New ‘re-use village’ planned for Carmarthen to help close the loop on waste

Carmarthenshire County Council and CWM Environmental Ltd have unveiled exciting plans for a new ‘re-use village’ in Nantycaws which will close the loop on waste within the county by repairing, reusing and refurbishing items.

The re-use village will provide a sustainable shopping experience by giving a new lease of life to various household items including furniture, bicycles, electricals, gardening equipment, paint and much more.

An education centre, café and toilets are planned for the site.

This exciting new project will encourage visitors to donate instead of disposing of items and purchase previously used items rather than buying new whenever possible.

Future circular economy projects will include a re-use shop in Llanelli town centre as well as other locations in the county as part of the council’s aim to create a circular economy for Carmarthenshire.

The council and CWM Environmental are working together to identify various ways in which the circular economy can be developed across the county.

This has been made possible through the Green Recovery Circular Economy funding by Welsh Government.

Cllr Hazel Evans, Executive Board Member for Environment: “The re-use village is an exciting step in Carmarthenshire’s journey towards a circular economy. The project looks to close the loop on waste and encourages the reuse and repurposing of items, instead of needlessly disposing of them. The re-use village will provide an alternative shopping experience where quality items can be purchased at a reasonable cost.

“Donation stations will be made available at the county’s household waste recycling centres where residents can donate items of a reasonable quality that they no longer have a use for. This could be anything from an outgrown bike, a chest of drawers in need of upcycling or a games console that is no longer used.”

The re-use village and future re-use projects will help to achieve Carmarthenshire’s ambition of delivering a circular economy throughout the county as well as becoming a leader in recycling and re-use within Wales.

A circular economy focuses on eliminating waste by cutting down on throw away consumption and turning materials that would have previously been thrown away into a valuable resource. 

This project has been funded through Welsh Government’s Circular Economy fund to help accelerate Wales’ shift towards a circular economy.

This means waste is avoided and resources are kept in use for as long as possible.

This is a key part of climate change action and also brings considerable economic opportunities as a part of the move to a low carbon economy.