Fighting fly tipping: The dedicated Sheffield repair team rescuing ageing items and changing mindsets
Gareth Coleman and a volunteer repairing a Christmas decoration. (Source: David Hall)
From a cinema chair to a glowing Rudolph decoration, Reyt Repair is saving items destined to languish in landfill, whilst transforming the lives of its volunteers.
John Watson, volunteer at Reyt repair, was searching for a way to get back out there after retiring from work as an electrical engineer.
He said: “You lose all confidence in your abilities because you're not using them. I was fading away.
“Reyt Repair came at just the right time, for me it's about the social. It gives me something to get up for in the morning. I didn’t realise how much I’d forgotten. Slowly it's coming back.”
The social enterprise offers repairs for as little as £10 for any item you bring them.
Gareth Coleman, 51, coordinator of the workshop, emphasised that it's better for both the environment and our wallets to buy quality goods and repair them.
He said: “If you've had a favourite pair of jeans, you've worn it to a gig, met somebody and fell in love. If those jeans have a hole in the knees isn't it better that you have a patch put on and you celebrate the repair as just part of the story of your jeans.”
Gareth Coleman sat at his desk in the workshop. (Source: David Hall)
Reyt Repair is based in the worst area for fly tipping in Sheffield, Burngreave. Mr Coleman is proud of the impact they have but see’s their work as a small part of dealing with a systemic problem.
He said: “It's rare that I don't see a television, or a pressure washer on the side of the road.
“The Council and their waste providers have decided to charge for disposal. This means that lots of people who can't afford it just dump it on the streets.”
Malcolm Camp, Manager at Green City Action and litter picking volunteer, said: “When you pick up a crisp packet and it's got the date 1973 on it you realise it's a long problem.”
Despite this a sense of community has grown around tackling waste. Mr Camp explained that a facebook group who pick litter in the area, Pitsmoor Pickers, now has 192 members.
He explained that the council are trying their best with what they have available to them. He said: “It really comes down to funding, there's just not enough to tackle modern waste requirements for our society.”
We have reached out to the council for comment and are waiting to hear back.