A monthly Reduce and Recycle Hub is proving a success at Acton Market.

Acton-based charity Action West London, which runs the market, received National Lottery funding last year to add a climate action zone.

So, the Reduce and Recycle Hub was started in October as a two-year project, initially, to help raise awareness of how we can reduce or reuse waste, provide a spotlight for ‘green’ businesses and also get residents involved.

‘We all have a role to play’

Mary Horesh, Acton Market’s community circular economy manager, said: “The hub usually runs on the first Saturday of the month alongside Acton Saturday Market W3. We want to encourage residents to think about what they consume, and start holding on to items for as longer, reduce how much they waste, reuse items more; and, when they no longer need them, recycle them. We all have a role to play to help save the planet’s natural resources.

“At our monthly hubs we gather together lots of great organisations and businesses that help people to do this.”

Giving items a second life

In the first three months, the hub helped to save 122kg of unwanted clothes and shoes from going to landfill and collected 43kg of small electrical items.

Mary runs one of the services at the hub, the Ealing Repair Café. She set it up a couple of years ago to show people how to repair clothes and other fabric items.

She said: “If we think a little bit about our attitudes and behaviour to buying clothes, we can be much more sustainable.”

But that is not all you’ll find at the hub. You can:

• RECYCLE your old or unloved clothing and shoes, small electrical appliances and laptops. These will be donated to Traid and The Fixing Factory
• REPAIR your clothes with Ealing Repair Cafe; get garden and kitchen tools sharpened by RenewSharpening; get your bikes checked with Dr Bike (2-5pm)
• REUSE/ REDUCE by shopping for pre-loved goods or returns/seconds clothing from high street brands.

Whether a resident or interested business, you can find out more online.

Want to trade?

If you have a passion for a product, or an idea for a business, a local market can be one of the first places to start. Action West London has a free, self-learning training course to help you do that. Afterwards, there may be opportunities to trade at Acton Market. Sign up online for the training.