Published: Wednesday, 26th September 2018
The latest reuse cabin which allows unwanted household items to be brought back into use has opened at Eshiels Recycling Centre near Peebles.
The facility allows residents to donate a variety of items such as bicycles, washing machines, fridges, furniture and garden tools.
We work with a number of local social enterprises to then reuse the different goods donated to the cabins, rather than the items being sent to landfill.
We already has two reuse cabins available for the public, at Hawick and Selkirk, with further facilities considered should the new Eshiels cabin prove popular.
Recycling Week
The opening coincides with Recycling Week, which this year is seeing Zero Waste Scotland ask people to take action on plastic and make the time to recycle.
Executive Member for Roads and Infrastructure, Councillor Gordon Edgar
“This is a fantastic initiative which not only helps social enterprises in Borders who are doing valuable work with the community but will have a positive environmental impact.
“In line with our #YourPart campaign, we would encourage residents to bring along unwanted items to help others.
“They can also ensure they put plastic bottles in their blue recycling bin to support Recycle Week and help the environment even more.
“We are issuing a number of social media posts to support Recycle Week which offer further advice on how you can take action against plastic.”
Charlie Devine, Head of Resource Management, Zero Waste Scotland
“Promoting re-use and repair is a key commitment set out in the Scottish Government’s Circular Economy strategy, Making Thing Last, and this new re-use cabin in the Borders is a fantastic example of how simple actions can be taken which hold the potential to make a big difference.
“Often, perfectly usable items are discarded and sent to landfill because they are no longer wanted. Collecting them for re-use is the best option for the environment and more sustainable - after all, the materials it takes to make them, sometimes including rare earth metals, are not in limitless supply. By keeping things in good use for longer, people can save themselves money and help the environment too.
“Recycling is another effective way to keep valuable materials out of landfill by turning them into a new product. This Recycle Week we are encouraging everyone to recycle as much as possible - with a particular focus on plastic bottles which are often overlooked in the home, like olive oil, shampoo, or conditioner bottles.
A total of 30,000 tonnes of plastic bottles are needlessly ending up in landfill each year, when they could simply be recycled using household recycling bins instead.”
Any items that are not in working order can continue to be recycled at the Borders seven community recycling centres but not in the reuse cabins.
Further information on the reuse cabins is available. www.scotborders.gov.uk/reusecabins
More information
Images from the opening of the Eshiels Reuse Cabin are available at our Flickr page.
More information on the #YourPart campaign is available.