This proposal aims to realign the local approach to waste management, with as much emphasis on reducing consumption and increasing material re-use as on recycling. The Resource Hub would be a place to collect and store unwanted materials of all sorts, and to refurbish, remanufacture, repair and restore as much as possible. It would also be a place to inform and educate the public on the Circular Economy, to help alter the mindset that feeds consumerism.
Aside from these two main functions, the Hub could also house a range of other climate and nature -related activities and provide a local focus for action, as well as providing employment and new cultural spaces. It could be a place for skills-sharing as well as providing products and services at low cost.
The following is a non-exhaustive list of possible activities at the Community Resource Hub, separated into six categories, with a short description for each.
Land and Food
- Community Land Trust (CLT): The Hub would require a relatively significant area of land, and as it is envisaged to be primarily a community-run project it would be beneficial for the land on which it stands to also be owned by the community. Whether the site is purchased from a private owner or perhaps donated by the council or other benefactor, holding it as a CLT would ensure its availability for the community in perpetuity.
- Space to grow food: The climate and nature crises pose multiple threats to our food security, so the Hub is an opportunity to provide an extra growing space. Moreover, the way we currently produce our food (increasingly industrial methods involving vast monocultures and the widespread use of chemicals) is one such threat. The growing space at the Hub could be a demonstration of alternative approaches to food production (such as permaculture).
- Food Production Network Hub: There are multiple producers of food in the local area, from farmers to allotment-holders and from gardeners to beekeepers; but there is no joined-up approach to making their products available or ensuring a resilient mix of different products within the region. The Hub could be a way to co-ordinate food production and to distribute surplus food through a shop or regular markets.
- Rewilding Project: An area dedicated to demonstrating how nature, largely left to its own devices, will provide more biodiversity, beauty and benefit than when humans intervene. It could be an inspiration for local residents’ own gardens.
- Food Waste Education: An ongoing educational project to propagate the message that it’s important how we use the food we have, as well as how we produce it.
Resource Management
- Community Paint: Re-usable paint is collected from decorators, DIY outlets, individuals and others, checked, stored and made available at low cost to local residents and community groups. The national scheme is trialling a “take-back” service with large retailers and wholesalers with the aim that more paint will be available for reuse and perhaps funding available for Community Repaint members
- Materials Re-Use: Wood, insulation, screws, nails, textiles, electrical appliances, furniture, craft materials, gardening materials, bicycle parts. These are part of a very long list of materials that are often scrapped, dumped or recycled and could be stored and re-used.
- Wood/Metal Workshop: Using the Weymouth and Portland Sheds as examples, these community workshops could involve a mix of paid or self-contracted craftspeople, apprentices and volunteers. The workshop would work on refurbishing or refabricating items of furniture and other products for sale to the public.
- Repair Workshop: The Repair Cafes of Weymouth and Dorchester do a great job of fixing a wide variety of items for free, but they are restricted by customers being able to attend on specific days and being able to transport their items to the café location. The Hub could offer a full-time repair service, for free or for a small charge, and offer a collection/return service using a communal vehicle (see below).
- Sewing/Textiles Workshop: Along the same lines as the above, but dealing with clothing and textiles. All three of these workshops could also operate as “makerspaces” providing free workshop space to local creators.
- Bike Workshop: Recommissioning old bikes, repairing new bikes.
- Library of Things: these operate like a traditional library (though with a charge for membership), but instead of books users borrow appliances and tools. This reduces the consumption of new appliances which may only be used once or twice
Education and Creativity
- Meetings/Events/Workshops: Space for a wide variety of different events for organising, skill- sharing, educating and debating.
- Learning Centre: a permanent educational space providing information on climate and nature-related topics. Display boards, posters, information screens and leaflets would comprise the content.
- Studios: Similar to the “makerspaces” mentioned above, an audio-visual studio and art studios could be made available to local creators for free or low cost.
- Performance Space: A stage with optional seating would provide a new venue for film, music and drama, giving another reason for people to attend the Hub and opportunities to showcase the creativity of those using the studios.
Community Resilience
- Emergency Shelter, Food, Water and Heat. The Resource Hub could be a significant location for housing emergency provision in the event of disasters.
- Health and Wellbeing Centre: Climate anxiety is a growing cause of poor mental health and the Hub could provide practitioners to assist those suffering from it, as well as a range of other mental and physical health issues.
Energy
- Energy Generation: A certain amount of energy would be required for heat, light and powering workshops and studios. This would be best provided by an on-site renewable energy installation – either wind, wave/tidal or solar. Depending on the site it may be possible to provide power to surrounding households too.
- Retrofit Services: The local housing stock (as in the rest of the UK) is old and leaky but retrofitting a house to improve its thermal performance is a complicated project. There are limited options for those wanting advice on how to approach such a project and the Hub could provide a place for this.
Supporting Infrastructure
- Office Space for Management, Marketing, Advertising etc
- Electric Vehicles for Shared Use: Each of the many projects above may have need of transport at one time or another. A dedicated van may be needed to collect and deliver materials and to transport them between any satellite sites. There would also be value in offering shuttle services to and from the main site, depending on other existing transport options. A charging point on-site would also be required. One or more electric cargo bikes might be a better option than larger vehicles
- Cycle racks for visitors’ use
- Electric Demonstration Vehicle: A vehicle dedicated to attending events around the county and beyond, to promote and explain the project.
- Retail Outlet for Food and Refurbished Goods: A showroom for all refurbished furniture, appliances and other goods, an outlet for surplus food and food grown on-site, and a till point for material and paint re-use.
- Café and Kitchen: Food and drink will be required on-site to provide for the volunteers as well as customers/visitors. The more the Hub becomes a destination and a place to browse and spend a few hours rather than simply dumping unwanted stuff, the better, and a café would help extend the length of visits. This would be a plant-based café showing how good food and drink can be without meat and dairy, and explaining why this is important. The kitchen could double up as a demonstration area for cooking workshops.
- Website: This could be a simple online presence explaining what the Hub is for and who runs it. Or, at the other end of the scale, it could contain an inventory of all the re-usable resources available, and be a portal for managing deliveries and collections.