Why should we repair stuff in our homes instead of buying new? Firstly, it’s a lot lighter on the wallet than buying a replacement. Secondly, you can tell everyone that comes round ‘I did it myself’ and they’ll be impressed by your efforts. And finally, it keeps items in use for as long as possible so new things don’t have to be made for no reason, conserving the planet’s scarce resources.

We’ve included five super simple hacks that anyone can do at home. There’s no need for expensive tools or complicated manuals with these cheap repairs – you’ve got this!

Remove rust with foil. Did you know all it takes is a balled-up bit of foil and you can get metal gleaming again? All you do is rub the ball of foil on the rusty part, and with a bit of elbow grease, it will remove the rust. This works inside on rusty sinks and hinges, and outside on bikes and garden furniture.

Remove stubborn mould from blinds. With the amount of rain we get in Greater Manchester, it’s pretty hard to avoid mould in your home. But a few black spots on your white roller blinds doesn’t mean you need to throw them away.

Fill the bath with cold water and bleach (bonus tip: bleach works better with cold water) and soak them for at least 1 hour. Rinse them off and hang to dry. This tip also works really well on plastic shower curtains.

Peel and stick wall and furniture covering. Got a scuffed side table or hate the colour of your kitchen cupboards? Peel and stick papers are a staple for renters who want to put their temporary mark on a property. These patterned sheets come in loads of colours and patterns and work like giant stickers to refresh your furniture; you can even get wallpaper versions.

Change colour with spray paint. Spray paint is amazing for changing up small items in your home like lamps, plant pots and picture frames. It’s super quick to apply and quick drying. Just be sure to do it outside and wear a mask to avoid breathing in the fumes and give the item a good dust before you start. Spray in thin coats to avoid blobs of paint.

Vacuum cleaner not working like it used to? Vacuums are expensive to replace – keep yours working well for as long as possible by showing it a little TLC. Properly cleaning the filter and the tubes can make a world of difference to how well it performs. If you’ve got a more serious fault, there are loads of local repair cafes and business who can help. Visit the Repair Directory to find your closest.

Need tools for a bigger project? Did you know the average drill is only used for 13 minutes in its lifetime! Don’t buy a drill to neglect it, use these hire schemes instead:

• Manchester Library of Things– Borrow anything from drills to jet washes.
• Fat Llama – Rent almost anything and earn money by renting out things you own.
• National Tool Hire – Rent DIY, cleaning, and gardening tools with free delivery.
• Brandon Hire Station – Rent tools and equipment for your DIY project.

We’ve put together a list of local, sustainable businesses that are in the loop and contributing to a circular economy. We hope these examples will inspire you to be in the loop and access some of the brilliant schemes and businesses that are happening in Greater Manchester.

1. Open Kitchen

Open Kitchen create meals from food that would have been wasted, even though it’s perfectly edible. The social enterprise intercepts food that has been over produced or deemed too wonky for supermarket shelves and saves it from the bin. Their chefs create seasonal and fresh food at two cafes in Greater Manchester. Open Kitchen also offer catering so you can enjoy delicious and sustainable food at your next event.

The UK wastes 9.5 million tonnes of food every year, 70% of which could have been eaten. With so many people in the UK struggling with food scarcity, it’s more important than ever to Buy, Keep, Eat, Repeat (link to BKER page in text)

SUSTAINABLE SOURCING | Open Kitchen (openkitchenmcr.co.uk)

2. Music Magpie

Founded in Stockpot in 2007, the brand has become a titan of second-hand tech. Music Magpie buy used phones from individuals, refurbish them, and put them up for sale and to rent. The company keeps tech in the loop as long as possible, a brilliant example of the circular economy benefiting customers and reducing electronic-waste (e-waste). It’s not just phones and laptops, you can even sell them CDs and books.

The UK is one of the highest produces of e-waste, with the average person wasting 23.9 kg every year. E-waste contains precious metals that are essential to make more electronics. Many of these metals are finite meaning they will run out if we don’t reuse them. You can recycle small electricals at the recycling centre, batteries at most supermarkets and you can return your appliance to the shop you bought it from for them to recycle.

Sustainability | musicMagpie (musicmagpieplc.com)

3. Lentils and Lather

With 2 zero waste shops in Greater Manchester, Lentils and Lather are helping residents to reduce unnecessary packaging and go plastic free. Their shops stock everything from fresh produce, to cleaning products and spices. Zero waste shopping couldn’t be easier, you take your own pots, jars, and tubs along to the shop, weigh them, fill with goodies and pay for the weight.

