Wednesday 9th October 2024
The conference on Wednesday felt just like a Circular Communities Scotland annual conference and it was kind of heartening to hear all the same issues, motivations and ambitions. We’re very far away from each other, but actually not at all.
The Minneapolis toy library were exhibiting and it was great to chat to them about their model. Their annual membership is $40-100 (pay what you can, not means tested) and people can then take up to 5 toys for up to 4 weeks. They mostly rent individual items but they also do some kits like a travel kit, or camping kit. I also really loved this accessible toy for babies that can't operate the tiny buttons. They make some themselves, or buy from etsy, then rent them. Seemed to me exactly what a rental library should be used for - something niche and potentially expensive but used for a short amount of time.
The call to humanise reuse.
Shantel Isham gave a keynote talking about a wide range of support programmes for her tribe and communities which were hugely inspiring. Underpinning everything, is reuse, whether it's allowing them to create homely spaces for those needing some extra support, or supporting families with extra things through their foster programme.
They work with hotels who donate furniture for these purposes but it also brings vital income, and creates opportunities for jobs and volunteering.
The takeaway for me is that core to all of the programmes was the notion of helping others. These services bring people together, create friendships, and a sense of creating community through helping others. It allows people to floursish both directly and indirectly.
Making reuse accessible in Scotland
Americans are drawn to a Scottish accent :-) so I got a full house, with extra chairs brought in for my breakout session. I spoke about the work of Zero Waste Scotland, our aims for mainstreaming reuse, what we've acheived already, how great the reuse sector is already in Scotland, their challanges and our plans for the future. I also talked about the impact of Merry-go-round and how people are at the heart of everything we do.
There were some great questions and discussion at the end around reuse targets and how we might measure them, how we measure impact, and what my advice would be to anyone trying to set up something new. I think we all felt the same though - we have the same ambitions, and challanges and we can continue to work together to share ideas and learnings. I'm very excited to keep the conversation going with my new contacts.
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