The Green Party has proposed that Dublin City Council follow Copenhagen’s lead and look to open so called ‘Swap Centres’.

At a Swap Centre, all manner of items can be dropped off and put on display for others to browse and take home for free.

Green Party councillor for Dublin North Inner-City Janet Horner told Moncrieff that these centres help reduce the number of things going to landfill.

“A Swap Centre is somewhere that you can come bring your bits of furniture you’re finished with, clothes – even some electrical goods at points - and you can leave them there so that other people can take them if they offer any purpose for them,” she said.

“So, that’s not possible at our bring centres at the moment, once they’re put into the bring centre that's it, they’re done.

“We know all across Dublin there’s many, many different Facebook groups and different websites set up to allow people to swap goods – but it’s done fairly organically.

“A lot of time [it] involves people dropping things to each other’s homes to pick things up and drop things off.”

Portobello Road Market Notting Hill London, electronics and musical instruments. Image: Barbara Ash / Alamy. 05-24-2024.

Cllr Horner said that these facilities would require very little investment from local authorities once up and running.

“It depends on the level of local buy-in,” she said.

“In some cases, you might see that it has to be managed by the equivalent of our bring centre staff at the moment, and in other cases they get huge amounts of buy-in from the local community and people kind of set it up.

“It’s more than just a shop, it’s a cafe or a drop-in centre somewhere that people can come and repair things, connect, meet, talk about how they can get better use out of their products and their goods before they swap them or pass them on.”

Dumping

According to Cllr Horner, these centres would help to resolve illegal dumping in Dublin.

“The Irish Businesses Against Litter survey is out again today saying the North-inner city has the highest rate of dumping and litter in the city,” she said.

“So, we are well aware – too aware – every time we stop out of the front door around here, the level of dumping problems that are in the city.

“In a way it’s also trying to shift people’s relationship with rubbish, to look for re-uses before they dump things.”

Ms Horner said that having local, convenient options would help to change people’s behaviours.

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Featured image: People looking for goods at a flea market during 757th edition of St. Dominic?s Fair are seen in Gdansk, Poland. Image: Michal_Fludra_travel / Alamy. 13th August, 2017