Maesteg reuse shop is back open for business

Bridgend County Borough Council has been working with its partners Kier and community-based charity Groundwork to reinstate The Siding reuse shop at the Maesteg Recycling Centre, Heol Ty Gwyn.

Since opening in 2020, the reuse shop has recycled hundreds of items, including anything from bikes and scooters to books and DVDs, speakers, games, and crockery.

Groundwork, who focus on building sustainable communities, have taken over the running of the reuse shop, which is currently open twice a week, on Tuesdays and Thursdays between 9am and 3pm.

Byron James, Retail and Reuse Manager at Groundwork Caerphilly said: "We are very excited to partner with Bridgend County Borough Council and Kier in reopening The Siding shop at Maesteg Recycling Centre. We are passionate about diverting waste sent to landfill, recognising that many household furniture and electrical items can be repurposed and reused.

“We have amassed 23 years of experience in delivering our current social enterprise, focusing on reuse and recycling initiatives, in partnership with local authorities. We will continue to tackle poverty by providing access to affordable household furniture and electrical items, whilst also supporting community cohesion by providing a volunteering hub to facilitate training and development opportunities to enhance employability and skills.”

We are delighted that reuse shop in Maesteg is back open for business. It’s a great example of both social and environmental sustainability - not only can we give hundreds of items each month a new home rather than a one stop trip to landfill, we can offer local people access to a selection of quality bargains for the home and garden, which goes some way to easing household budgets in the current cost of living crisis.

The reuse shop offers the opportunity to donate or buy and support the reuse economy, which benefits a local charity and is an easy way for householders to cut their carbon emissions and help the environment.

We’re proud that our county borough boasts the second highest recycling rate in Wales, and we are keen to build on initiatives like this to move forward with our commitment to achieving net zero carbon by 2030.

Cllr John Spanswick, Cabinet Member for Climate Change and the Environment

You can find out more about recycling and waste on our website, along with details on our Bridgend 2030 Net Zero Carbon Strategy.