The world's first recycling mall is Swedish

The name of this rare avis comes from the combination of Tuna, a nickname of the Swedish city Eskiltuna and the word "reuse". Also, it sounds like retune . It opened in August 2015 and in its two years of life, this Scandinavian mall is proving that circular economy is a round business. By 2016 all its stores had total sales of 8.1 million, which would be equivalent to the amount of reduced waste. They have also created between 50 and 60 new jobs.

The creators of the Retuna project are a team of environmental activists whose goal is to make Eskiltuna the best city in terms of waste management. In the words of one of its founders, Anna Bergstrom, "the decision to create the mall arises from a combination of brave politicians and a desire to be the best municipality in waste management."

How does a recycling center work?

Retuna is open seven days a week and has between 600 and 700 visits per day. It has 14 stores (3 of them pop-ups) in which they offer products to give a second life ranging from furniture to computers, music equipment, clothing, toys, bicycles, gardening tools and building materials. In addition to a restaurant, an educational center and a conference room.

The key to feeding the project lies in the recycling center next to the mall, where people can leave things they no longer want, but can be used again after being repaired or transformed into another product in a creative, what is known in these modern times in which we live as upcycling . Turning that waste into an opportunity, without burdening the local government with that responsibility. The goods cease to be waste and are put back into circulation, saving materials, time and   Energy. 

In this warehouse, where incoming goods are received and sorted, a social company is responsible for receiving incoming materials, evaluating and distributing them. Specifically, 12 employees are dedicated to this important mission. And in the case of receiving things that they know they will not be able to use, they send them to other institutions that can make use of it, such as schools. Once the process is finished, these goods end up in the stores for sale. In this way, they reduce waste, create new job opportunities and increase the knowledge on how to live in a more sustainable way. This last one, in its center of conferences where weekly they give workshops and talks on recycling, conscious consumption and environm