We all know plastic is a huge problem, with the average family throwing away 66 pieces of plastic every week. Even if you can’t access a zero waste shop, small changes like choosing the glass jar instead of a squeezy bottle or buying loose fruit and veg instead of using the disposable bags (you’ll wash it anyway!) will add up and make a difference.

Lentils and Lather – sustainable shopping in South Manchester

4. Stitched Up

Based in Stretford, Stitched Up are a not-for-profit that promotes sustainable fashion. They offer a range of courses for beginners interested in learning to sew, repair and make their own clothes. Their regular ‘clothes swap’ events promote keeping clothing in the loop for as long as possible.

With our UK wardrobes hiding £30 million worth of clothes that have never been worn, we’re clearly buying much more than we need. Fast fashion is hugely destructive, emissions from the fashion industry are higher than all international flights and shipping combined.

About – Stitched Up

5. Giggacycle

Giggacycle collect computers and laptops and recycle them safely. Working with businesses and individuals, they collect items for free and ensure all personal data is wiped. The equipment is then refurbished and sold. Whatever can’t be refurbished is recycled so the components can be used again. They even offer cashback so you get money for the recycled stuff.

The average Greater Manchester home hides nearly 20 unused electrical items. E-waste is the fastest growing waste stream in the UK, and £370 million per year is lost when the precious materials like gold and copper are not recycled.

IT Disposal | Computer Recycling | Data Destruction (gigacycle.co.uk)

RECYCLE for Greater Manchester is set to expand the range of materials that can be recycled at its recycling centres, as new figures show a strong increase in recycling rates across the city-region.

As part of a trial, Greater Manchester residents can now recycle hard plastics such as old plastic garden furniture or children’s toys that are broken or no longer usable. The hard plastics are bulked up and taken to a reprocessor where they are recycled into new plastic products.

With more containers added for different types of materials, the recycling centres are no longer a place where waste is simply thrown away; nearly all household waste can be either recycled, reused, upcycled or composted. The majority of the items brought to the centres are recycled locally in the Northwest and very little goes to landfill, in fact less than 2% of all household waste in Greater Manchester ends up in landfill.

The announcement comes as new figures show that in May, recycling rates increased on average to over 52%, with some sites reaching 60%.

Cllr Martyn Cox, GMCA lead for the Green City Region and waste and recycling, said: “There have been many improvements to our recycling centres over recent years and it’s great to see the recycling rate increasing. Through our partnership with SUEZ UK who manage the sites, they’ve been able to identify new recycling outlets such as for hard plastics and mattresses. That means we can recycle more and more of our household waste. And through our Renew shops we’re able to support many of our communities and people in need.”

Containers are also available for recycling mattresses and carpets. Mattresses are taken to a facility in Bolton which is run by the Furniture Recycling Group (TFR). Here, they are broken down into 19 different component parts including steel, cotton, polyester, and foam. Some of the fabrics end up in the car manufacturing process whilst others go into making stab proof vests!

Around 167,000 tonnes of mattresses still get landfilled in the UK every year – this is around 7 million mattresses! Every month, TFR Group recycle around 15,000 mattresses, all of which come from the containers at the recycling centres across Greater Manchester.

Reuse is also high on the agenda at the recycling centres, with ‘Renew’ containers situated at 18 of the 20 sites. These are for any items that are in good condition or need minor repairs. Once the items have been donated at the recycling centres, they’re taken to the Renew Hub in Trafford Park, where they’re cleaned, sorted and repaired ready to be sold in one of the three Renew shops, or via the new eBay shop.

The Renew shops opened in 2021 and are located at Woodhouse Lane, Trafford; Boysnope Wharf, Salford; and Arkwright St, Oldham recycling centres. All money raised from sales of the pre-loved items goes towards two good causes: the Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity and R4GM Community Fund.

John Wrigley, Regional Director for SUEZ recycling and recovery UK said: “We are really proud of the recycling rates that we’re now achieving across all of our sites in Greater Manchester. Since we took on the contract in 2019 we have focused on bringing in the right partnerships enabling us to recycle more materials, such as carpets and mattresses, with hard plastics being the latest material to be added. We work closely with Recycle for Greater Manchester to ensure that residents are aware of what to do with their waste items, and if anybody is unsure on site our operatives are always on hand to help.”

There are 20 recycling centres available free of charge for residents. They are open 7 days a week, most sites from 8am to 8pm. If you are visiting in a van, you will need a permit. Find out more: www.recycleforgreatermanchester.com.

SUEZ recycling and recovery UK (SUEZ) has joined up with The City of Trees to plant 240 trees at Boz Park in Whitefield, Bury.

