Rediscovery Centre

What Rediscovery Centre does

The Rediscovery Centre is an Irish registered charity (Charity Number 20070106) operating from the Boiler House in Ballymun, Dublin, and designated as Ireland's National Centre for the Circular Economy. It runs an integrated "Eco-Cluster" of four wholly-owned social enterprises - Rediscover Furniture, Rediscover Paint, Rediscover Fashion, and Rediscover Cycling - that collect, repair, and upcycle discarded furniture, paint, textiles, and bicycles for resale through an on-site Eco Store (also online via Shopify) and the Boiler House Café. Educational programming spans primary, secondary, third-level, library, additional-needs, and teacher-CPD workshops delivered in-centre, off-site, and virtually via Zoom, with a free Sustainable Schools programme for 50 primary schools. Additional programmatic surfaces include the nationwide Relove Fashion competition for ages 12-19, the community-led ECCO adult-education initiative, the Paint Reuse Network, and Research Ireland-funded research.

The revenue model combines (i) earned income from retail (Eco Store and online), café sales, fee-based workshops, CPD, and room hire at the Boiler House; (ii) recurring grants from the Government of Ireland's Climate Action Fund and supporting departments (Environment/Climate/Communications, Community and Rural Development), Dublin City Council, and Taighde Éireann - Research Ireland; and (iii) EU co-financing through the LIFE Programme administered by CINEA. Leadership comprises CEO Dr. Sarah Miller, Centre Director Gráinne Lambert, and Director of Research, Policy and Education Rebecca Wilson; management team size is 11-50.

Go-to-market mixes an event-driven motion (workshops at the centre or at client schools/libraries) with a direct-to-consumer/retail motion at the Boiler House, complemented by omni-channel marketing (LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, BlueSky, email newsletters segmented by audience, a monthly DublinCityFM Green Room show, and an EU LIFE-funded low-carbon website). Strategic positioning is anchored in policy influence (Oireachtas testimony, EU Circular Economy Act consultation) and recognised awards including the AONTAS STAR Award 2026, Dublin City Social Enterprise Award 2023, and Spider Awards 2024 finalist.

Name

Rediscovery Centre

Legal name

The Rediscovery Centre

Website

https://rediscoverycentre.ie

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Rediscovery Centre is an Irish registered charity and national centre for the circular economy, running four reuse social enterprises (Furniture, Paint, Fashion, Cycling) alongside education programmes, a café, and an Eco Store from the Boiler House in Ballymun, Dublin, funded by Government of Ireland, EU LIFE, and Research Ireland grants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Circular Economy Education and Reuse Services

NAICS

Reupholstery and Furniture Repair (811420), Other Similar Organizations (except Business, Professional, Labor, and Political Organizations) (81399)

SIC

Public Bldg & Related Furniture (2531), Retail-Eating Places (5812)

akta.pro primary industry

Reuse & Resale / Recommerce Operations (EUAIANAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Circular Economy & Resource Efficiency (BPADALAM), Circular Economy & Sustainable Products (Reuse, Repair, Upcycling) (BPAGALAF)

Keywords

• Circular economy education
• Waste reuse services
• Social enterprise training
• Sustainability workshops
• Environmental education programmes

Headquarters

HQ city

Ballymun

HQ country

Ireland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Eco Store Sales: Sale of reused and upcycled products including furniture, paint, fashion items, and refurbished bikes through physical Eco Store and online Shopify storefront.
2. Boiler House Cafe: On-site cafe serving food and drinks to visitors, open Monday through Saturday 9.30am-3.30pm.
3. Education Workshops and Training: Fee-based workshops for schools, libraries, community groups, and teacher CPD programmes. Duration typically 90 minutes to 2 hours per workshop.
4. Room Hire: Meeting and event space rental at the Boiler House venue.
5. Government and EU Funding: Co-funded through LIFE Programme of the European Union and Climate Action Fund of the Government of Ireland. Supported by Department of Environment, Climate and Communications, Department of Community and Rural Development, Dublin City Council, and Research Ireland.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels11 records

Core offering

The Rediscovery Centre operates Europe's first circular economy demonstration centre at the Boiler House in Ballymun, Dublin, functioning as Ireland's National Centre for the Circular Economy. The organisation runs four reuse social enterprises (Rediscover Furniture, Rediscover Paint, Rediscover Fashion, and Rediscover Cycling), an Eco Store, and a Boiler House Café, while delivering curriculum-linked education workshops to schools, libraries, and community groups nationwide.

Product overview

The Rediscovery Centre operates as Ireland's National Centre for the Circular Economy, functioning as a multi-faceted platform combining social enterprises, education programmes, and community engagement. The core Eco-Cluster comprises four distinct social enterprises: Rediscover Furniture, Rediscover Paint, Rediscover Fashion, and Rediscover Cycling - all focused on reuse and repair of discarded materials. Supporting these enterprises are visitor services including an Eco Store, Boiler House Café, tours, room hire, and a garden. Educational offerings span primary, secondary, and third-level workshops, teacher CPD, and specialised programmes for additional needs groups, all delivered both in-person and virtually via Zoom. Community engagement includes the ECCO Project for adult education and the nationwide Relove Fashion Competition for sustainable fashion. The centre publishes regular Circular Economy Newsletters and maintains an online presence through its website and social media channels.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Rediscover Furniture: Social enterprise that repairs, restores and upcycles old furniture, giving it a fresh start and new life through circular economy principles.
• Rediscover Paint
• Rediscover Fashion
• Rediscover Cycling
• The Boiler House Café
• Eco Store
• Sustainable Schools
• ECCO (Empowering Communities in Circular Opportunities)
• Relove Fashion
• New Solutions
• ECCO Circular Community

