On the Helsinki Service Map, you will find a broad selection of sustainable everyday services. When you buy a used bike, repair a pair of jeans or borrow tools, you will also save euros. Take a look at the kinds of services that are available.
Surplus lunches, second-hand clothing, free event spaces and even building elements.
These and other sustainable everyday services await Helsinki residents on the Service Map at palvelukartta.hel.fi. If you type “circular economy” in the search field, hundreds of pins will appear on the map. The results will include a wide variety of services offered by companies, communities and the City of Helsinki.
The City of Helsinki will highlight circular and sharing economy services during the rest of the year and encourage city residents to get to know them. Choices that promote the circular economy help save both euros and the environment.
Let’s go and explore the Service Map.
There are many second-hand markets and boutiques on the map, where you can buy used clothes, shoes and accessories for both children and adults. The map also features stores specialising in used sports equipment, furniture, antiques and other utility items.
Some operators also offer recycled products made from old and surplus materials. For example, the City of Helsinki’s Uusix store in Kyläsaari sells handicraft products. While you are there, you can visit the recycling yard at the Kierrätyskeskus recycling centre and find building elements, refurbished computers, and recycled and repaired bicycles.
Sometimes stores are left with surplus but perfectly usable products. How about a bouquet of surplus flowers for your living room or a surplus lunch from one of the Service Centre Helsinki locations?
Helsinki libraries have long been pioneers in the culture of lending. Helsinki residents can therefore create and accomplish so much without owning tools themselves.
You can explore libraries on the map to see what each one offers for borrowing: books, music, games, sports equipment, rubbish pickers, cordless drills, tickets to sports events and concerts, and more.
At Central Library Oodi, you can play video games, play an acoustic guitar or book a space for group work. The city also provides shared spaces across Helsinki that can be booked through the Varaamo service.
Maintenance and repair have been gaining popularity for a while. From the start, Central Library Oodi has offered a sewing machine for fixing and customising clothes, along with a private DIY workshop for special projects.
Alternatively, you can take your favourite garment to a tailor for repairs, and when it is no longer wearable, drop it off at a textile recycling point. Add shoe repairers, furniture restoration shops, household appliance repair services and mobile phone repair shops (which also sell repaired phones) to your list of options.
Some might wonder whether personal choices can truly affect Helsinki’s greenhouse gas emissions. The answer is yes. Sitra recently updated its lifestyle test, which helps individuals calculate their personal carbon footprint. It tells you how much your lifestyle causes greenhouse gas emissions.
The test also suggests actions you can take to reduce your carbon footprint. One popular action among test participants (over 6,500 of them) was maintaining and repairing items.
“If they really commit to maintaining and repairing, their collective emissions reduction could equal the annual emissions of 547 Helsinki residents or the annual emissions from car use by 882 Finns. The more people participate in such a change, the more good we can achieve,” says Environmental Specialist Leona Silberstein from the City of Helsinki.
The City of Helsinki aims to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030. While the city has already significantly reduced greenhouse gas emissions from energy production, heating and transport, further reductions are necessary, with a focus on circular economy measures.
“We are constantly working to integrate circular economy practices more systematically into construction and the city’s procurement processes while encouraging residents to make more sustainable consumption choices,” Silberstein explains, referring to the city’s Action Plan for the Circular and Sharing Economy, which outlines 23 key initiatives.
What does it involve?
For example, city construction projects can use low-emission concrete and recycled asphalt for road surfaces. The reuse and recycling of building elements and materials are actively promoted. The city also actively seeks to increase the internal sharing and reuse of its own furniture and equipment.
Author: Katja Alaja
What is a circular economy?
The key idea of a circular economy is to keep products and materials in circulation for as long as possible through reuse, sharing repair and recycling. This saves natural resources and reduces emissions and waste caused by consumption.
Your can’t find your local shoe repairer on the Service Map?
Tell them about the City Platform website, which can be used to apply for the service.
How to apply:
