{"id":66961,"date":"2025-09-02T10:08:04","date_gmt":"2025-09-02T09:08:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/news\/?p=66961"},"modified":"2025-09-02T10:08:33","modified_gmt":"2025-09-02T09:08:33","slug":"community-action-against-waste-is-going-from-strength-to-strength","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/news\/community-action-against-waste-is-going-from-strength-to-strength\/","title":{"rendered":"Community action against waste is going from strength to strength"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Voluntary groups across Devon are playing a key role in the fight to reduce waste and now <a href=\"https:\/\/www.recycledevon.org\/community-groups-map\/\" rel=\"noopener\">Recycle Devon has listed them all on a handy community map.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There are currently 118 community organisations listed, offering ways to reduce, reuse and repair for free or a small donation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Whether you\u2019re looking for your nearest Community Fridge, Library of Things, local Repair Cafe or Scrapstore, you will find it on the map.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.recycledevon.org\/community-fridges-and-larders\" rel=\"noopener\">Community Fridges (sometimes called Community Larders) are a way of saving surplus food<\/a> from supermarkets going to waste. They are open to all, regardless of income, and offer a range of items for free, usually on a first come, first served basis. It\u2019s always worth popping into to your nearest one the next time you\u2019re passing to see what\u2019s available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.recycledevon.org\/borrow-and-share\" rel=\"noopener\">A Library of Things (sometimes called Share Sheds) is a fantastic resource<\/a> that works like a normal library, but offers a wide range of house, garden and leisure equipment such as tents, drills, toys, party supplies and much more! It&#8217;s ideal for those items you only need to use occasionally. Borrow, don\u2019t buy!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You can turn broken into beautiful with the help of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.recycledevon.org\/reuse\/repair-cafe\" rel=\"noopener\">your nearest Repair Cafe<\/a>! Skilled volunteers are on hand to mend household items such as broken electronics, electrical equipment, bicycles, jewellery and more. It\u2019s a great way to pick up some new DIY skills and there is usually cake and coffee on offer too!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.recycledevon.org\/scrapstores\" rel=\"noopener\">Scrapstores are community enterprises that collect off-cuts and surplus materials<\/a>, usually from factories and businesses, for reuse in activities such as education, play and arts and crafts. Materials collected include paper, card, fabric, plastic parts, lids, tops, containers, acetate, tubes, rolls, reels, wool, foam, etc \u2013 anything you can think of! &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">These groups are all powered by volunteers and they\u2019re always on the lookout for more help. You don\u2019t need a specific skillset to volunteer, just your time and a willingness to pitch in! The rewards are numerous \u2013 you&#8217;ll meet new people, learn new skills, connect with your community, and so much more! <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The experiences of volunteers such as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.recycledevon.org\/blog\/cag-storytelling-ashburton-community-fridge\/\" rel=\"noopener\">Inge Page at Ashburton Community Fridge<\/a> which reduces food waste by making surplus food freely available to all residents of the town, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.recycledevon.org\/blog\/cag-storytelling-sidmouth-repair-cafe\/\" rel=\"noopener\">Angie, at Sidmouth Repair Cafe<\/a> and the role of organisations such as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.recycledevon.org\/blog\/volunteers-week-1\/\" rel=\"noopener\">SAVE Food Hub<\/a> and how they work to benefit their communities can all be found through Recycle Devon&#8217;s website.<\/p>\n\n\n<div id=\"block_acf-block-68b6b40ddd206\" class=\"councillor-quote align-right other has-white-color has-black-background-color grid-x\">\r\n\t<blockquote class=\"councillor-quote-blockquote medium-auto small-12 cell\">\r\n                    <div class=\"councillor-quote-title\"><p>Councillor Ruth Williams, acting Chair of the Devon Authorities Strategic Waste Committee, said: <\/p><\/div>\r\n        \t\t<div class=\"councillor-quote-text\"><p>&#8220;It\u2019s fantastic to see so many local resources available to support households in reducing, reusing and repairing across the County. The community map is a useful tool to show what\u2019s available locally and it may also inspire people to set up new groups to benefit the community.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\r\n\t<\/blockquote>\r\n        <div class=\"councillor-quote-aside medium-auto small-12 cell\">\r\n\t<figure class=\"councillor-quote-image grid-x\">\r\n\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"small-6 cell medium-12\" src=\"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/146\/2025\/09\/bigpic.jpg\" alt=\"Cllr Ruth Williams\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\r\n        <figcaption class=\"councillor-quote-description small-6 cell medium-12\" >\r\n            \t        ouncillor Ruth Williams, acting Chair of the Devon Authorities Strategic Waste Committee (Exeter City Council)            <\/figure>\r\n    <\/div>\r\n    \r\n    <\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Check out the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.recycledevon.org\/community-groups-map\/\" rel=\"noopener\">Recycle Devon Community Map<\/a> to find out what\u2019s happening near you! If you\u2019re part of a Community Fridge, Repair Caf\u00e9, Library of Things or Scrapstore in Devon and you\u2019re not on the map, please contact <a href=\"https:\/\/eur02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.recycledevon.org%2Fcontact&amp;data=05%7C02%7Cnicky.bowman%40devon.gov.uk%7C2cb4d73e4eaf4d4bde7b08dde9fa7405%7C8da13783cb68443fbb4b997f77fd5bfb%7C0%7C0%7C638923984085639443%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=ydPs1OtjZWvE6s5Gi9J5zy71W0gpzGsh0zEcrY0DuKQ%3D&amp;reserved=0\" rel=\"noopener\">Recycle Devon<\/a> to be added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":859,"featured_media":66964,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[25,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-66961","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-environment-and-climate-change","category-uncategorised"],"acf":[],"featured_image":{"ID":66964,"title":"map","alt":"Map of Devon's voluntary 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