A blog by our friends at Stitched Up

The first Repair Café was in Amsterdam in 2009, and now there are over 2,500 running worldwide. Volunteers are really the star of the show at Repair Cafés, so here’s 5 reasons why it’s awesome to volunteer at a Repair Café.

2. Opportunity to skill share and learn skills

At a Repair Cafe, people might bring broken electronics, textiles, homewares or even bikes. With the knowledge of our volunteers, they will learn to fix these items so they can remain in circulation for longer. You don’t need to be an expert to volunteer! If you know how to sew on a button, or how to tighten a screw, Repair Cafes would really benefit from your time and skills. The great thing about the skill sharing aspect of Repair Cafes is that everyone’s knowledge is collectivised for the greater good. Plus, you’ll likely learn new skills from fellow volunteers which you can take forward in your own life.

3. Play a part in your community

Volunteering with people in your community has a profoundly positive impact on one’s own wellbeing, as well as helping out others. The National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) published a report on volunteering, where they found that nine out of ten volunteers said they had met friends through volunteering. Similarly, around two thirds of volunteers agreed that volunteering made them feel less isolated. Playing a part in your community through volunteering is fantastic for both your wellbeing, and that of other participants.

5. Make a positive environmental impact

When an item is broken, it can be hard to dispose of sustainably. Charity shops can’t take broken things, and many items have a number of different materials that are hard to separate and recycle.

Repairing items means that the embodied resources that went into that item are not wasted. Every item repaired makes a difference. For example, by keeping your clothing for an extra nine months, instead of buying new, you reduce their environmental impact by 20-30%. Also, encouraging a new attitude to broken things through Repair Cafes helps your community act more sustainably.

• Recycle Your Electricals is launching ‘The Great Cable Challenge’ – calling on households across the UK to take part and collectively recycle one million cables, helping to reduce e-waste.
• New research commissioned by Recycle Your Electricals found that nearly 40% of UK homes keep their small electricals in a ‘drawer of doom’ and over a quarter of respondents who store unused electricals (28%) said they felt embarrassed, annoyed or frustrated by the small electricals they store in their homes.[1]
• The research also reveals that over a third of UK homes (35%) who hold on to electricals do so because they don’t know how to dispose of them properly.[2]
• Recycle for Greater Manchester is partnering with Recycle Your Electricals to show how easy it is to recycle your unused electricals this International E-Waste Day and de-clutter your drawers!

Recycle for Greater Manchester is working with Recycle Your Electricals to encourage local residents to participate in The Great Cable Challenge – a nationwide campaign aimed at tackling the millions of cables sitting idle across UK households. The initiative is part of this year’s International E-Waste Day which is taking place on the 14th October.

With over one third of respondents (37%) checking for unused electricals less than once a year, the challenge aims to give a second life to the valuable materials contained in cables, such as copper. Copper can be recycled into new items such as wind turbines and new tech such as mobile phones, laptops, tablets, smart watches.

In Greater Manchester you can take all unwanted technology to all of our Household Waste Recycling Centres.

Things like cables, chargers, small electricals, phones, laptops, batteries and even vapes have designated recycling facilities.

The Great Cable Challenge comes as new research commissioned by Recycle Your Electricals reveals that two-in-five UK homes (39%) keep hold of their small electricals in a ‘drawer of doom’ – our secret, often hidden stashes of unused electricals and broken tech found in many households.[3]  In fact, over a quarter of these respondents (28%) said they even felt embarrassed, annoyed or frustrated by the small electricals they store in their homes.[4]

The good news is that it’s now easier than ever to recycle unused cables and electricals using Recycle Your Electricals’ Recycling Locator. Just enter your postcode to find your nearest recycling point which has over 26,000 locations across the UK.

With millions of cables cluttering up UK homes, Recycle Your Electricals have published a handy Cable Guide. With 35 of the most used cables, the guide provides easy to use visuals to match cables to their original electricals. If the electricals or the cables are no longer working or they aren’t needed anymore, simply bag up your cables and recycle them! You can view the Cable Guide HERE.