A team of socially-distanced volunteers from SUEZ braved the cold in mid-December 2020 to plant over 200 sapling trees throughout the park off Oak Lane, Whitefield.

The planting is part of the new ‘Northern Forest’ initiative which will span over 120 miles from Liverpool to Hull. The ‘Northern Forest’ will accelerate the creation of new woodland and support sustainable management of existing woodland right across the north of England.

The team also took the opportunity to clean up the area and collected over 10 large bin bags of litter, including some rather unusual items such as a dolls pram and a pair of boots!

SUEZ was chosen in 2019 by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) to operate their waste and resources contracts. As part of their contractual agreement, SUEZ made over 50 social value commitments including planting over 1,400 trees over the course of the contracts.

Anna Bell, Contract Director at SUEZ, said: “We are absolutely delighted to have been able to plant these saplings at Boz Park. The team did a great job in really cold and blustery conditions. Tree planting is very much part of our social value commitment to Greater Manchester and will contribute towards creating a carbon neutral city-region.”

Eleanor Walker, City of Trees, said: “The SUEZ team did a great job planting trees and clearing litter from this well-used community asset. It’s crucial we continue to look after Greater Manchester’s green spaces for both wildlife and local people”.

Property has been destroyed and homes have been seriously damaged nearly 800 times a year as a result of faulty or mistakenly used electrical appliances, Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS) has revealed.

These fires have led to a total of 218 people recorded as having been injured as a result over the past three years – an average of 73 people a year.
Analysis of incidents over the past three years (April 2017 to March 2020), has shown an average of 786 fires a year were traced to a cause involving electrical equipment.

They include:

• 409 fires caused by faulty wiring, cabling and plugs
• 111 fires caused by electric lighting
• 96 fires caused by heaters, fires or heating equipment
• 82 fires caused by washing machines and tumble or spin dryers
• 59 fires caused by power generation equipment, such as batteries or generators
• 29 fires caused by fridge/freezers, dishwashers and kettles

The figures – released on Monday 23 November to mark the start of national Electrical Fire Safety week – include faults with the electrical appliances and related causes, such as faults with the wiring and with the way the appliance has been used, for example by a heater catching light to furniture or food setting light in a microwave oven.

The impact of these fires can be very serious.

Although in most cases the fire was contained in the room where it started, in seven per cent of cases the fire had spread beyond the room where the fire started, and in three per cent of cases it affected the whole building.

As part of their incident log GMFRS records whether anyone in the property suffered injury, but the seriousness of the injury is not recorded because this is a judgement of the NHS staff who treat the victims.

GMFRS Head of Prevention, Paul Duggan, said: “Faulty electrical equipment, loose wiring, frayed cabling and overloaded sockets can all spark a fire.
“In addition, the way electrical appliances like heaters are used can set light to whatever is next to them – such as curtains, furniture or your own clothing.
“And the contents of something like a microwave oven or a tumble dryer can set light and spread if it is set too hot or runs for too long.
“It’s particularly important to check the safety of electrics at this time of year, when people may be using an electric heater for the first time this winter, or they may be plugging in items like Christmas lights which have been in storage for a year.”

Electrical Fire Safety week is led by the charity Electrical Safety First, in collaboration with the National Fire Chiefs Council.

They are warning this year to beware of buying fake, sub-standard and potentially deadly electronic items from online marketplaces, such as Amazon and eBay, where a lack of regulation means sellers are not subject to the same standards as trusted manufacturers.

A fire may start in the charger as well as the appliance and GMFRS has recently had to deal with fires that have started in the charger of e-cigarettes that have been bought cheaply from unregulated suppliers.

Recycle for Greater Manchester, which operates the region’s household waste and recycling centres, is also urging people not to place battery operated electrical items in their general rubbish bin.
This is because the battery may spark a fire, even if it is “dead”, if it later crushed or damaged. This usually happens in the waste disposal site and can lead to serious fires.

Recycle for Greater Manchester is asking instead for these items, along with mains-powered faulty or damaged electrical appliances, to be stored safely at home during the current Covid restrictions and then brought to the household waste and recycling centre when it is safe to do so.

Paul added: “Fires in electrical appliances can become very serious. At the very least they will destroy the appliance, but they can also cause great damage to the room they are in.
“If the fire spreads or takes hold it can cause very serious damage to people’s homes. We can see also that they lead to dozens of people suffering a health injury too.
“However, people can take simple precautions that can minimise the risk, by checking over their electrics and appliances, taking care where they buy products, and making sure what they use is safe.

“A working smoking alarm on each level of your home will also alert you to a fire.”
Further information on safe use of electrical appliances is available on the GMFRS website.