Ways to reduce, re-use, repair and recycle in Oxford

The circular economy is a model that involves sharing, leasing, reusing, repairing, refurbishing and recycling existing materials and products as long as possible, rather than discarding them. This helps minimise waste and keeps products and materials in use for as long as possible

Benefits of this approach include environmental protection, wiser use of natural resources, the development of new sectors and creation of jobs and new capabilities.

Reduce, borrow and reuse

These resources offer ideas for reusing items and you can even hire or borrow from the community instead of buying new:

• RecycleNow has lots of ideas for reusing common items and reducing how much waste you create
• Library of things lists a wide range of tems to hire or borrow, from camping accessories to DIY tools
• Oxford Wood Recycling Tool Hire lists tools, accessories and games for hire
• CAG (Community actions groups) Oxfordshire encourages residents to reuse, repair, and up-cycle materials and household items.

Repair it

Can your broken item be fixed? You can:

• take your bike, clothing or gadget to fix to the repair café at Rose Hill Community Centre
• book a slot at a Share Oxford tech rescue or repair café

Donate or give it away

These are some local and national charities that take a donations:

• Orinoco - donate tools, crafts and scrap items for raising funds or using in art projects
• British Heart Foundation
• Emmaus Oxford
• Helen and Douglas House
• Sue Ryder

If you ask around, friends, family or neighbour may have a use for the items you no longer need. Also see Oxford Freecycle group where you can list unwanted items for free.

Arrange a kerbside collection

You can arrange for coffee pods, textiles and electrical items to be collected from your street, see What goes in each bin to find out more about recycling collections.