Recycling electricals has never been easier as there are over 26,000 recycling points around the UK. Just check Recycle Your Electricals postcode locator to find your nearest recycling point – anything with a plug, battery or cable can be recycled.

International E-Waste Day (IEWD) 2024 aims to encourage householders to participate in this year’s campaign by encouraging everyone to recycle their cables and their household electricals.

• Merseyway shopping centre in Stockport has been taken over by Recycle for Greater Manchester to highlight the value of clothes and shoes even old, damaged ones.
• Residents are being encouraged to recycle their old, damaged or unwanted clothes instead of throwing them away
• Immersive display of unwearable but recyclable clothes to encourage residents to think about how they get rid of their clothes and shoes

An immersive and eye-catching display has taken over a town centre’s shopping centre to encourage residents to think about how they get rid of their unwanted clothes.

Each year thousands of tonnes of textiles are thrown away in Greater Manchester, with 16,700 tonnes put in general waste bins in 2023/24. On average each person in the UK throws away 35 items of clothing in the general waste bin every year, from socks with holes in to ripped or baggy t-shirts. Much of this also comes from ‘fast fashion’ with poor quality clothes sold cheaply before being quickly thrown away.

However, damaged clothes and shoes can be recycled, with residents being encouraged to donate their damaged or unwanted clothes and shoes to textile banks across Greater Manchester as part of the #CottonOn campaign.

R4GM has taken this campaign to Stockport town centre with an immersive installation at Merseyway shopping centre.

The installation shows unwearable clothes covered with imperfections from stains to rips and key messages about recycling. In addition to the installation there is outdoor advertising across Greater Manchester.

There are textile banks across Greater Manchester – including at all 20 of R4GM’s recycling centres – while many can also be found in supermarket carparks and large clothing stores. To find your nearest – Recycling Locator tool | Recycle Now

All clothes from our textile banks are hand sorted in Greater Manchester. Clothing that can’t be re-worn is recycled into something new like animal bedding, carpet underlay and even car seats, right here in the UK.

Cllr Tom Ross, GMCA’s lead for Waste and Recycling, said: “It is great to see this eye-opening display in busy hub of Stockport where residents can learn about an issue, they may not have been aware of. Throwing away clothes and shoes wastes valuable resources, especially considering the production of clothing and footwear requires significant amounts of energy, water, and raw materials.”

“This is another fantastic example of what Recycle for Greater Manchester does to highlight easy changes that people can make to recycle more and help improve our environment.”

The display will be at Merseyway from September 30 to October 11

#CottonOn Campaign

• Residents urged to stop putting their old clothes into the general waste bin, with more than 16,700 tonnes put in bins in 2023/24
• Old or damaged clothes can be recycled and turned into something new in the UK
• Clothing banks located across Greater Manchester give donated clothes a new lease of life

Residents are being encouraged to recycle their old, damaged or unwanted clothes instead of throwing them away, as part of the new #CottonOn campaign from Recycle for Greater Manchester (R4GM).

Each year thousands of tonnes of textiles are thrown away in Greater Manchester, with 16,700 tonnes put in general waste bins in 2023/24. On average each person in the UK throws away 35 items of clothing in the general waste bin every year, from socks with holes in to ripped or baggy t-shirts. Much of this also comes from ‘fast fashion’, with poor quality clothes sold cheaply before being quickly thrown away.

While many people recycle their unwanted clothes by donating them to charity or selling them online, many may be unaware that damaged clothes and textiles can also be recycled.

Greater Manchester has a large existing network of textile banks, including at all of our 20 recycling centres, with many also housed in supermarket carparks and in some large clothing stores.

All clothes from these banks are hand-sorted in Greater Manchester. Clothing that can’t be reworn is recycled into something new like animal bedding, carpet underlay and even car seats, right here in the UK.

