Wales’ national plan for going beyond recycling is supporting communities and businesses to avoid waste while connecting and sharing resources.

The challenges:

• A throw-away and buy culture which impacts our purses and our environment’s natural resources
• Social isolation and loneliness across communities and loss of skills
• Complicated food supply chains, food waste and increasing food poverty

While Wales’ recycling rates are ahead of other countries, Welsh Government wants to go further and has used the Well-being of Future Generations Act to focus their latest waste strategy on moving towards a circular economy that reduces waste, supports communities and helps us reach net zero by 2050.

Informed by more than 2,000 people who were involved through 40 face-to-face events, consultations and webinars, the strategy’s vision for the future includes a Wales where everyone works together for a circular economy with reduced waste and lower carbon footprints and improved community connections.

Investing in community action

Beyond Recycling relies on collaborative and integrated action by Welsh Government, local authorities, businesses and communities and we can already see innovative and inspirational action happening on the ground.

Reusable nappies in North Wales

• Based in Wrexham, Denbighshire and Flintshire, the Real Nappy Scheme is providing advice, trials and loans of reusable nappy kits for people in financial hardship to reduce their waste and the financial costs of single-use nappies.
• Since 2015 they estimate to have prevented over 3 million nappies entering landfill.

Benthyg Cymru’s Library of Things

• Libraries of things are being set up across wales, allowing people to borrow what they need and donate what they don’t, combining community resources to reduce waste and carbon emissions, and allow people to borrow items at a low cost they may not have been to afford otherwise.
• Since 2020, Benthyg Cymru supported 15,000 ‘borrows’ across Wales, which has saved households in Wales £400k and reduced carbon emissions by 180,000 kg.

Repair Cafe Wales

• With an aim to see a repair cafe in every community across Wales, Repair Cafe Wales are working with volunteers to promote reuse and repair culture, share skills and fix items for free.
• They support a network of more than 140 repair cafes and since 2020 has fixed 19,377 items, saving 637,503.3KG Co2e carbon emissions.

Fareshare Wales

• During the COVID-19 pandemic, Welsh Government and Fareshare Wales partnered with Castell Howell to redistribute surplus food from their supply chains.
• 188 communities and charity groups supported this work, and more than 3 million meals were redistributed to those in need during the pandemic.