Circular Communities Scotland’s Share & Repair Network has strived over the last 3 years to create a thriving network and community of share and repair projects in Scotland, in order to further establish sharing and repairing as key alternatives to buying new, and to meaningfully grow our sector.
We’re proud to share that the Network has contributed meaningfully to the growth of community-based sharing and repairing in Scotland, as evidenced in the first Share & Repair Network Impact Report. Since 2022 the number of active projects in the Network has grown from 22 to 83, a growth rate of 277% (November 2024).
Circular Communities Scotland CEO Michael Cook stated:
“Established in 2022, the Share and Repair Network has enabled significant growth in sharing and repairing in Scotland, supporting a more circular economy in the process. The Network has been invaluable to many members; its services and resources have been well used and had demonstrable positive impact. Overall findings show that there is a continuing need for such a network to encourage and promote the many and varied organisations involved in sharing and repairing in Scotland.”
The report details member services delivered by the network as well as a bigger picture of our impact on the sector. The Network is pleased to showcase meaningful feedback from our members about their experience accessing our support services:
“Without the Network we would not have the support that has helped us develop.”
“Excellent resources and excellent information.”
“They gave us confidence by discussing how the project runs in practice.”
Members survey Aug 20204.
Our Share and Repair Network Coordinator Jane Owens, stated:
“We’re incredibly grateful to all our members who provided us with feedback and contributed data to enable us to write the report. We’d also like to share a heartfelt thanks to our key partners and funders, The Edinburgh Tool Library, The Edinburgh Remakery, Scottish Government, and Zero Waste Scotland. The Network has thrived with the immediate and ongoing support of the vibrant community of organisations across the country that make up our sector. Our members are the ones on the front line, working every day for a more sustainable future for their communities and we’re very grateful to support them to do so.”
The overall findings of the Impact Report demonstrate both the value of, and need for, the Share & Repair Network to continue to serve our members. We are optimistic about securing funding from April 2025 to enable us to continue to support the growth of the share and repair sector in the future.