Cllr Tom Ross, GMCA’s lead for Waste and Recycling, said:
“The thousands of tonnes of clothes and shoes being thrown away each year adds to our carbon emissions, damaging our ambitions to be carbon neutral by 2038. Under government plans these extra carbon emissions will lead to increased costs for the GMCA and individual local authorities.“It is great to see this campaign under way to raise awareness of what Greater Manchester residents can do with the unwanted or damaged clothes and shoes in their home, and it’s a fantastic example of what R4GM does to make recycling simple.”

The #CottonOn to recycling your clothes campaign officially launched on August 19^th, with adverts and events taking place at shopping centres across Greater Manchester in the coming months.The Recycle Now website provides a location map of textile banks and can be found here.

Innovative recycling and reuse projects given £220,000 of funding through the Recycle for Greater Manchester Community Fund.

• £220,000 awarded to support 21 community groups in Greater Manchester working to cut waste and promote reuse and recycling
• Recycle for Greater Manchester Community Fund, now in its fourth year, uses proceeds from sales of preloved household items in Renew Shops
• Projects supported include initiatives to rescue unwanted bikes, reuse digital devices, tackle food waste and bring communities together

A total of 21 community groups across Greater Manchester are set to benefit from £220,000 in funding to support innovative projects that tackle waste and encourage reuse and recycling.

Now in its fourth year, the Recycle for Greater Manchester (R4GM) Community Fund has awarded a new round of funding for local community and voluntary sector groups focused on creative solutions for recycling, repairing or reusing household waste throughout the city-region. The fund is managed by the Greater Manchester Environment Fund (GMEF), the UK’s first regional environmental impact fund.

All of the successful projects this year are receiving money from the fund for the first time, securing between £2,000 and £20,000 each. The projects were chosen from a pool of nearly 70 applications, each recognised for their commitment to sustainability and delivering social value for their communities.

What the successful groups will focus on includes:

• Innovation awards: Two grants of just under £20,000 each have been secured by Rochdale Science Initiative C.I.C and the charity Become United, who will each carry out their work across Greater Manchester. Rochdale Science Initiative will be launching their Inspiring Communities for a Sustainable Future project, which will deliver waste management workshops with disadvantaged communities. Become United will deliver targeted engagement sessions with diverse communities, providing resources in a range of languages to inspire better recycling.

• Textiles: Eleven of the projects will focus on tackling textile waste. Flixton Primary School PTA will collect preloved uniforms, shoes, books and toys to extend their use and instil sustainable attitudes amongst their pupils. The Repurpose Rochdale project by Rochdale AFC Community Trust will target those not in work, people with disabilities or additional needs and other marginalised groups to help them learn valuable skills in furniture restoration and textile upcycling.

• Food waste: Another key theme of this year’s projects is helping communities through the cost-of-living crisis and helping families to save money by cutting food waste. Gorton Food Hub’s Healthy Me Healthy Communities project will offer courses to help people manage their budget and boost their cooking skills, while Cracking Good Food’s Kitchen Call Out will collect donated kitchen equipment and redistribute it to people who are moving into new homes after homelessness or crisis.

• Cycling: Manchester Cycling Academy CIC and Your Trust Rochdale are keen to get more people on their bikes as a free and eco-friendly way to get around. Each of these projects will rescue bikes destined for waste and refurbish them before making them available at an affordable price to local people. They will also both offer bike maintenance skills to participants and the public.

• Tech: Bridging the digital divide in Greater Manchester is also high on the agenda. Tameside Community Computers CIC will expand into Oldham, collecting unwanted devices via the district’s network of libraries and connecting them with those without a way to get online. Recycle-IT will open a new community hub within a local shopping centre, enabling them to recycle more devices and provide educational workshops on digital inclusion.

• Children and families: Arts Let Loose CIC will deliver free workshops in Salford to local families, showing them how they can waste less, recycle and re-purpose items in a fun and creative way. Take Action Together’s Re:Play project will transform waste materials into new creations while inspiring families to adopt more sustainable lifestyles.

The annual Community Fund comes from the sale of preloved household items at Renew shops across Greater Manchester. Money raised at the Renew shops also results in an annual donation to Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity, supporting efforts to address homelessness and rough sleeping.

