The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE
Gayle volunteers with St AndReuse, a project that aims to tackle waste and save people money via sharing, swapping and re-using pre-loved items
As I write, I’m wearing a hooded top that’s at least 20 years old. It’s still in great nick with neither a hole nor a nick to be seen. Admittedly, I might not sport it (it’s a faded pink and white Red or Dead hoodie) in public, but when it comes to walking dogs, mucking out horses, gardening and doing other “country stuff”, it’s the absolute business.
When I heard about St AndReuse, a project based in St Andrews that’s tackling waste and saving people money through sharing, swapping and re-using pre-loved
and unwanted items, I was keen to check it out. Heck, I figured I might even swap up my hoodie for something a bit more exciting.
St AndReuse is partner-run by the University of St Andrews, the St Andrews Environmental Network, and Transition, a hub for “sustainability activity”.
While the project runs pop-up events around the Fife town, it has a dedicated storage area at the back of University Hall from which twice-weekly drop-in sessions are held – on Mondays and Fridays from 1pm to 3pm.
I turned up to help sort out donations – and was blown away by the sheer volume of stuff. There was everything from clothes, shoes, crockery, furniture, toys, books, bedding and electrical goods, most of it in cracking
condition.
The majority of items hail from students finishing up at the end of term (many leave St Andrews and head to their family homes), but people from all walks of life are encouraged to donate unwanted things at drop-in sessions.
I was glad I’d come armed with my hoodie and a few other pieces of clothing and hats; I felt I was contributing something to the cause.
Along with volunteers, I helped drag rails of clothing – designer dresses, beautiful coats, suits, even ball gowns – outside so that anyone who popped along could have a better peek at what was on offer. Most things are free to take away – isn’t that amazing?
Hopefully someone, or several people, will enjoy wearing my stuff as much as I have.
My eye was drawn to a Puffa jacket and a red dress for a swap, but as I’m in the process of supposedly decluttering my life, I decided not to take anything.
I was a tad embarrassed by the condition of two of my dresses which somehow had paint spilled on them.
However, St AndReUse project manager Sam Woolhead was keen to take them.
“That’s fine – we genuinely take all grades of things,” he said.
“We keep what we can but we also have stuff that has mad holes, really big stains, and these can be used as industrial rags, or for bike maintenance rags or upcycling workshops. Everything is given about four or five attempts at a new life before it goes to landfill or recycling.”
Former student Sam is also project officer for Transition. With an MA in sustainable development, and having volunteered with Reuse for four years, he’s the ideal man for the job.
“The project has been around since about 2009 and started with a group of students
who initially disposed of all the stuff they’d accumulated over a year and wanted to reduce end of term waste,” he explained.
“In the early days the project was collecting one or two tonnes a year and I think we’re up to four to six tonnes now. We collect anything from kitchenware, stationery, electrical items,
clothes and bedding.”
While Sam said everything is “pretty much free”, some clothes do have “affordable” price tags, with the idea behind this being that people become aware of where and how things are produced and the concept of “conscious consumption”.
“There are huge issues with fast fashion, with factories polluting the environment and people suffering poor working conditions to produce clothes for major brands,” he said.
“We’re not here to make money – we’re here to have people re-use clothes.
“We know we’re not going to solve fast fashion here – we’re maybe one small step in the process – but we can try to create an informative consuming experience where people aren’t getting clothes for the sake of hoarding stuff.
“It’s about making people aware of where these things come from and the benefits of getting stuff secondhand.”
Those who volunteer take in new donations, sort them into (tidy) categories and help members of the community who drop by to find what they need.
Now, as students head home for summer, is a manic time for volunteers.
“Some get rid of absolutely everything – there can be between 10 to 20 kilos of stuff per person,” said Sam.
“The mad thing is we’re looking at 40 to 50 tonnes of unwanted things in halls of residence alone. Off campus, there’s even more.”
There’s a big giveaway of goods during Fresher’s Week in September and plans for a midsummer one, too.
Sam is keen to relay the message that the project goes beyond the university community, and that it’s not just about “passing things on for fun”.
Items are also donated to charities and packs are made up for those most in need.
“St AndReuse covers every aspect of society; there’s a really positive social justice element to it,” said Sam.