Rehoming 3000+ Creative Resources Through the SAIL Resource Hub

In 2025, SAIL set up the region’s first Circularity Hub, to see whether a practical, sector-led approach to reuse could work at scale. The aim was not only to redistribute materials, but to gather evidence of the environmental, social and economic value of reuse across the sector.

Since 2025, the Hub has continued to grow. With the latest figures showing:

• 3,299 items rehomed to date and an estimated 98.25 tCO₂e avoided
• More than 3,000 items donated and almost 2,000 items rehomed through the tracked system.
• 61 donors and 149 recipients engaged through the Hub.
• An estimated £38,840 worth of resources rehomed.

The Resource Hub is now recognised beyond West Yorkshire. It is listed on the BAFTA Albert Sustainable Suppliers Directory and SAIL has joined the Restage Network, connecting the Hub with other reuse initiatives across the UK to share learning and develop best practice.

More importantly, the Hub has become part of how creative work gets made. From theatre productions and festivals to artists’ studios, film sets and community projects, materials that might otherwise have gone to waste are finding new life in the hands of other creatives.

SAIL took a hands-on approach, creating both the infrastructure and the practical support needed to make reuse work in the real world.

First, we secured a physical space, thanks to Skippko and their Blank Canvas scheme, allowing us to establish a dedicated space where resources could be received, stored and rehomed.

Alongside this, we worked with Maraid Design to develop a public-facing website so creatives could easily browse available resources, utilising the open source Circular Arts Network plugin created by the Sculpture Placement Group. Behind the scenes, we built a bespoke inventory and impact-tracking system using Microsoft Power Platform. This allows us to catalogue items, record their journey through the Hub and measure environmental and financial impact.

As the project evolved, we listened closely to the barriers our network continued to face and adapted our offer accordingly.

When affordable workspace emerged as a challenge, we opened the Hub itself as a creative space. Lucky Iris used materials from the Hub to build an entire stage set for a music video filmed on site, while other users have hosted workshops, film projects and community activities in the space.

When transport became a barrier, we introduced Van & Collection Days. By coordinating collections and deliveries across multiple organisations in a single route, we made it easier and more affordable for materials to move around the network rather than ending up as waste. These routes typically connect six to eight organisations and creatives across West Yorkshire in a single day.