Cllr Tom Ross, GMCA lead for the Environment, Waste and Recycling, said: “I’m pleased to see the appetite for this funding is still strong and that we have been able to support another round of excellent projects.

“Greater Manchester is full of passionate and dedicated people who are inspiring their communities to take action to reuse, repair and recycle household waste. I look forward to seeing these projects progress and help us reach our sustainability goals.”

Dan Carolan, Greater Manchester Contract Director for SUEZ, said: “It’s exciting to see all the different types of projects supported by the Community Fund this year and we’re proud to be able to fund it through the great work of the Greater Manchester Renew project. Each year we’re able to give back to the community whilst saving hundreds of thousands of items from waste. I look forward to seeing how this year’s projects develop and to see the difference they’ll make in their local area.”

Mike Brooks, Director of Tameside Community Computers, said: “This funding award will mean so much to, not only us, but to the people we support. It will mean that we can cover a greater number of collections that will result in more refurbishments and support to our clients. It will also result in fewer devices going to waste, as we will be able to advertise in more places and for a greater period of time. It’s a win-win for everyone and we will be reducing our carbon footprint even more. Many thanks for the award.”

SUEZ Recycling and Recovery UK secure contract extensions worth approximately £800m over eight years.

• GMCA agrees extensions following strong performance by SUEZ, with over 99.8% of waste diverted from landfill using methods such as converting waste to energy, composting for agricultural land and recycling/reuse. This is an increase from 90% diverted from landfill before 2019.
• Recycling rates at household waste recycling centres have increased from 35% to 58% since the contracts were won in 2019.
• The contracts are the first in the UK to mandate a strong emphasis on social benefits, with £1.3m for charities and community projects already ploughed back in since 2019.
• Major investment planned for waste infrastructure upgrades in the next decade to optimise efficiency and improve environmental performance.
• Hundreds of jobs supported, and 38 apprenticeships created so far.

Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA), the largest waste disposal authority in the UK, has extended their recycling and waste management contracts with SUEZ Recycling and Recovery UK until 2034. The original seven-year contracts were signed in 2019, with the facility to extend by up to a further eight years from 2026.

The GMCA has led the way in this sector. These contracts were one of the first in the UK to place a strong emphasis on giving back to the community: creating apprenticeships, giving over £1m so far to local charity and to community groups pioneering innovative recycling and reuse schemes, as well as protecting the environment.

Social value, innovation and the environment at the heart of the project for five years

• 54 social value commitments within the contract: The GMCA took a bold approach to designing the tender for the contracts, with social value worth 15% of the marks (rather than a public sector procurement norm of 2-3%). This led to SUEZ developing 54 ‘social value commitments’ which have delivered wide-ranging social, environmental and economic benefits across Greater Manchester estimated to be worth over £1bn over the initial 7-year term of the contracts.

• The Renew Hub, an innovative reuse service: The first-of-its-kind Renew Hub and the network of Renew shops have diverted more than 260,000 individual items to reuse, raising more than £1million for good causes across Greater Manchester, including £100,000 a year to the Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity, which tackles homelessness and rough sleeping in Greater Manchester.

• Recycling for Greater Manchester Community Fund: Every year since 2021, community projects for recycling and reuse can bid for a slice of £220,000 of funding, with the successful projects from the fourth round soon to be announced. These have ranged from baby clothes packages for new families and reused bikes for refugees to community cookery champions that turn food waste into free meals.

• Recycling Lives: A partnership with the social enterprise, Recycling Lives, who run the electrical repair pod at the Renew Hub in Trafford Park. This charity runs 8-week placements for people on probation to give them basic work skills in electricals, aiming to reduce homelessness and reoffending by supporting men and women into stable housing and employment. Household electrical items and white goods such as washing machines are donated at the recycling centres, brought to the Renew Hub where the Recycling Lives team repair them, and they are then sold to the public in the Renew shops or eBay shop. People who go through the programme are less likely to re-offend once they have learnt new skills and find employment, with an average of only 5% reoffending once completing the programme against a national rate of 25%. To date, through the Achieve programme, Recycling Lives have created 53 work placements for people on probation, 20 going into employment, seven with SUEZ in Greater Manchester.

