{"id":6868,"date":"2014-03-04T12:50:00","date_gmt":"2014-03-04T11:50:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/?p=6868"},"modified":"2014-03-04T15:08:19","modified_gmt":"2014-03-04T14:08:19","slug":"surplus-with-a-purpose","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/2014\/03\/surplus-with-a-purpose\/","title":{"rendered":"Surplus with a purpose!"},"content":{"rendered":"

From garbage to garden or landfill to living room, it\u2019s amazing what can be done with the usually cast-off! Although many of us now embrace recycling to some degree, landfills are still home to discarded but useful items.<\/h2>\n

That\u2019s where the free to visit Waste Not Want Not – Landfill to Living Room event (noon-five on Saturday 8 March) at Ards Leisure Centre steps in.<\/h3>\n
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! Environment Minister Mark H Durkan dropped by the Ards Borough Council Recycling Centre in Newtownards to remind everyone about the importance of reducing what they skip. Opportunities to swap instead of skip will abound at the Landfill to Living Room swap shop at Ards Leisure on Saturday 8 March 2014. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As one of the Northern Ireland\u2019s first public swap shops, the ancient practice of bartering will be reintroduced to an unsuspecting public, with the challenge to consider making their living rooms home to intercepted or reclaimed bits and pieces. The event invites visitors to bring items they can carry, such as small pieces of furniture, bric-a-brac and curtains to swap with others.<\/p>\n

Environment Minister Mark H Durkan said: \u201cReusing, repairing or upcycling products is a real bonus for the economy and the environment. It provides local opportunities to develop skills and employment resulting in wider social benefits for the community.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Waste Not Want Not – Landfill to Living Room event shows how valuable resources can be kept in use for longer, saving energy, reducing carbon emissions, and preventing materials from being dumped needlessly in landfills.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cInnovative reuse of materials, showcased within this event, will assist our society to move to a circular economy, an economic system in which no materials are wasted; where materials and products are recovered and regenerated, rather than the \u2018take, use and dispose\u2019 mentality we have become accustomed to.\u201d<\/p>\n

On this occasion electrical items, toys and larger furnishings such as beds and settees are for logistical reasons not included. Sources for the swap can be auction pieces, car boot finds or simply something on skip row.<\/p>\n

Organiser Gill McNeill said, \u201cThe swap shop will not observe an item\u2019s intrinsic value. The main objective is to keep all that throw away \u2018stuff\u2019 out of landfill, increase recycling, encourage repurposing awareness and at the end of the swap, head home with an item that appeals.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is anticipated that further swap shops will take place in the future incorporating various zones from furniture to clothing and plants to toys and everything in between.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adding: \u201cEast Belfast auction house Bloomfield Auctions have kindly donated items to start off the swap but we are hopeful that the event will encourage people to have a good rummage in their garage, loft or spare room and in the name of recycling, bring it down to swap!\u201d<\/p>\n

Any items left at the end of the swap will be donated to charity to ensure they are kept well away from landfill. One such well-known charity, Northern Ireland recycling-based retailer restore, will also attend the event to explain how they are meeting the ongoing task of up-cycling and repurposing everything from bicycles to furniture.<\/p>\n

The organisation\u2019s PR and Events Officer, Cathy Megahey said: \u201cWe love to encourage people to get creative with second hand furniture. For as little as \u00a31 plus some DIY input and a tin from our salvaged paint range, smaller pieces can be transformed into bespoke additions that would look good in any living space.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOur restore shops in Belfast, Antrim, Larne and Ards sell pieces of refurbished furniture from small coffee tables to dining room sets, wardrobes and suites with a range of prices to suit everyone.\u00a0 Call in and have a look at some of our items to get your creative juices flowing.\u201d<\/p>\n

As an added incentive, a free to enter competition to find the best repurposed or up-cycled item saved from landfill will launch at the event. Visitors can enter the \u2018Skip the Skip\u2019 competition by emailing a \u2018before and after\u2019 photograph of the item saved from the skip to wnwn@takesplace.info<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Prizes for the best creations include a \u00a3250 IKEA prize voucher, a refurbished chair from restore and two composters from Ards Borough Council Waste Awareness. The competition closes on Friday 23 May 2014.<\/p>\n

So if you want to help conserve forests, reduce waste, recycle valuable resources, and have a little fun in the process, it\u2019s so simple \u2013 just reuse or recycle those curtains or that old piece of furniture!<\/p>\n

A free make and take recycled craft is available for each child and for adults, plenty of common sense advise from a number of exhibitors and a few stalls from The Belfast Flea.<\/p>\n

Waste Not Want Not \u2013 Landfill to Living Room is supported by Ards Borough Council, Ards Borough Council Waste Awareness and East Belfast Mission\/restore.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From garbage to garden or landfill to living room, it\u2019s amazing what can be done with the usually cast-off! Although many of us now embrace recycling to some degree, landfills are still home to discarded but useful items. That\u2019s where the free to visit Waste Not Want Not – Landfill to Living Room event (noon-five … Continued<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6868"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6868"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6868\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6870,"href":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6868\/revisions\/6870"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6868"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6868"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6868"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}