As part of our on-going commitment to reducing waste and cutting costs, a formal furniture re-use scheme for university staff was launched at the end of 2011.
The scheme is designed so that any staff member or department who has an item of surplus furniture can add this directly to the online database, where it is then visible to all other staff. Staff who require any new items check the database to see if what they require is already available somewhere within the university. Items on the database can then be requested through the online system, and our team of friendly porters deliver the items directly to the receipient.
So far, around 135 items have been reused, which is equivalent to just over 2.5 tonnes of furniture!
Not only has this saved us an estimated £14,000 against purchasing new items, it also means we have saved on waste disposal costs and avoided harmful emissions being created by landfilling these items or transferring them to an alternative location to be dealt with. If, after a year, items haven’t been picked up by anyone, they are offered to charity and to our staff for personal use.
So, if you're a staff member looking for a new item of furniture, your first port of call should be the furniture database on the intranet.
And it’s also important to remember to add any items your department are disposing of onto the database, so that other staff know that they are up for grabs!
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