New Llanelli shop sees unwanted goods brought back to life and sold on

A new shop selling repaired and reused items donated by the public will open its doors in Llanelli Town Centre this week as part of a joint project between Carmarthenshire County Council and CWM Environmental Ltd following Welsh Government Circular Economy funding.

The Stepney Street store, Eto, will be stacked with a wide range of goods that were destined for the tip before being brought back to life through the county’s Recycling Centre’s Donation Stations.

As well as household items, children’s toys and bicycles up for grabs there will be an in-house paint re-use facility based in Nantycaws which customers can purchase from the shop at a significantly reduced cost to traditionally bought paint.

Remnants of wood donated at the recycling centres have also been transformed into garden furniture, planters etc.

The town centre store will open every Tuesday, Thursday and Friday between 10am and 4pm.

Residents can donate items of a reasonable quality that they no longer want at any of the donation stations across all of Carmarthenshire’s household waste recycling centres (HRWCs). Donations will not be accepted at the reuse shop as they need to pass initial checks before selling on.

Repairs and required checks are undertaken at Nantycaws, where the repair facility is situated.

The project, which is funded by the Welsh Government’s Circular Economy Fund, is part of a wider joint initiative Canolfan Eto and will help close the loop on waste by helping people reuse, repurpose and refurbish items that would otherwise have been thrown away.

A further phase is the development of a re-use village in Nantycaws, Carmarthen and is due to open later this year. It will provide a unique sustainable shopping experience bringing life to a range of used items including furniture, bicycles, small electricals, paint and much more. An education centre, café and toilets are also planned for the site.

Carmarthenshire County Council Cabinet Member for Environment, Cllr Hazel Evans, says that Eto – which means ‘again’ in English – will symbolise one of the council’s main ambitions of delivering a circular economy, as well as supporting Carmarthenshire to become a leader of recycling and re-use within Wales whilst reducing our carbon footprint.

She said: “I am delighted that we have been able to open this store and offer these low cost items for reuse which will not only benefit local communities and residents but reduce the amount of waste. Recycling saves money, prevents unnecessary waste creates jobs and best of all, it’s easy.”

Plans for future circular economy projects is also under consideration and will include similar approaches in other locations throughout the county.

Carmarthenshire County Council Leader, Cllr Emlyn Dole, said: “This is an ideal opportunity where shoppers can buy previously unwanted items at bargain prices. Recycling and re-using is good for the environment and we should all be doing it.”

(Lead image: Carmarthenshire Council)