Recycle and Repair

At multiple locations around Odense city, it is possible to buy from different types of secondhand stores. You can also participate in events where the purpose is to repair used and broken objects, thereby giving them a ‘new lease’ on life. The following places are good examples of this.

The Secondhand store ‘Zirkel’

A variety of things that end up at the recycling facilities are simply too good to be thrown out and deserve a new lease on life. Therefore, Odense Renovation has created the store Zirkel, a universe where discarded objects are reused in a different and creative framework. The items for sale in the store come from Odense's 8 recycling facilities, where some of it goes directly for sale, the rest is redesigned and upcycled by the store's employees before it is sold.

The store is therefore not just a secondhand store, but also an experimental showroom for discarded objects. This means that you can walk through both a child's room and a storage room, where innovators and artists have been able to create a new lease on life for these discarded objects. In this sense, visitors of the store are also inspired to be creative themselves, and it becomes clear that the saying - one person's trash is another person's treasure is quite true. Find out more about sustainable and innovative initiatives on their website.

The Repair Café Odense

The Repair Cafés vision is to reduce the amount of trash created and change user consumption patterns, thereby developing the knowledge surrounding a greener transformation and the desire to change. They, therefore, have the goal of changing the current reigning culture of throwing away and buying new products. They want to recycle and repair!

A majority of products today are intentionally designed not to be repaired, and they would like to challenge that mentality in the long term.

A step in the right direction is the establishment of their cafés around the country. Here it is possible to come by and get your broken or defective products repaired, as well as receive qualified guidance by voluntary experts. This essentially means that you can bring a broken vacuum cleaner, a pair of pants with holes in them, a laptop that’s acting up or a punctured bicycle tire and receive help, as well as guidance to repair it.

Apart from looking out for the environment and climate change, the Repair Café also has a goal surrounding the creation of a community across social, cultural, political and religious differences.

The Repair Café hosts different events, every month, all over the country. In Odense, the Repair Café is open the last Sunday of every month. You can keep up to date with events and news by following their Facebook page or their website.

GreenMind

GreenMind has existed since 2011 and is a business that prolongs the life of electronic products, by repairing used electronics and recycling spare parts from defective units. Once fixed, these second-hand electronic products can be bought in their stores around the country and online through their webshop. It is also possible to sell your used electronics to GreenMind and be a part of the recycling movement or better yet, - have your mobile or laptop repaired by them, so it can last even longer.

GreenMind’s vision is to contribute to creating a sustainable culture, where recycling is the preferred choice. By recycling more, a circular economy is generated, where resources are reused and will again become part of the value chain. In this sense, you avoid contributing to the production of new products, which in turn decreases the amount of CO2 emissions. Read more about it on GreenMind’s website.