Did you know the UK produces more than 100 million tonnes of waste every year, one tonne is about the weight of a small car. In less than two hours, the waste we produce would fill the Albert Hall in London, every eight months it would fill Lake Windermere, the largest and deepest lake in England!
Did you know most plastic shopping bags are used only once and a plastic bag can take more than 100 years to decompose.
Did you know the average UK family throws away 6 trees worth of paper in their household bin a year.
Ref: https://www.cbenvironmental.co.uk/
The positive news is that we seem to be heading in the right direction.
The UK recycling rate for Waste from Households (WfH; including IBA metal) was 45.7% in 2017, increasing from 45.2% in 2016. Plus Wales had the highest recycling rate of the four UK countries at 57.6%
So we’ve a long way to go to reach that 50%, yet we have Nicky and Steve from The Pembrokeshire Remakery to thank for inspiring us in West Wales to get there.
If you’re not already aware, the The Pembrokeshire Remakery is a social enterprise based at the Green Shed in Haverfordwest. They focus on inspiring and teaching the community to mend and repair unwanted items, to prolong their life and avoid creating unnecessary waste.
The Pembrokeshire Remakery has successfully inspired the community to save 2.5 tonnes of waste from going to landfill and 8.25 tonnes of Co2 since July 2018.
This is just the beginning of an ambitious mission, to contribute to the EU target for the UK to recycle at least 50% of household waste by 2020, and we look forward to following their progress as the project develops.
In 2018, The Remakery was awarded £71,299.28 from the Welsh Government Rural Communities LEADER programme to put their mission into practice. More recently, they have been awarded £49,900 through the Welsh Government’s Landfill Disposals Tax Community Scheme.
It is the first time that money raised from the Landfill Disposals Tax has been used to support a bespoke Welsh funding scheme.
Co-founder of the project, Nicky Middleton-Jones, told us about their award,
“We started the Green Shed Remakery project in July 2018 with LEADER funding and have been overwhelmed with donations for us to repair and sell in our eco reuse outlet at the Green Shed. The Landfill Disposal Tax fund will help us develop the project further and help us to help local communities change their relationship with household items by giving them the opportunity to learn how to fix them before they reach the end of their lifespan.
The appetite for learning is growing locally and many people are booking for our regular one to one learning sessions. We have ambitious plans for 2019 developing Repair Cafes, specialised repair workshops and we will be running more of the very popular ‘Love Your Bicycle’ sessions.”
See below for details on how to get involved and make your own contribution to our planet.
Learn to repair your own items with the Remakery
“Book a 1:1 tailored learning repair session with one of our repairers at the Remakery, learn to diagnose the fault and have a go a fixing it. From a stool with a wobbly leg to a petrol strimmer or vacuum cleaner, we will give it a go. No experience is necessary as we can show you everything, including how to use tools safely and correctly.”
Booking taken during opening times 10am to 4pm
Cost – £20 per hour
Call 01437 700 205 to discuss your item before booking.
Beginners Love Your Bicycle workshop
Repair a puncture and change an inner tube/wheel
Oil your chain to prevent wear and to enjoy a smoother ride
Adjust your brakes and gears
Find out what is needed in a cycling toolkit to take on your ride
The price of this workshop (£7.50) includes a cuppa, servicing of your bicycle and use of 'eco' oil to oil your chain and moving parts during the workshop only (not to take home). If you have your own you are welcome to bring it along to use.
Make Your Own Leather Tool Sheath
Author - Sally Boyton
Founder of Life Seeker, passionate about adventuring in west Wales, living simply and inspiring others to find happiness through positive living. Designer. Marketing specialist. People person.
This story is part of the Life Seeker newspaper
