Details of the event: Reuse Pop Up Shop
Address: Smallmead Recycling Centre, Island Road Reading RG2 0RP
Opening Hours: 9.30am – 5.00pm on Saturday 23rd October and 10.00 – 4.00pm on Sunday 24th October
With more of us than ever before keen to do our bit to help the planet, the team at the re3 Recycling Centre in Reading will be offering residents a novel way to pick up a pre-loved bargain on 23rd and 24th October with re3’s first ever pop-up reuse shop.
Located in the car park of the Recycling Centre at the Smallmead Recycling Centre, Island Road, Reading, the pop-up shop will give residents an opportunity to buy good quality pre-loved items that have been previously donated by residents for reuse at the site at the both sites. Doing so, they can support a good cause, as profits from this event will be donated to Sue Ryder charity which already operates as reuse function at the site as well as being ploughed back into improving recycling facilities in the area. All items will be available for sale at bargain prices and there is no need to book a slot at the Recycling Centre if residents just want to visit the shop.
However, for residents who do have a Recycling Centre slot over the weekend, they are invited to also drop off items they wish to donate for reuse in the usual re3 Reuse Area on site along with their items for recycling and disposal and then they will be able to drive around, park up and pop into the shop to see what bargains are on offer.
Visitors can expect to find a range of kids toys and games including electronic games, board games and books just in time for half term; we expect to have for sale sporting goods from bicycles and golf clubs to exercise equipment, racquets and bats; the gardeners out there we will have access to garden tools, pots and planters; and for the budding interior designer we will have selection of furniture which are great as they are or perfect for upcycling.
Cllr Mrs Dorothy Hayes MBE, Bracknell Forest Council’s Executive Member for Environment and Chairman of the Joint Waste Disposal Board, Cllr Adele Barnett-Ward, Reading Borough Council’s Lead Councillor for Neighbourhoods & Communities and Cllr Parry Batth, Wokingham Borough Council’s Executive Member for Environment and Leisure, said: “We are extremely proud of our recycling achievements here in Bracknell Forest, Reading and Wokingham Boroughs but we can always do more. Reducing and reusing waste is our ultimate goal and this trial event will give us insight into how we can make use of pre-loved goods. We want to open our residents to the idea of starting a reuse revolution and hope that many residents will enjoy browsing items and supporting a good cause at the same time. We are also really interested to see how this trial works and will continue to work with our partners at FCC Environment to create more reuse and recycling opportunities for our residents.”
Rory Brien, FCC General Manager added: “Every day at both the Recycling Centres, we receive amazing items that have lots of life left in them. We understand that it’s easy to bring everything to us in one go for recycling or disposal, but we wanted to provide residents with an alternative, so we are trialling a pop-up reuse shop this weekend to see what people think of the concept. We have been putting great items from bikes and golf clubs to books and electronic devices to one side for some time and these will be available for sale to residents who can put them to good use.”
“As a business, we have 6 reuse shops located at Recycling Centres up and down the UK” continued Liam Bould, Regional Development Manager for FCC Environment. “The concept is the brainchild of FCC Environment which operates the two Recycling Centres in Reading and Bracknell on behalf of re3, a waste management partnership for Bracknell Forest, Reading and Wokingham Borough Councils and it works by making it easy to donate and to grab a bargain whilst taking a trip to the recycling centre. Often, we partner with a local charity to ensure the funds go to a good cause and the trial here in Reading should help us establish if there is an appetite for such a facility here.”
The reuse pop-up shop will be open for business at the Reading Recycling Centre site (Island Road) from 9am-5pm on Saturday, 23rd October and 10am-4pm on Sunday, 24th October with residents invited to drop in and browse the good quality furniture, sports items, kids toys and bric-a-brac that are no longer by their original owner and grab a bargain. A similar event is also planned to take place at the Bracknell Recycling Centre site (Longshot Lane) soon.
