Making a difference to the environment is the main aim of two events in one – being held this week in Peasedown St John.

On Saturday (26th) the Repair Café will be open as we try to repair items that have broken, but would otherwise go to landfill. At the same time, there will be the monthly Terracycle collection which also takes place on Thursday, 24th.

Since it started two years ago, the Peasedown Repair Café has repaired just short of 150 items, many of them electrical, but also clothing and wooden items. These repaired items have had an extended life, saving resources and saving the owner money. Because Covid restrictions have not yet been eased the Repair Café will work on a drop-off and collect basis – sadly not coffee and cake. Items can be brought from 10 am to Peasedown Methodist Church and we hope to have them repaired for collection by 12.30 pm.

Alongside the Repair Cafe, the Terracycle collection will take place. Since starting with a trial run in August last year, we have managed to keep over 100kg of plastic waste out of landfill. The photograph shows what two months of waste from Peasedown St John to go to Terracycle for recycling looks like.

The items collected are – crisp and snack packets, pens and felt-tips, oral health products, pet food pouches, biscuit and cake wrappers, sweet wrappers, bread bags, Pringles boxes and cheese wrappers. Sadly, Peasedown Environment Group (PEG), who run the collection, cannot take other plastic waste and simply have to bin things not on the list, so they do ask that you only bring the items listed.

PEG also collect inkjet cartridges which are recycled in aid of an environmental charity, which offsets carbon by planting trees in Africa and acts as a collecting point for used spectacles which go to the Lions Club for reuse.

This month and in July there are two additional collections. If people have unused hand tools – carpentry or car repair – then PEG will receive these and pass them on to Tools for Self Reliance who refurbish them and provide tool kits for people setting up in business in Africa. Electrical tools cannot be recycled through this scheme.

Terracycle are also willing to receive small broken plastic toys and CDs. These items will only be collected during June and July as there is limited storage space. Ian Souter