Swap shop’s 4th anniversary

The Recycle Swap Shop tradition is now well established in Rye, having been running four years, and Saturday, October 15 was no exception.

At St Mary’s Centre 166 people turned up and took away a whopping 316kg of “stuff”.  For those unfamiliar with the idea, the swap shop gives the opportunity to bring along unwanted items or take away anything that might be useful. It’s not compulsory either to bring or take and no money changes hands, though a small donation towards the running costs is welcome. The idea of everything being free bewilders some – it seems too good to be true but once the reasoning behind this worthwhile project is explained, people become enthusiastic converts. To prove that the swap shop is making a difference, goods on the way out are weighed – again something that is readily accepted once when people know what it is for. Usable items left over at the end were taken to local charity shops (149kg),  the recyclable material amounted to 70kg and only a small quantity went to landfill (33kg).