Following its successful launch on Saturday 31st October – with the Mayor and Town Crier in attendance – Falmouth’s new Zero Waste Shop is now officially open for customers to browse or purchase. Opening hours are 9.00 am to 5.00 pm Monday to Saturday.
ReFill
Another Weigh (Falmouth) store now open for business!
Bring your own containers to refill or use the brown paper bags available. There is an extensive range of dried food products available plus organic herbs, and a refill station for household essentials like washing up liquid, laundry liquid, toilet cleaner, and other SESI items, who specialise in refillable detergents, toiletries and returnable packaging, see https://www.sesi.org.uk/
There are a number of lines still to arrive in stock, but it’s well and truly open for anyone keen to reduce their plastic and other waste, and weigh out just the amounts you require.
Another Weigh is keen to receive suggestions for stock items, which you can do by emailing them at falmouthshop@another-way.org.uk or by recording a request on the list available in store. They are also up for any comments or ideas about using the community space available, and/or extending opening hours.
Their local shop website is currently under construction and will eventually list all the items on offer.
Note: the plastic waste issue continues to be a matter of great concern locally, nationally, and abroad, and given some of the latest reports, particularly on microplastics, there is an urgent need to prevent plastic and other waste materials from polluting the environment, on land and at sea. More on this in a future news article.
Reuse
Kernow Reuse Shops (Cornwall)
The Network of Reuse Shops continues to grow across Cornwall, with the latest opening at the Newquay Household Waste and Recycling Centre (HWRC), bringing the number up to 10. You can find full details of locations and opening hours here
Since its launch in 2024 the Network has to date diverted more than 1,000 tonnes of reusable goods from disposal – giving people access to affordable, pre-loved household goods, whilst promoting the circular economy at the same time.
Source: https://www.falmouthpacket.co.uk/news/26671136.kernow-reuse-gives-167-000-household-items-second-life/
Repair
Kernow Reuse are also forging a closer relationship with the Repair Cafes, whereby tools and equipment brought to the HWRCs are donated for repair and refurbishment for reuse in the local community. This is very good circular news as a Redruth Town Councillor comments:
By donating tools and equipment that might otherwise be unused or discarded, the scheme helps extend the life of those items while also enabling volunteers to repair many more products for local residents.It is a great example of a circular approach to sustainability, where one piece of equipment can support the repair and reuse of countless others, reducing waste and helping valuable resources stay in use for longer.
You can read more here
Transition Falmouth is 100% supportive of these initiatives, and will be updating our Circular Economy Guide accordingly. We will be proposing that there is a need for hands-on workshops where local young people – who might otherwise be unemployed – gain valuable practical skills. Also, if there are refurbished tools surplus to requirements, maybe they could be transported to Tools for Self Reliance UK to help communities overseas – especially in Africa – who badly need tradesmen’s tools for vocational training projects.
The Wave Project (Newquay)
The Wave Project’s Wetsuit Scheme has won the Best Partnership Award at the LARAC (Local Authority Recycling Advisory Committee) Awards after successfully diverting 27 tonnes of neoprene and wetsuit waste from incineration – another example of collaborative working involving Suez and Cornwall Council
Donated wetsuits are collected at Suez/Cornwall Council’s Household Waste and Recycling Centres, sorted, and sold through The Wave Project’s Newquay shop .Proceeds support the charity’s surf therapy programmes, which use surfing to help young people build confidence, resilience, and a sense of belonging. https://www.waveproject.co.uk/
Hidden Help (Mid/West Cornwall)
Finally, not forgetting the vital work of Hidden Help who are the chosen charity of the Mayor of Penryn at an event to be held on Saturday, 14th November at the Penryn Bowling Club. Check out the HH November newsletter for details of this Charity Karaoke Event to raise much-needed funds
All the above initiatives are included in the Transition Falmouth “Too Good to Waste” Circular Economy Guide – help with keeping this resource up-to-date is always welcome!