Share & repair

Thurso CDT found that thematic swap events worked well, with events focused on “baby articles”, “warm stuff”, “pet accessories”, “plants & gardening tools” and “craft items”.

The ReLove fair, developed by Lochbroom and Ullapool Community Trust, proved a successful model for rehoming second-hand items, with 885 items sold across 6 fairs, generating £8,042 in sales, 90% of which went back to sellers.

Lairg and District Learning Centre led on a lot of the upcycling work delivered by the Highland Community Waste Partnership.

Here they reflect on the events and workshops they offered as part of the HCWP and how this has helped them embed sustainability and climate change considerations and engagement across all aspects of their activity.

Over the course of the HCWP, the Black Isle Repair Café (BIRC), established by Transition Black Isle in collaboration with the local Men’s Shed, delivered 23 roaming repair cafes across the Black Isle region, and repaired 734 items.
Off the back of this success, TBI also collaborated with Circular Communities Scotland to create the Highland Repair Network, so support development of this sector.

Broadford & Strath CC set up the Green Shed at their campsite, to allow visitors to borrow items, from reusable containers to bike and tent repair kits, as a way of promoting waste reduction through reuse, repair and borrowing.

Broadford and Strath set up a community-run hire initiative, offering reusable tableware, serving dishes, and event essentials to reduce the need for disposable items at gatherings. It provides an affordable, accessible way for local individuals and groups to host events sustainably, with all income reinvested into community projects.

It's avoided over 2,000 single-use items from landfill.

The Thurso CDT Party Kit provides reusable cups, crockery and party decorations for events and has so far diverted an estimated 1,132 single-use items from landfill.

As part of the Highland Community Waste Partnership legacy, Transition Black Isle worked with support from Circular Community Scotland to consolidate sharing initiatives into a Black Isle Library of Things,which launched in May 2025.

the Highland Repair Directory is a free resource designed to facilitate access to repair services as a way of extending the life of items and preventing waste. 

Led by Lochbroom and Ullapool Community Trust, the idea stemmed from their observation that many of the donations to the LUCT second-hand shop, The New Broom, often only need a minor repair to become fully usable again. If the community knew where to get them repaired, items could be kept in use longer and out of landfill.