A brand new research commissioned by Scotland’s Share & Restore Community, a undertaking of Round Communities Scotland, appears to point out that the cost-of-living disaster is driving Scots to embrace share and restore tasks in a bid to save cash whereas additionally decreasing waste.

Monetary financial savings had been the first motivation for Scots contemplating utilizing share and restore tasks, with 61% of nation-wide respondents citing this as their principal cause for contemplating alternate options to purchasing new.

Emma Erwin, Share and Restore Community Coordinator commented: “This research exhibits that the cost-of-living disaster is having a big influence on how Scots devour and dwell their lives. Altering the best way we store generally is a large stress, however we will help individuals to search out cheaper methods to dwell, that additionally occur to be extra sustainable, like repairing or borrowing items. There are many wonderful neighborhood tasks throughout Scotland that may facilitate this, so we’d encourage individuals to look them up by way of our community and entry the sources finest suited to their wants.”

The research reported that there’s a broad vary of things individuals will attempt to restore from small electrical gadgets (57%) to jewelry (47%). 55% of individuals additionally indicated they might be ready to restore clothes, maybe indicating a willingness to maneuver away from the quick trend craze.

From Ayr to Aberdeen, there are greater than 50 tasks throughout Scotland which might be members of the Share and Restore Community that assist individuals dwell extra sustainably. These encompass sharing libraries that permit customers to borrow an merchandise as an alternative of shopping for one new and restore tasks that assist individuals to repair an merchandise, as an alternative of throwing it away.

Regardless of these intensive sources, the research additionally discovered that whereas many Scots had been prepared to restore gadgets, a big share had been unaware of native restore initiatives.

Michael Prepare dinner, CEO at Round Communities Scotland, acknowledged: “The research’s findings present that sharing and restore tasks in Scotland have optimistic implications concurrently for Scotland’s sustainability agenda, and to ease the strain of the cost-of-living disaster for communities. With many individuals prepared to borrow and restore gadgets however unaware of native initiatives, we’ll proceed to advertise our members work to assist communities entry these essential sources.”

Utilizing share and restore tasks promotes a round economic system, the place merchandise are repaired, reused and recycled to maintain them out of landfill for so long as attainable.

Established and run by Round Communities Scotland in collaboration with Edinburgh Instrument Library and The Edinburgh Remakery, The Share and Restore community goals to help present, and to encourage the institution of recent sharing libraries and restore tasks throughout the nation.

The Share and Restore Community is funded by the Scottish Authorities and Zero Waste Scotland and works to cut back consumption and minimize waste in communities throughout Scotland, contributing to Scottish Authorities’s ambition to attain web zero emissions of all greenhouse gases by 2045.

For extra details about the survey and to discover a share and restore undertaking in your space please go to www.shareandrepair.scot. To see the total report please go to https://www.circularcommunities.scot/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Share-and-Restore-Community-Market-Analysis.pdf.