Products and services

• Rediscover Furniture
• Rediscover Paint
• Rediscover Fashion
• Rediscover Cycling
• Eco Store
• Boiler House Café
• Room Hire
• Visitor Centre Tours
• Sustainable Schools Programme
• Secondary Level Education Workshops
• Third Level Workshops
• Library Workshops
• Teacher CPD Workshops
• Additional Needs Education Programme
• ECCO Project Community Programme
• Relove Fashion Competition

Quantifiable outcome

• More than two-thirds of Irish population think moving to circular economy should be prioritised by government and businesses
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles7 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Fingal County CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 March 2026Second Spin project with Fingal County Council's Active Travel Unit. Council provides scheme funding; Rediscovery Centre refurbishes donated bikes and provides free bicycles to teenagers whose bikes were stolen, promoting circular economy and active travel.
• Charity Retail IrelandcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 7 October 2025All-island representative body for charity retailers supporting Relove Fashion competition. Members provide unsellable textiles for upcycling into competition outfits, supporting participants who cannot access materials otherwise.
• 2GoCupminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 6 May 2024Partnership to provide reusable takeaway cups for Boiler House Cafe patrons. Customers pay €2 refundable deposit for cups, return to any participating cafe to receive deposit back or swap for clean cup.
• Dublin City University (DCU)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerVenue partner for Relove Fashion Grand Final 2026. DCU hosted the largest Relove Fashion Final in the competition's history.
• Green BubbleminorGTM or Marketing PartnerReuse-focused business featured on monthly Green Room radio show on DublinCityFM. Green Bubble saves packaging from waste by keeping bubble wrap and cardboard in circulation for reuse.
• DublinCityFMminorGTM or Marketing PartnerLocal radio station hosting monthly Green Room circular economy show featuring Rediscovery Centre community manager and rotating circular economy guests.
• Regional Waste Management Planning OfficescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-funders and supporters of Relove Fashion competition. Representative Sinéad Ní Mhainnín served as judge. Managing national waste prevention policy implementation.
• EDI Centre LongfordcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in ECCO (Empowering Communities in Circular Opportunities) project, a community-led adult education initiative supporting climate action through practical skills.
• Roscommon Women's NetworkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in ECCO project, contributing to community education for circular living in the Roscommon area.
• Tait House Community EnterprisecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in ECCO project in Limerick, supporting communities through circular economy education and training.
• FoodCloudminorGTM or Marketing PartnerFood redistribution organisation providing food truck at ECCO Circular Community Showcase event at Rediscovery Centre.
• Paint Reuse NetworkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNetwork led by Rediscovery Centre with support from Regional Waste Management Planning Offices. Coordinates national paint reuse efforts including Colour to Communities competition.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT): Wales-based sustainability education and demonstration centre with a similar model of combining visitor experiences, residential courses, and policy advocacy around green living. Both organizations function as flagship national centres showcasing circular/environmental practices to schools and the public.
• Emmaus UK: Federation of reuse-focused social enterprise communities across the UK operating charity shops, furniture workshops, and supporting formerly homeless companions. Shares the social-enterprise reuse model for furniture and textiles and similar dependency on donated goods streams.
• Community RePaint: UK-wide network collecting leftover paint for community reuse, mirroring the Rediscover Paint social enterprise. Operates the same model of diverting waste paint from landfill through a partnership of local schemes, with the same dependency on local authority and recycling centre donations.
• Re-Cycle: UK charity collecting donated bikes for refurbishment and shipment overseas, sharing the bike-reuse mission and donated-input model of Rediscover Cycling. Both depend on volunteer refurbishment capacity and corporate partnerships to scale bike collection.
• TRAID: UK charity operating textile reuse through charity shops while funding overseas garment worker welfare. Shares the textile-upcycling and secondhand fashion retail model that underpins Rediscover Fashion, including a focus on circular fashion education for young people.
• The Restart Project: UK-based charity promoting repair and longevity of electronics and household items via community repair events. Comparable as an education-led nonprofit advancing the right-to-repair and circular skills agenda through community workshops, similar to the Rediscovery Centre's repair and reuse training.
• Repair Café Foundation: International Dutch-founded network supporting local volunteer-led Repair Café events teaching fix-it skills. Shares the Rediscovery Centre's mission of building repair skills and a circular mindset through community workshops and educational programming.

Broad incumbents

• Eden Project: Cornwall-based visitor attraction and educational charity demonstrating environmental themes at scale. Comparable as a high-profile sustainability demonstration venue with education programmes, retail, and food service, but considerably larger and tourism-led rather than reuse-led.
• Zero Waste Scotland: Government-backed circular economy advisory body combining policy work, business support, and public-facing campaigns. Comparable as a publicly-funded circular economy hub influencing policy and consumer behaviour in a UK-adjacent market, though it does not operate reuse social enterprises directly.

Regional players

• FoodCloud: Irish nonprofit redistributing surplus food from businesses to charities, headquartered in Dublin. Comparable as an Irish social enterprise addressing waste streams, frequently co-located with Rediscovery Centre at events such as the ECCO Circular Community Showcase, though operating in food rather than furniture/textile/paint.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCNkzRBlxZZIuAScN_B-oeGg
• Facebookfacebook.com/RediscoveryCentre
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-rediscovery-centre
• Instagraminstagram.com/rediscoveryctr
• TikToktiktok.com/@rediscoverycentre
• Xx.com/RediscoveryCtr

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Subsidiaries4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Rediscovery Centre