A new app to help you reuse or recycle in Lewisham

As we all know in London, sometimes it is hard to get rid of stuff you don't want (unless you don't care about the environment and aren't bothered about fly tipping). In Lewisham rates of recycling  are  worse than most boroughs, partly owing to contamination of recycling bins.

LoveJunk is a new app that can hook you up with an organisation that will take your stuff from you at an affordable price. One of the great features of the app is that you can specify that you want your items to be reused, rather than just recycled.

Reuse is a theme very close to our hearts at Catbytes. We support the right to repair movement. This is a Europe wide campaign to make sure that electronic and electrical devices are made repairable (fitted with screws rather than fused together), so that you don't have to throw them away when a single component breaks. Our laptop loaning scheme relies on members of the public giving us laptops that are usable, even if they aren't the latest thing. About 30% of the donations have a faulty part, but this isn't a problem if the component is replaceable at a cost of under £20. By giving us a laptop you are helping the environment and supporting individuals or families in need. Lives can be transformed by having a usable device at home. This win-win is a key feature of what is known as the "circular economy".

LoveJunk have also created a very useful page giving information about where to go to get your unwanted stuff reused or recycled in lewisham. They contacted us to ask for some more information about what we do so they could put that on the page. It's great to hear from an organisation that are helping to make the world more sharing and sustainable, especially when they focus on Lewisham!