Reuse

Encouraging users to become reusers

Far too many goods get thrown away just because people want to move on to the next thing. These perfectly serviceable items can be reused if only there was a process for them to be put back into circulation.

Resource Futures carries out a lot of work in this area, communicating the benefits to the environment of reusing rather than recycling or simply throwing away.

We also support others in this field, such as:

• Local  Action Groups to increase  awareness of waste issues and increase the amount of ‘waste’ that we reuse. For instance, in Oxfordshire we support the local communicty action groups to hold an annual county-wide swap-shop day
   
• Community RePaint, managed by us, provides an innovative solution to the 56 million litres of paint left unused in the UK each year. Surplus paint from retailers, householders, and painting and decorating companies is passed on to charities, voluntary organisations and community groups, for decorating premises such as village halls or youth clubs

Bulky waste? We can shoulder the load.

Another area where we have experience is in the reuse of bulky waste, such as furniture or white goods. In fact our expertise in this area has informed national good practice guidelines and helped local authorities to manage their bulky waste effectively. We have provided consultancy support to nearly twenty local authorities, covering many important aspects of bulky waste management, such as:

• Assessing the costs and benefits of operating different types of bulky waste services
   
• Ensuring your bulky waste collections are used effectively
   
• Increasing awareness of how bulky waste collections contribute to your recycling targets

• Assessing the percentage of reusable and recyclable waste, and the numbers and tonnage of different types of items in the bulky waste stream

• Complying with new legislation that affects bulky waste