recycling-electrical items

  • 6.74 tonnes/952 items were taken to be recycled

To summarise the list of numbers above, 2.71 tonnes of material was diverted for reuse and 6.74 tonnes of material was recycled from yesterday’s event.

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Jan @ Handcrafted by Picto

Tuesday 9th of June 2015

This is a great idea, I've never heard of it before. I live in Suffolk so I'm going to check out the local councils website and see if they are doing or planning to do something similar. Jan x

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