The borough’s new reuse and repair site, ReActon, is inviting residents to a special event offering free repairs.

The Repair & Reuse event, organised by Ealing Council, in partnership with West London Waste Authority, will take place on Saturday 29 March. It is due to run between 10am – 4pm at ReActon, in Stirling Road, Acton.

You can expect:

• free repair sessions: book on to hands-on textile repair sessions from Ealing Repair Café
  o 10 – 11am: upcycled denim draft excluders
  o 11am – midday: learning how to repair and mend
  o 12 – 1pm: make upcycled t-shirt bags
• free electronics repair sessions by West Central London Fixers. Booking required
• free bike repairs: take your bike along for repairs by Collect4Reuse’s trained mechanics
• mobile clothes recycling facility: take your textile waste to be recycled using Kapdaa – The Offcut Company’s mobile sorting machine
• bike and reuse shop: you can buy secondhand bikes, furniture and household items
• drop off and collection area: donate good quality items someone else could make use of, or get something for yourself. Accepted items include furniture, clothes, household items, bicycles, decorations, garden equipment and tools. But, no electronic items. Staff reserve the right to refuse items that are not deemed good quality

You must book a place on the textiles and electronics repair sessions. For everything else, simply bring your items along and take part. Vehicles are not allowed on the site.

A transforming space

The council, together with West London Waste Authority, is in the process of transforming the former waste and recycling site in Stirling Road to create ‘ReActon’, a space for residents to repair, reuse and recycle electronics, bicycles, furniture, clothes and lots more.

A planning application has been submitted with a determination date at the end of April.

The Acton site will not accept household rubbish and recycling, but residents can still take recycling, bulky items or general household waste to Greenford Road reuse and recycling centre or Abbey Road household reuse and recycling centre.

The plan is to permanently open the ReActon site later this year but, in the meantime, more events are planned to take place through spring and summer, providing more opportunities for residents to reduce their waste, while learning how to repair and reuse everyday items.

An innovative approach

Council leader Peter Mason said: “We are taking an innovative approach to waste by encouraging people to avoid creating it in the first place through re-using and repairing items instead.

“It is our ambition to become a net zero borough, which we cannot achieve without the support of our residents. So, please do go along to this reuse and repair event to learn how to reduce waste, contribute to sustainability, and make a positive impact on our community and environment.”

Councillor Paul Driscoll, the council’s cabinet member for climate action, added: “We are really excited to use the old Acton household waste site for this new initiative.

“This event will be the first of many provided to help residents learn to repair and reduce waste. I hope to see lots of you there.”

Watch out for more updates on ReActon on the Around Ealing website.