Council finds quality furniture a new home

Islington Council's new furniture reuse collection service picks up good quality household furniture that residents no longer want and gives charities the opportunity to put it to good use.

Thanks to this new scheme, Charities MORPH and HomeStore can now collect a range of good quality furniture such as wardrobes, display units, chests of drawers, three-piece suites and double beds from street properties up and down the borough. The charities then pass on low cost furniture to people who need it.

Lucy Watt, executive member for environment, said "This new doorstep reuse collection service is making it easier for local people to put their old furniture to good use. This innovative scheme is one of the first in London to offer local people a reuse collection from their doorstep and I'm delighted that Islington Council is once again at the forefront of developing new ways for residents to reduce their waste."

The purpose of these collections is to reuse items that still have a use that would otherwise have gone to landfill. It is estimated that of the 3.2 million households in London the number of furniture items thrown out each year that may be re-usable is approximately 800,000.
The scheme has been launched in the north of Islington and new areas will be added to the scheme throughout the next few months. All street properties in Islington will be offered a collection by the end of the project.

John Fleming of Morph "We are really pleased to be working closely with Islington Council because it gives a fantastic chance to get Islington residents aware of the need to reuse. We take furniture and household items and sell them through our shops to the general public and those on low incomes whilst training the unemployed and disadvantaged through those same outlets giving them skills to seek full time employment. By working closely together we can ensure less waste is sent to landfill sites which makes sense for the environment and more people are helped in the process."

The reuse charities also provide training and work experience for young people who are long term unemployed and living in the borough. The programme provides training in transport, distribution, warehousing and office administration under the supervision of trained staff. This training encourages socially excluded groups to attain labour market skills while running a furniture service for low-income families.

Richard Featherstone, Regional Development Manager, London Community Recycling Network "Furniture reuse is going to be the most important solution to reducing bulky waste in future. That's because so many of the materials in bulky waste are not recyclable. We like working with Islington Council because they have foresight and the will to find new ways of dealing with waste".