A NEW shop selling perfectly good items that have been saved from landfill has officially opened in Newtown town centre – and there could be plans to open a new shop in another Powys town.

The Waste Not Shop shop in Broad Street opened its doors for the first time on Saturday, November 27, to promote a regenerative economy and help build a greener tomorrow for Newtown and the surrounding area.

Circular Economy Mid Wales, who now run as Waste Not Shop, has saved 70 tonnes of unwanted items that would have gone to landfill since it began 18 months ago. The concept of a circular economy and shop started with conversation with Potter Group about how to better use the perfectly good items that was taken to the recycling centre.

Chris Powell, from Circular Economy Mid Wales, said the social enterprise is "changing a defunct bookmakers into a betting shop for a better tomorrow". Jeremy Thorpe, one of the directors at Circular Economy Mid Wales, said the concept has been embraced by the people of Newtown.

"We were only able to buy this shop as a result of a grant from the Welsh Government that we worked with the town council to put an application in. It was only by having a close association with the Town Council we were grateful for that to happen.

"We have got a really good team. They’ve gone way above and beyond what we would have expected of them to get here."

Councillor David Selby is the lead councillor with the Circular Economy Mid Wales. He said: "Some town councils have a tradition of spending time stopping things happening and finding ways why they can’t have it rather than finding ways of how it can happen. I can proudly say not ours. We delivered it."

Potter Group said it has the intention to bring the venture to Welshpool.