Circular Week 2023 is currently taking place from October 23-27 to promote the circular economy. More and more businesses and community projects worldwide are embracing the concept of recycling, refurbishing and repurposing items and materials rather than maufacturing new ones. Here are just a few homegrown initiatives around the country

 

– Repurposed textile items for sale at Cycle Up’s shop in Athleague, Co Roscommon. Photo: Cycle Up Facebook

1. Roscommon Women’s Network CycleUp project

CycleUp featured in our Autumn 2019 edition (Issue 84) for being an example to others. It is run by Roscommon Women’s Network (RWN) and was established after members became concerned about textile waste. They were ahead of the EU in their outlook.

As a social enterprise, Cycle Up provides training in textile upcycling and creates new items from unwanted clothing. As well as the circular economy element, the project takes a community development approach, and seeks to “empower individuals through upcycling education and skills development while addressing the issue of textile waste”.

The organisation says it works to support the hardest to reach women and families to engage and participate. Today, CycleUp employs three part-time staff and five Community Employment workers, supported by a team of 14 volunteers. To date, they have upcycled more than 8,000kg of textiles resulting in a carbon saving of 65 tonnes. For more information, or to shop for products, see cycleup.ie

– An Mheitheal Rothar’s bicycle workshop in NUI Galway. Photo: An Mheitheal Rothar Facebook

2. An Mheitheal Rothar, Galway

The idea for An Mheitheal Rothar was born during a meeting of the NUIG Ecology Society. Members suggested establishing a space where students could repair their bikes “in an environment which encouraged peer-to-peer learning, civic and environmental responsibility and empowered people in their own abilities”.

After almost two years of groundwork and negotiations with the university, An Mheitheal Rothar’s ‘Ecospace’ workshop was established on the NUIG campus in August 2012.

The organisation now operates a second premises, Siopa Rothar at Galway Shopping Centre. An Mheitheal Rothar runs DIY bike repair workshops for the public at its NUIG premises, where participants carry out repairs on their own bicycles with guidance from volunteer mechanics. W: bikeworkshops.ie

– Instruments given to the Seamus Ennis Arts Centre, Naul to be used for music lessons. Photo: Fingal County Council

3. Fingal County Council’s musical instruments project

In 2019, Fingal County Council set up a musical instruments project, where instruments given to the council’s recycling facilities for disposal are cleaned and mended.

The refurbished instruments are then distributed to various organisations such as centres for autism, addiction and rehabilitation. The projects accepts all kinds of instruments, such as guitars, ukuleles, drums, violins, keyboards, electric guitars, and accordions.

Accessories such as amps and cables are also accepted at the council’s recycling centres in Estuary, Swords and Coolmine.

W: fingal.ie/instruments-project

– Recycle IT, a community recycling service in Clondalkin offers a pick-up service for electrical items

4. Recycle IT, Clondalkin, Dublin

Recycle IT, based in Clondalkin in Dublin, is a not for profit, social enterprise that creates sustainable local training and employment through electrical, electronic, and metal recycling for reuse.

It offers a drop off service, charity collection, a business or community collection service, and a home collection service for old, damaged or unused electrical, electronic or metal items.

Recycle IT will take any electrical items with a plug or a battery. It also accepts small battery-operated devices like electric toothbrushes, mobile phones and pocket radios.

In 2022, Recycle IT processed 833,000kgs of electrical, electronic and metal items for recycling. Income generated by collection and breakdown of waste is reinvested in training and employment and encourages environment awareness. W: recycleit.ie

– A clothes swap held by Change Clothes in Crumlin, Dublin. Photo: changeclothes.org

5. Change Clothes, Crumlin, Dublin

Change Clothes Crumlin (www.changeclothes.org) is a community-based clothing reuse hub, offering reuse solutions for clothes at all stages of their lifecycle. It holds clothing exchanges for unworn or lightly-worn clothes, a rental service for vintage occasion wear, and upcycling and repair workshops and services for clothes in need of some TLC.

Rags from clothing items that would otherwise go to landfill are repurposed into new products. Despite only coming into operation in the summer of 2022, by the end of the year Change Clothes facilitated 1,239 clothing swaps and upcycled 53 items, saving a total of 1,292 pieces of clothing from landfill.

– Oksana from Odesa was recently presented with a donated bicycle refurbished by The Good Bike Project. Photo: The Good Bike Project Instagram

6. The Good Bike Project, Ushers Island, Dublin 8

Since The Good Bike Project was set up by Paul McQuaid in 2022, more than 2,000 donated and refurbished bikes have been provided to refugees all over the country.

Paul was compelled to set up the project from his bicycle shop, River Cycles, after a friend told him of a Ukrainian mother and children who were in need of bikes to get to school.

He kindly gifted them bikes from his shop, but quickly realised that there was a great need for bicycles among the refugee community, so a larger scale response was needed.

Courier company DPD soon offered their assistance, and now deliver three bikes daily to refugees across Ireland. W: thegoodbikeproject.com