West London’s Acton Market Reduce and Recycle Hub regular monthly event is back on Saturday 2 December 2023 to encourage and support more people to “reduce, reuse and recycle.”
From how to repair clothes and fixing laptops to getting bikes checked and swapping books, the event located in The Mount, next to Morrison’s supermarket, provides an opportunity for people of all ages and backgrounds to make better use of what they’ve got as well as helping others and the environment.
Organisers, Market W3, promotes the monthly event through the hashtags “reduce, reuse and recycle” and says that everyone can get involved.
Since launching in October 2022, organisers have said it is getting bigger as people from Acton and across all parts of Ealing are coming to see for themselves how they can be more conscious over what they use and need.
Zahra Shah, social media officer for Market W3 which is a project from Action West London, answered questions on how it is going.
How many of these events have you now organised?
We have held 12 Reduce and Recycle hubs at Acton Market, and taken the hub on the road and done 5 pop up Reduce and Recycle hubs (1 x Imperial college, 2 x North Acton Pavilion and 2 x Acton Vale ). We have also installed a Traid collection bin at North Acton Pavilion and in our Acton Vale offices
What ages of people has it attracted?
We have had people of all ages attend, older people, families, children, students. We have had men come along and learn to fix moth holes in the jumpers to kids who have come along and provide ideas on how we can recycle more.
What do you think is the appeal of this?
Reduce and Recycle Hub attracts people of all ages because we have such a variety of offerings, such a Book Swap, learning to mend with Ealing Repair Café, Act for Ealing promoting different types of recycling, and the promotion of the local tools sharpening service. We also have Ealing Friends of the earth regularly attend as well as visiting guests such as Ealing Council, Acton Food Cycle and Hammersmith Library of Things.
Anything unusual that has been brought along and recycled?
We found a small plastic rainbow Christmas tree in a bag with some clothes for recycling, which unfortunately we can’t recycle plastic as the hub, as we only recycle clothing , small electrical items, dental items and pens. As the tree was in good condition, to save it from landfill one of the hub volunteers took it home for their children to enjoy this Christmas.
As well as stalls for all types of recycling, there is also food on offer with cuisines from around the world including Ghana, India, Mexico and Lebanon.
For more information on getting a stall or to volunteer to help with the event, email mary.horesh@actionwestlondon.org.uk
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