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Blythswood Opens Scotland's First Repair Hub

Monday June 8

^B^{lythswood volunteer Mary MacKay (93); Blythswood CEO James Campbell and Louise McGregor, Zero Waste Scotland, sampling tea from one of the new re-use superstore’s vintage tea-sets as it opens in Dingwall.}

A Christian charity has launched a unique service helping people to repair items instead of throwing them out.

At the re-use and repair hub, part of Blythswood Care's newest charity superstore in Dingwall, a tutor will demonstrate sewing skills and furniture repair to anyone who comes along. It is the first such venture to be opened in partnership with Zero Waste Scotland (ZWS).

Blythswood’s senior volunteer, retired nurse Mary MacKay, cut the ribbon on the shop and repair centre last Thursday, expressing her enthusiasm for the mend and make do philosophy that underlies the project.

Blythswood’s chief executive James Campbell said: “If it wasn’t for the success of our retail shops we wouldn’t be able to do as much as we do and, of course, linked into that is the whole of the reuse and repair work that we do.”

Louise McGregor, head of circular economy at ZWS said she was delighted to launch the first of her organisation’s national programme of reuse hubs, describing it as 'a terrific example of a third sector organisation teaming up with other organisations from across the country to source a really wide range of high quality goods from all over Scotland'.

Last year, ZWS announced the creation of a new grant fund to help smaller organisations open such hubs, with the aim of increasing the amount and quality of reused goods available in Scotland, reducing landfill waste and relieving pressure on raw materials.

Blythswood, probably best known for its annual Christmas shoebox appeal, delivers humanitarian aid and supports children in poverty around the world, as well as running foodbanks in Scotland. They have around 30 charity shops, mostly in the Highlands and Islands.

The new shop was fitted out with the help of volunteers from Inverness company Lifescan Scotland.

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