A second life, a bigger impact: The growing value of re-use and repair

The webinar, ‘Delivering change, creating opportunities – how SUEZ’s growing Reuse Network is achieving impact at scale’, showcased how re-use has moved beyond being just an environmental habit. It’s now a way to help a young person furnish their first home, give someone leaving prison a route towards work (and a new life), provide families with affordable goods and help businesses avoid buying new when usable goods already exist.

Hosted by SUEZ’s Sustainability and Social Value Lead Sarah Ottaway, the panel included New Futures Network Change Lead James Palmer, Renew Hub Manager Claire Williams and Aberdeen City Council Waste and Recycling Team Leader Stuart Youngson.

The panel discussed projects that, while differing in scale and purpose, shared the same lesson. More than showcasing successes, the session revealed what’s possible when good ideas are backed by the right funding, contracts and partnerships.

The discussion suggested that success lies less in public goodwill and more in what happens behind the scenes. Behind every item given a second life is a chair of practical work. Someone must spot its potential, check it is safe, store it properly and find it a new home. With this system, re-use becomes a dependable service that cuts waste, supports communities and creates a wider economic and social value.

SUEZ in the UK grew its network from 34 shops to 41 in 2025, selling over one million pre-loved items. More than 4,200 tonnes went back into use through shops, repair and upcycling, while the total across its wider re-use activities reached almost 5,500 tonnes, beating a 5,000-tonne target. Revenue rose by around 16% and over £300,000 was invested back into communities.

But the most striking part was not numbers. It was how re-use became woven through local services, businesses, charities and communities, creating jobs, building confidence and helping people through tough transitions.

A small shop with a bigger story

Aberdeen City Council started with an unmanned container at its Hazlehead recycling centre, where residents left items for a charity to repair and sell. People participated, but the council knew little about what came in, what could be saved or what happened next.

In 2022, a successful £36,500 government funding bid helped turn that drop off point into a staffed re-use shop with better storage and display space. Having staff onsite changed the service, including the ability to check items, test electrical goods, talk to customers and make the shop somewhere worth browsing.

From May 2022, more than 10,500 items were sold and just over 26 tonnes kept in use. By 2024, this grew to 38,000 items and 174 tonnes. The evidence helped secure £578,000 over two years to improve facilities at Hazlehead and Bridge of Don recycling centres.

As the saying goes, if you build it, they will come. Aberdeen site started small, observed carefully and used what it learned to grow.

A bustling re-use hub where magic happens

Greater Manchester took a different path but shared the same curiosity. The Renew Hub, its shops, online platforms and growing team of repair professionals and volunteers keep showing what else an item could become, leading to library chairs being restored and furniture from the popular drama series Coronation St., among others, being reupholstered rather than discarded.

The UK’s largest re-use operation run in partnership with Greater Manchester Combined Authority and SUEZ, opened in 2021 offering over 5,000 square metres of pre-loved items that have raised millions of pounds for city and regional causes. Besides the main hub, they also have three shops located on recycling centres across the region, online platforms and attend multiple pop-up shops throughout the year.

When the hub opens for shopping events twice a month, it rarely sees under 400 visitors in a few hours. Smaller pop-ups visit communities and school car parks, bringing affordable bikes and goods closer to those who cannot reach the permanent shop.

Its Renew Community Fund has granted over £1 million to more than 110 groups to date, while charities can collect items free of charge  by arrangement. Sometimes this means household basics for a care leaver moving into a first home or a bicycle for someone needing to get to work. Small items with big impact.

Work that gives something back

Through SUEZ’s partnership with New Futures Network, people in prison refurbish bicycles, restore furniture and NHS walking aids, and work with books and other materials to help give them a second life. At HMP Ford, over 1,000 bicycles have been refurbished for families who might not otherwise afford one.

The work renews items while giving repairers valuable skills. They can learn a trade, regain confidence and see their work’s wider impact beyond prison walls. With around 60,000 people released each year, many unemployed, this connection matters. As the webinar noted, prison leavers with jobs are 50% less likely to reoffend.

Here, numbers alone cannot capture the pride of a repaired bicycle going to a family or the confidence gained from restoring something useful. 

What makes it possible

None of this happens by chance. When polled, 52.4% of the audience said lack of funding held them back from starting or growing re-use activity. Almost 39% lacked time or resources; 26.87% cited lack of national policy or targets; 20.9% lacked support from key stakeholders; and 11.94% didn’t have a clear vision.

These challenges reflect the panel’s own early experiences. Speakers described limited time, lengthy approvals and constant checking, cleaning, transporting and storing items safely. It’s never an easy process.

When asked about plans, 37% said they are introducing or growing re-use/repair activities; 25.9% work on community re-use projects; 12% are opening more shops; 19.75% have no plans this year; and nearly 5% are introducing re-use for the first time. 

Despite challenges, growing awareness and adoption across organisations is encouraging. The message is not that every organisation should build the largest re-use hub in the country. Rather, there is always something to build on, such as a container becoming a shop, a shop transforming into a community space, or a repair workshop evolving into a route to work.

With foresight, passion and commitment, supported by strong partnerships and structure, re-use and repair can open doors to many possibilities, from providing creative outlets to transforming lives, the possibilities are endless.

If you missed the live webinar session, you can watch it on demand here.