A brand new examine commissioned by Scotland’s Share & Restore Community, a challenge of Round Communities Scotland, appears to indicate that the cost-of-living disaster is driving Scots to embrace share and restore tasks in a bid to economize whereas additionally decreasing waste.
Monetary financial savings have been the first motivation for Scots contemplating utilizing share and restore tasks, with 61% of nation-wide respondents citing this as their essential motive for contemplating alternate options to purchasing new.
Emma Erwin, Share and Restore Community Coordinator commented: “This examine exhibits that the cost-of-living disaster is having a big impression on how Scots eat and stay their lives. Altering the best way we store is usually a large stress, however we are able to assist individuals to seek out cheaper methods to stay, that additionally occur to be extra sustainable, like repairing or borrowing items. There are many superb group tasks throughout Scotland that may facilitate this, so we’d encourage individuals to look them up by way of our community and entry the assets finest suited to their wants.”
The examine reported that there’s a broad vary of things individuals will try to restore from small electrical objects (57%) to jewelry (47%). 55% of individuals additionally indicated they might be ready to restore clothes, maybe indicating a willingness to maneuver away from the quick style craze.
From Ayr to Aberdeen, there are greater than 50 tasks throughout Scotland which are members of the Share and Restore Community that assist individuals stay extra sustainably. These encompass sharing libraries that permit customers to borrow an merchandise as a substitute of shopping for one new and restore tasks that assist individuals to repair an merchandise, as a substitute of throwing it away.
Regardless of these intensive assets, the examine additionally discovered that whereas many Scots have been prepared to restore objects, a big proportion have been unaware of native restore initiatives.
Michael Prepare dinner, CEO at Round Communities Scotland, acknowledged: “The examine’s findings present that sharing and restore tasks in Scotland have constructive implications concurrently for Scotland’s sustainability agenda, and to ease the strain of the cost-of-living disaster for communities. With many individuals prepared to borrow and restore objects however unaware of native initiatives, we are going to proceed to advertise our members work to assist communities entry these essential assets.”
Utilizing share and restore tasks promotes a round financial system, the place merchandise are repaired, reused and recycled to maintain them out of landfill for so long as doable.
Established and run by Round Communities Scotland in collaboration with Edinburgh Instrument Library and The Edinburgh Remakery, The Share and Restore community goals to assist present, and to encourage the institution of latest sharing libraries and restore tasks throughout the nation.
The Share and Restore Community is funded by the Scottish Authorities and Zero Waste Scotland and works to cut back consumption and lower waste in communities throughout Scotland, contributing to Scottish Authorities’s ambition to realize internet zero emissions of all greenhouse gases by 2045.
For extra details about the survey and to discover a share and restore challenge in your space please go to www.shareandrepair.scot. To see the complete report please go to https://www.circularcommunities.scot/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Share-and-Restore-Community-Market-Analysis.pdf.
