Repair, reuse, rehome. That’s the aim of a new recycling centre, a vast warehouse round the corner from Berrylands station.
Opened by campaigner Des Kay, pictured, The Circulatory has a simple aim – to save the planet. “It’s a facility to reuse, upcycle, repair and rehome things that would otherwise end up in landfill,” said Des, left, who hopes volunteers will help him sort and sift.

With at least a year’s rent-free occupancy of the huge building, Des is decanting the contents of seven lock-ups currently overflowing with rejected – but perfectly serviceable – goods, to give them a new life.

Bicycle repair, luggage restoring and bric-a-brac salvage will take place in a building well-equipped with loos and kitchenettes.
There is also ample space for artistic creation, using secondhand objects.

Des makes the point that items in charity shops have a shelf life. “Charity shops keep things for a limited time, then throw them out,” said Des, who believes a concerted effort to repair existing things is far more planet-friendly than buying new.

Assisted by a mini army of supporters, he hopes The Circulatory will become a template for similar recycling places everywhere, reviving a repair and mend culture.
Des, founder of the Save The World Club (www.savetheworldclub.org), negotiated occupancy of the former Ana Wiz maternity supplies warehouse at 5 Chiltern Works, Chiltern Drive KT5 8LS.

The building, 50 yards from Berrylands station, may have begun life as a Second World War munitions factory.

Welcoming the arrival of The Circulatory on behalf of the council, Cllr Sharron Sumner backed the project. A believer in reusing (she only buys secondhand clothes), she said: “It’s amazing; imagine what Des can achieve now with so much room! I hope the council gets behind this project, to stop the terrible wastage that goes on. We should all be proud that our community is doing this.”