COUNCILLORS have suggested that Wellington Town Council needs to look at whether it has to buy “brand new” all the time when purchasing equipment.
With the town council taking on more work and services from cash-strapped Somerset Council, it is inevitable that it is going to have to buy extra resources such as tools and machinery to manage and maintain parks and open spaces.
But buying new all the time will soon sees the £ signs mount up at a time when every penny counts for the town council.
An item on the agenda for the town council’s environment committee on February 19 questioned whether its approach to procurement needed to be looked at.
It was suggested that perhaps the council could look at recycling and reusing items before buying new – almost epitomising the “make do and mend” phrase that encourages people to repair and maintain possessions rather than replacing them.
Cllr Mark Lithgow, who chaired the meeting, said he was a big fan of recycling and Wellington had some good organisations such as the Wellington Repair Café which sees a group of talented volunteer repairers meet and help people repair broken items.
“I’m a great believer in recycling,” said Cllr Lithgow. “When I was a child we used to mend socks.”
Cllr Sean Pringle-Kosikowsky supported the idea of looking at whether the council always had to buy new, but also suggested that it should shop around and looks for tools or machinery which were cheaper to purchase and just as suitable for the job required.
The “make do and mend” phrase became popular in Britain during and after the Second World when buying new clothes was rationed. A Ministry of Information campaign urged people to repair, reuse and re-imagine their existing clothes.
Councillors agreed to look in more detail at a “greener” procurement process.