Furniture recycling at the Council

More than three years ago I tried to save the Furniture Recycling Project in Stroud - see here - I now have a better understanding about how dysfunctional it can be between the District and County Council - one collects waste, the other disposes and a project like furniture recycling doesn't necessarily sit easily in all that - but it should. Indeed it is very sad that such projects have not been prioritised. Indeed it is outrageous that tax payers will have to pay fines because Council's have not prioritised recycling and established sustainable ways of dealing with our waste.

Photo: the old recycling store in Stroud

I am delighted however that at long last a move towards this is being made by Stroud District. As part of the new housing improvement plan within Tenant Services, a new action point has been added relating to reuse of furniture and electrical items.

This sets out to make use of the better quality goods left by vacating tenants rather than simply having things cleared by our contractor to landfill. Whilst there are several organisations who deal with second hand items from homes, there are often issues around collection and, for various reasons, there does not appear to have been a consistent process developed. The District Council now have an agreement with the British Heart Foundation who will collect such items for free and then sell them on at very reasonable prices through their outlet at Gloucester.

Another development is that they are possibly also willing to put together a “starter pack” of basic items for a fixed price so that we can refer new tenants in need of such a service when moving into their new home. The project will run for a trial period early next year and, if successful, they will be looking to extend it to include other organisations in the area.Great stuff.