There are lots of brilliant programmes on TV now regarding upcycling old furniture or repairing or repurposing items for reuse. We have Money for Nothing, The Repair Shop, Find It Fix It Flog It and many more. These have been really great at getting people to rethink about how we can repair and reuse things rather than throwing away and replacing – but we need to broaden our thinking on this and look to reduce the amount of ‘throwaway’ products.

We have a fantastic Repair Café here in Chesterfield based at Chesterfield Baptist Church on Cross Street. The Chesterfield Repair Café is held every 3rd Saturday of the month. You can take electricals and other items there for repair – and where possible also take part in a repair to help you develop your skills and become more confident in repairing damaged items yourself. I visited them on International Repair Day to meet their volunteers who are bringing everything from electrical equipment to much loved items of clothing back into use.

Repairing broken or damaged items can save time, money, resources and mean we send far fewer waste materials to landfill. Unfortunately, over the decades our society became too adept at buying things cheaply and simply throwing away and replacing. Even when these waste products can be partially recycled, it is still using energy and resources.

Part of our throwaway culture is down to lower design standards in products and I would like to see tighter regulations, more focus on quality, fewer cheap foreign imports.

I also see a strong opportunity to create new green jobs in the repair sector and I’d like to see accredited courses and apprenticeships in repair training and will be promoting this with the Government.

We also need to see a change to fast fashion overconsumption. Clothing has become cheaper, with retailers like BooHoo, Primark and Shein selling clothes at very low cost, which makes it very easy for people to constantly replace their wardrobe. Information from the UN Environment Programme says the fashion industry is the second-biggest consumer of water and is responsible for about 10% of global carbon emissions. By choosing products that will last, by repairing rather than throwing away, and by gifting to charity for reuse, we can limit the environmental effects of overconsumption.

I hope people will consider repair and reuse and help to create a circular, less wasteful, economy. And I’d encourage you to visit the Chesterfield Repair Café – you could save some money and learn new skills.