Circular Living in Quin

Colorful mural of a tree with books as its branches, featuring a small owl at the base and an inscription that reads "Quin's Community Library" with a heart symbol, on a window.

The circular economy is about keeping things in use for as long as possible. Repair instead of replace, reuse instead of bin, share, swap or buy preloved instead of buy new. In Quin, we run events and initiatives that make circular living practical and accessible for people in the village.

This work sits alongside our biodiversity and other climate action projects as part of a broader approach to sustainable community life. Much of it connects to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, in particular SDG 12 — Responsible Consumption and Production, and SDG 17 Partnerships for the Goals.

Preloved and Swap events

We run a series of swap and preloved events throughout the year. The School Uniform Swap, run in partnership with Quin School Parents' Association, collects and redistributes uniforms from Quin National School and local secondary schools in Ennis and Tulla. The Halloween Costume Swap, run each October, keeps costumes in circulation rather than in landfill. The children come to our “Bootique” where they can pick up a new to them costume for free.

All events are free to attend and open to everyone in the village and surrounding area. See our social media for upcoming events.

We ran our first Preloved fashion show and shop in 2024 and we have another event planned for November 2026. This was a fun community event where donated preloved fashion was sold at really reasonable prices, with items for women, men, and children plus accessories! As always the decor was all upcycled or thrifted.

Sign on a chair that reads 'Uniform Swap' with a green recycling symbol.
Decorative display of four mini pumpkins, two white knitted and two green, with a small orange pumpkin wearing a black witch hat, surrounded by three tea light candles on a wooden surface.
A person sitting on a black chair, wearing blue jeans and a teal shoe, with a denim and yellow scarf holding a container that has yellow flowers and green leaves.
Clothes and costumes hanging on a rack with Halloween themed decorations, including a pumpkin garland, and a sign that reads 'Croke Park'. There is also a 'No smoking' sign on a door in the background.
Color swatches arranged in a circular pattern with the words 'I'm Wearing Pre-Loved' in the center.
A group of nine people, including children and adults, standing around a wooden raised garden bed with soil and young plants. They are outdoors in a garden with trees and greenery in the background, smiling and dressed casually.
Group of people, including children and adults, gathered outdoors in a grassy area with trees and houses in the background, participating in gardening or planting activity.
Display of potted plants including mint and strawberry, with signs about sustainability goals and responsible consumption.
A green flower pot with purple, yellow, and white flowers planted in dark soil, resting on grass. There is a blue painted rock with white writing partially visible in the foreground and garden signs behind the pot.

Grow Your Own

In spring 2025 we installed raised beds in three housing estates across the village as a pilot Grow Your Own programme. A workshop on soil preparation, seed sowing and seasonal growing was run by local organic horticulturalist Barry Deane. Residents grew strawberries, scallions, beetroot, herbs and mixed lettuces through the season. Seeds were donated by local organic farms.

The programme is now expanding to include a large waist-height bed being added to make the project accessible for older residents and people with mobility difficulties.

We are also members of the Clare Community Gardens Network, which supports shared learning and community growing practice across County Clare. We were invited to showcase our circularity with a pop up garden at the Co Clare Garden festival in April. We featured planters made from upcycled coffee sacks and a repurposed wheel hub.

Circular Costume Design

We have worked with Quin Players Drama Group over the last couple of years to costume their productions entirely from second-hand or upcycled sources. Every item was sourced from charity shops, Vinted or community donations. Nothing new was purchased.

For example in the 2025 production of The Year of the Hiker, a wedding outfit was made using second hand dress and jacket, with upcycled veil. A tablecloth was upcycled to make aprons and props.

Group of seven people standing against a plain beige wall, smiling.

Upcycling workshops

In February 2025 and again in March 2026, we hosted furniture upcycling workshops at Quin Community Centre, led by Marianne Heaphy — known as The Revamp Tramp. Participants brought worn or second-hand pieces and learned techniques including decoupage, glazing, distressing, stencilling and gold leaf. The workshop was open to all skill levels.

In September 2026 we will host our first clothing upcycling and mending event with Ailish from Fash Forward. If you would like to join us please get in touch.

Dispersed orchard

We are developing a dispersed community orchard across Quin's housing estates and shared spaces, linking existing apple trees in the village into a connected network. Native apple trees have been planted at Maigh Dara, Bruach na Rinne, Quin Gardens, Manor View, Dun na Manach, Radharc an Sruthain and Scoil na Mainistreach, following a traditional apple orchard workshop with Irish Seed Savers.

Over time the orchard will provide free fruit for residents, support pollinator corridors through the village, and contribute to carbon storage and local food production.

We also buried a time capsule for future generations of Quin residents to find.

Group of six men planting a tree on a sunny day in a grassy yard, with tools and buckets nearby.
A glass jar with a black lid is lying on the ground covered in dirt and small rocks. The jar has a yellow label with handwritten text that reads 'QUIN 2026 DISPERSED OR HARD.'
Map of Quin Village public transport links showing bus routes 318 and 317, with stops marked on green areas and roads, including QR codes for more information.
A bus stop sign along a wet road in a suburban area with houses and trees in the background, under a cloudy sky.

Sustainable transport

In 2025 we focused on promoting the bus service connecting Limerick, Quin and Ennis — Routes 317/317A and 318. We produced easy-to-read timetable posters with QR codes linking to the full timetable, placed at bus stop locations and in local businesses. We have been working with TFI, Clare County Council and Bus Éireann on the installation of permanent bus stops in the village, and these were installed in March 2026.

Sustainable Energy Community

In November 2024, Quin became a Sustainable Energy Community in partnership with SEAI, following 18 months of work including energy audits of the Community Centre, the primary school and a number of households. The resulting Energy Master Plan sets out a register of opportunities for the village, covering solar PV, insulation, retrofitting, sustainable transport and biodiversity actions.

Energy clinics have been held in partnership with local retrofit businesses and with Clooney-Spancilhill Environment Group. The Green Schools committee at Scoil na Mainistreach has been involved throughout.

View the Quin SEC Energy Master Plan
Five people standing indoors, holding signs related to global goals, smiling and posing for a photo.
Group of nine people standing around a conference table holding colorful signs representing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals inside a room with glass block windows and beige walls.
Garden bed with various green leafy plants and herbs, including strawberries, with small signs indicating sustainability goals such as 'Zero Hunger', 'Responsible Consumption and Production', and 'No Poverty'.

The UN Sustainable Development Goals

We link our circular living work to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, using them as a framework for planning and reporting. In April 2025 we hosted an SDG masterclass workshop facilitated by Alex Whyatt from Global Action Plan Ireland, bringing together five local Tidy Towns groups to share knowledge and ideas. Out of this we established the East Clare Tidy Towns Network — a peer learning group for community organisations across the region.

We also promote the connections between the goals and local actions during SDG week in October.

Get involved!

Whether you want to come along to an event, volunteer with an existing project, find out more about what we do, or talk through an idea for a new circular living initiative in the village — we'd love to hear from you. Get in touch by email or follow us on social media to stay up to date with what's on.