Claire Downey
CEO, Rediscovery Centre
Awareness of the circular economy is growing, says Claire Downey, CEO of Ireland’s Rediscovery Centre. Yet, there’s still work to do to bring the circular economy into the mainstream.
How is the circular economy currently viewed in Ireland?
From our work at community, national and EU levels, we know that people want to engage with the circular economy. We carried out a survey in 2021, and only 25% of people had heard the term. However, now, our market research shows that 55% of people recognise it. That doesn’t mean they could give a comprehensive explanation of the circular economy, but they can relate to terms such as ‘reuse,’ ‘repair’ and ‘refill.’
Many people also have sewing or DIY repair skills or are keen to learn more about the subject. To drive behaviour change, we need to motivate people and make it easier and more affordable to repair, swap or buy second-hand.
We are seeing a growing desire
from the public for more hands-on
workshops and creative channels.
How do we engage more people in the transition to the circular economy?
At the Rediscovery Centre, we’ve been focusing on ways to break the transition down into easy actions, such as shopping your own wardrobe, repairing household appliances or using reusable coffee cups — concepts the public is familiar with. We are seeing a growing desire from the public for more hands-on workshops and creative channels such as upcycling, visible mending and design, which we deliver through our flagship demonstration centre in Ballymun. Surveys also tell us that there is a willingness to try different models like tool libraries, where people can borrow common household items like drills.
The demand is there for more circular options. Ireland needs more circular services and infrastructure like repair workshops, second-hand stores, washing facilities for reusable containers, logistics, public water refill stations and much more. At the Rediscovery Centre, we are ready to collaborate on research, piloting and delivering these services.
Where can people go to learn more?
Along with knowledge-sharing and delivering skills in person, we are creating an online platform, which is fully supported by the Government of Ireland and scheduled to go live this year. This will be the go-to national information service on everything to do with the circular economy, supported by funding, calls to action, community engagement and events and underpinned by research.
We want to lift the conversation above recycling and into areas such as reuse, repair and circular design and are keen to work with others to drive community action as a fundamental part of this transition.