• A strong contribution to local inclusion and education: With a focus on green skills, 38 apprenticeships have been created by the contract so far with roles including recycling operatives, welders, electricians and two new furniture restorers at the Renew Hub. SUEZ has led more than 60 events with schools and young people to educate them about recycling and reuse, while positioning the sector as an attractive future career option. The company has also supported 11 research projects with local colleges and universities.

• A proactive biodiversity conservation policy: Preserving nature is one of the pillars of SUEZ’s sustainable development roadmap, alongside social responsibility and action for climate. It forms part of the commitments within the contracts to put Greater Manchester’s waste to good use. In the first five years, SUEZ has planted 1,498 trees with City of Trees, donated over 350 tonnes of compost to community groups and has taken a range of actions to improve biodiversity across Greater Manchester’s waste sites.

• A significant increase in the recycling rate: The recycling rate across the authority’s 20 household waste recycling centres (HWRCs) has increased from 35% to 58% since 2019.

Caroline Simpson, Group Chief Executive to GMCA, GMFRS and TFGM said: 

“It is good news for Greater Manchester residents that we have extended these waste management contracts. Under our unique devolution deal, we are making sure that these contracts push the boundaries on delivery of social value for the city region through public sector procurement, developing a model that is seen as best practice nationally.

“From creating jobs and apprenticeship opportunities to hundreds of thousands of pounds of funding for community projects every year, the last five years has seen a huge shift in waste management services that puts our residents at the very heart of them.

“Our partnership with SUEZ has also seen a significant improvement in performance with only 0.2% of waste going into landfill and HWRC recycling close to 60%. Waste management in the UK faces several challenges in the future from major policy reform and I have every confidence that GMCA and SUEZ are well placed to meet those challenges and to continue to provide excellent waste management services for our residents.”

Sabrina Soussan, Chairman and CEO of SUEZ said:

“We are delighted to extend our contract with GMCA, the UK’s largest waste disposal authority, to support them in their transition to a more circular economy. GMCA’s decision to strengthen its collaboration with SUEZ is a sign of the long-term trust we’ve built. It underlines SUEZ’s commitment to creating economic and social value for our customers, through innovative and resilient solutions.”

John Scanlon, Chief Executive Officer for SUEZ recycling and recovery UK said:

“I’m proud of the innovations we have delivered to reuse and recycle more of Greater Manchester’s waste in our first five years of partnership with GMCA. The extension to our contracts is testament to the collaborative approach that defines our relationship and I’m delighted GMCA has chosen to continue to partner with SUEZ to navigate the coming years of change and transition as we work together to create a more resource-efficient circular economy.”

Cllr Tom Ross, GMCA’s lead for Green City-Region, said:

“It is great to see our very successful contract with SUEZ extended, providing security for jobs and investing in Greater Manchester’s waste and recycling ambitions. We are very happy with what we have achieved with SUEZ, including our fantastic Renew Hub, and are excited for our plans going forward.”

Every week, five million vapes are thrown away in the UK. Disposable vapes are being used widely to help people stop smoking and the wide variety of flavours, colours and brands have made them really popular in a very short space of time.  

What is the issue? 

What can you do? 

Recycle them:  

• Take them back to the shop: shops that sell vapes should provide a recycling facility for them. In fact, they’re legally bound to offer a take-back scheme. If your local shop doesn’t have a collection point, ask them to introduce one. 

• Alternatively find your nearest recycling point using Recycle your Electricals “Recycling Locator” 

• Take them to your nearest recycling centre. We’re always looking for ways to improve recycling and we now have special vape bins so you can dispose of your vapes in a safe and secure way.
  

Swap to re-usable vapes:

By swapping to a re-usable vape you will be creating less electrical waste. You’ll also be helping the planet by saving precious materials from being extracted to manufacture them.  There are many options out there, you can shop around for an alternative which will save you money and have endless environmental benefits. 

