Surrey County Council (SCC), before adopting measures to reuse products, was seeking ways to deliver ambitious targets to:
- reduce household waste by 30 000 tonnes;
- send zero household waste to landfill;
- achieve recycling rates of up to 70 %.
Furniture and white goods were identified as bulky waste streams that could be considerably reduced through reuse. SCC worked with numerous independent local furniture reuse organisations, and realised that they could become more efficient if they pooled their resources. SCC therefore embarked on a project to increase furniture reuse across the county by:
- enabling furniture reuse organisations to work as a county-wide network, delivering coordinated, high-quality services;
- building capacity of furniture reuse organisations to handle greater volumes of furniture and white goods;
- raising public awareness of the potential for reuse, and improving access to it.
Key steps and actions in the development of the reuse network are summarised below, based on information described in WRAP (2014b).
Table 1: Key steps and actions in the development of the reuse network
|
Step |
Actions |
|
Engaging furniture reuse organisations |
SCC offered grants to build capacity and quarterly furniture reuse credits, as well as funding a county-wide communications campaign, providing marketing support, and part-funding an interim manager. In return, each furniture reuse organisation had to commit in writing to be part of a “Surrey Reuse Network” (SRN). |
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Agreeing a structure |
SCC proposed to establish the SRN as a legal entity in the form of a constituted membership network, with its own board and constitution. A Memorandum of Understanding was agreed, and plans put in place for the SRN to become a registered charity and a company limited by guarantee. |
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Building capacity |
Each member of SRN retained autonomy, and was encouraged to grow with tailored advice provided by WRAP-funded independent consultants. This ensured capacity growth across SRN members, individually and collectively. |
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Establishing a business plan |
An interim manager was part-funded by WRAP to develop a three-year strategic plan for the SRN drawing on the skills and strengths of different members. One deliverable was the establishment of a shared 0800 phone number for people to request collections, alongside development of a dedicated website to raise awareness of reuse in general and the SRN in particular. |
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Building relationships |
One intention of the SRN was to leverage the combined capacity of the network to bid for collection of bulky waste from households, and for resale of reusable items from household waste collection centres. The SRN interim manager established relationships with contracting authorities and SCC departments, enabling the SRN to become integrated in the delivery of services across the county. The SRN also won a contract to supply goods to Surrey’s Local Assistance Scheme that provides furniture and white goods to people in need. |
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Source: Based on information described in WRAP (2014b). |
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