Busy time for community recycling groups at Telford Seed Swop event

Transition Telford held its popular 'Seed Swop' event on Saturday, where it was joined by members of Telford Repair Cafe, Terracycle Telford and Climate Action Hub Telford.

Although each group has a different focus, they all have one thing in common – to encourage people to think more sustainably and consider how their actions impact the environment.

The event was held from 10am until 1pm at the community centre in Downemead, Hollinswood, in Telford.

Telford Repair Cafe was present helping repair electrical items, IT equipment, clothes, household items and making sure these were PAT-tested before being handed back over to the owner.

Viv Borrett, a trustee of Telford Repair Cafe said: "It was rammed – and it was busy for all the other groups too. There's a desire for people to think about what can be reused, rather than buying new.

"The mission statement is to reduce landfill of items that can be recycled or put to better use if they were fixed. It's great to have that cross-community links with Transition Telford and the Seed Swop.

"It's moving ahead very quickly and it's a mixture of real need because they have nothing else and people coming in because there are things they just don't want to throw away and we are happy to give anything a go."

Visitors on Saturday could bring along their seeds to swap with fellow gardeners and get advice from experts on composting and seed saving.

Climate Action Hub also had locally sourced tree seedlings and saplings to give away on the day.

There was also a garden scrap store with plant pots and scrap such as food containers and toilet rolls in which people could use to sow their seeds at Transition Telford’s stand.

Transition Telford began in June of 2012 and over the years the group has engaged in several different projects, mainly around the the themes of energy, textiles and growing food.

Telford Repair Cafe was set up in 2018 where visitors could bring along items to be repaired by one of the volunteers. It is currently on the lookout for an 'electronics guru' who has the skills to fix mobile phones and laptops.

For more information visit telfordrepaircafe.co.uk and transitiontelford.wordpress.com