Making Materials Matter

Residents can earn money-off vouchers in return for reducing, repairing and recycling their waste, as part of a new initiative.

The Make Materials Matter challenge has been launched in the city, in partnership with Brighton & Hove City Council, to help reduce waste and boost recycling.

Reuse, repair and recycle

Funded by the European Regional Development Fund, as part of the BLUEPRINT to a Circular Economy project, the scheme rewards residents with BetterPoints for reducing their waste and re-using, repairing and recycling goods.

The aim is to encourage residents to think about how they use materials, what they throw away and explore new ways to reduce, repair and recycle.

Changing behaviour

Councillor Pete West, chair of the Circular Economy Members Working Group, said: “I hope this exciting new initiative will encourage us all to re-think how we manage our waste.

“By introducing new and simple ways to change our behaviour, we can cut down waste, reduce our carbon footprint and earn BetterPoints to save money at the same time – what could be better!” 

Download the app

To take part and start collecting points, residents are invited to download the  BetterPoints app. Once downloaded, they can join the Make Materials Matter challenge and start earning points in a number of locations. These include second hand stores, recycling centres and loan schemes.

BetterPoints will be awarded every time a resident:

• Borrows an item from a lending service
• Buys upcycled/refurbished items, second hand clothing or goods from a refill store
• Takes materials to a local recycling centre
• Takes electronics or textiles to a local repair service
• Upskills by learning how to repair or manage waste better, ie: attending a sewing or food waste cooking courses.

To get residents started, there’s 250 points awarded just for signing up!

Prize draw

Residents can also earn BetterPoints Tickets for reducing waste, reusing, repairing and recycling goods, or completing an upskill activity, and each week 5 will win 5,000 points in a prize draw!

Points can be swapped for vouchers which can be spent at local and national shops. They can also be used to buy discounted bus tickets or donated to charity.

To find out more about the scheme, visit: https://moveforchange.betterpoints.uk/stories/make-materials-matter and download the BetterPoints App.

The BLUEPRINT to a Circular Economy Project has a total budget of 5.6m euros, 3.8m of which were provided by the European Regional Development Fund via the Interreg France (Channel) England programme.