Tip top shop: Giving your preloved items a second life

County’s first Reuse Shop opens at Tattershall Household Waste Recycling Centre.

The new Tattershall Reuse Shop is itself made from two recycled shipping containers.

In one container, you’ll find shelves stacked with plates and crockery, games and toys, books and DVDs, and other homewares. The other is a furniture store, with desk and tables, drawers and shelves, rugs and art prints, and armchairs and sofas.

Around the shop they also have garden furniture and ornaments, power tools and lawnmowers, bicycles and other outdoor equipment for sale.

The items in the shop have all come from the Tattershall site itself. When residents come to drop their items off, they can choose whether or not to put them in one of the Reuse Shop collection points.

Staff then store the items, and arrange for them to be put on sale in the shop at very reasonable prices.

Councillors, staff and invited guests met at the Tattershall site on Thursday 26 September to see the items on sale and officially open the county’s first Reuse Shop.

Cllr Daniel McNally, executive councillor for waste and recycling at Lincolnshire County Council, said:

“Reducing the amount of waste we produce, and reusing items as many times as we can, are even more environmentally friendly than recycling. Reduce, reuse, recycle – in that order – is the ethos behind the new Reuse Shop at Tattershall.

“We were keen for the Reuse Shop to be cost neutral for local taxpayers, so at the moment any money made through sales will go into funding the operation of the shop itself.

“Repurposing items in this way allows residents to get a bargain on something they need, stops perfectly good items from going to waste, and helps reduce disposal costs. The old saying is true – one person’s trash really is another person’s treasure!”

To start with, the Tattershall Reuse Shop will be open on Mondays and Tuesdays from 10am to 3pm.

We will look to increase the number of days the Reuse Shop is open over the coming months. Reuse Shop opening times can be found at www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/tattershall-recycling-centre.

Find out more about how we manage Lincolnshire’s waste, and what items you can recycle at home or at the recycling centre, by visiting www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/recycle.