For more information on vapes visit: 

Recycle vapes – Material Focus 

Vapes / Vaping devices | Recycle for Greater Manchester 

Video of how to recycle vapes  

Recycle Your Electricals Vapes Film (youtube.com) 

When you hear the word ‘landfill’, you probably don’t think of a place where nature is thriving. But you might be in for a surprise. In Greater Manchester, we saw the potential in these spaces and have made it our mission to make room for nature at our waste and recycling sites.

Creating homes for insects

Our Sustainability Champions are always on the lookout for spaces to give back to nature. We’re on a mission to install planters, bug hotels or wildflowers at all 20 recycling centres in Greater Manchester. Many already boast habitats for critters.

85,000 honey bees call recycling centres home after we created hives at two sites. The bees work hard pollinating local plants which keeps the cycle of life turning. A by-product of their hard work is delicious local honey. This liquid gold sells out incredibly quickly, but if you’re lucky you might be able to find a jar in our Renew shops.

Closing the loop on food

Did you know all the food and garden waste you recycle at home is turned into compost in the North West? Because it’s made up of food scraps the compost is packed with microorganisms and nutrients which help enrich the soil it’s added to. Most of the compost is used to grow wheat on farms close by, which gets turned into bread. Producing food locally means it doesn’t need to be transported on fuel-guzzling planes, ships and trains so has a much smaller environmental impact.

The Recycle for Greater Manchester Community Fund is a pot of money awarded to amazing local projects. Some of the projects have a direct impact on improving biodiversity, like Caritas Dioceses of Salford who transform leftover school dinners into nutrient rich compost. The compost is then used to grow more food on their allotments which is given to people in the local community who struggle to access fresh food.

Turning ex-landfills into forests

Waste management has changed. Nowadays, very little waste from households in Greater Manchester goes to landfill sites. These sites were closed and covered with topsoil decades ago. Although the unruly weeds and grass that started growing on top did offer some protection to natural wildlife like insects, we knew much more could be done to encourage biodiversity in these spaces. We’ve transformed two landfill sites that have been out of use for over 40 years into forests where nature can thrive.

In Spring 2024, City of Trees planted over 750 trees at the sites in Rochdale and Stockport. All the plants introduced are native species and have been carefully curated to harmoniously coexist whilst attracting a broad mix of mammals, birds, and insects.

These new forests will join up with existing woodlands around the sites to create nature corridors for animals to move through and live in. The ex-landfill sites are already home to a wide variety of wildlife including rabbits, roe deer and foxes, with water voles, bats and a huge variety of bird species living in the woodlands close by.

As well as creating a welcoming habitat for animals, the new forests are already starting to absorb CO2. This is a positive step towards achieving our bold ambition to decarbonise waste and recycling sites. The decarbonation project is part of the Five Year Environment Plan which is striving for a carbon neutral city region by 2038.

Why is biodiversity so important?

Biodiversity impacts everything we need to survive. Microorganisms enrich the soil where we grow our food. Roots from trees and plants hold the earth together preventing landslides and absorb water to avoid floods. Even the air you’re breathing right now has been improved by plants filtering the toxins out.

A recent report into the State of Nature analysed our local environment and found a shocking decline in biodiversity. Nearly half of biodiversity in the UK has been wiped out since the industrial revolution. More pollution, more buildings, more humans, meant less space for nature.

Things are so severe the UK is ranked in the worst 10% of all countries for biodiversity. Which isn’t hard to believe as 1 in 4 mammals in the UK are facing extinction.

The Government has made a commitment to stop the loss of biodiversity by 2030. It will also protect 30% of land to support nature’s recovery. The GMCA is working on a Biodiversity Action Plan that’ll set out how we’ll contribute to the national biodiversity commitments.

The good news is we are already working to improve biodiversity in our city-region. Small actions, just like small creatures, can make a big difference. We’re continuing to protect and encourage biodiversity at the 22 waste and recycling sites in Greater Manchester, whilst providing support and funding for projects that nurture nature in our city region.