Highlanders urged to Pass it on and help charities beat the crunch

Issued by Waste Aware Scotland

A campaign encouraging people across the Highlands to stop wasting good quality furniture and household goods and instead donate them  to those in need has been launched in Inverness.

Waste Aware Scotland wants Highlanders to reuse their unwanted furniture by giving it to charities which help the homeless.  It claims that huge numbers of good quality items needlessly end up in landfill sites when they could still be put to good use.

The new campaign is a collaboration between Waste Aware Scotland and the Community Recycling Network for Scotland (CRNS), which represents more than 50 furniture reuse projects across Scotland. Under the initiative, Highland furniture reuse projects Blythswood Care; HomeAid Caithness and New Start Highland are coming together to urge local people to stop wasting furniture which could be reused.

Waste Aware Scotland believe the timing is especially important as the recession is starting to hit these projects hard, with furniture donations decreasing.

New figures released by CRNS show that 43% have seen their donations drop over the last 12 months – with worse forecast for the year ahead.  At the same time, demand is set to soar – with almost three-quarters of local authorities predicting homelessness applications will increase as a result of the economic crisis.

Launching the initiative in Inverness, Highlands and Islands SNP MSP Rob Gibson said:  “I would encourage as many people as possible to give their unwanted furniture to these worthy social enterprises.  There are many people struggling to get by and badly in need of help and an easy donation like this would make a visible impact in their lives.’’

Joining Mr Gibson at the launch was Highland Council’s Chairman of Transport, Environment and Community Services, Councillor John Laing who added:  “In Highland, we have Homeaid Caithness, Newstart and Blythswood that uplift furniture suitable for reuse which helps hard pressed individuals and families and at the same time reduces the amount of waste going to landfill.  Last year over 1000 tonnes of furniture were successfully diverted from landfill in Highland this way and figures show that this amount has been rising each year which is really encouraging.”  
 
Ian Matheson of Blythswood Care added: “Highland people’s generous donations of furniture and household goods are vital to the work of Blythswood. Donations of clothing, footwear, books, toys and bric-a-brac are always welcome too, which we try to reuse as far as possible.”

Ylva Haglund of Waste Aware Scotland, said: “Thousands of reusable items still end up in landfill sites, when there are community projects which could make good use of them. That really is a massive waste.”

“By raising awareness of furniture projects we hope more people will choose to reuse,” she said.

Pauline Hinchion, chief executive of CRNS, said: “Furniture projects do a fantastic job; keeping waste out of landfill and providing much-needed social support. 

“However the recession is a real threat and this campaign will help projects secure the donations which are their lifeblood.”

The furniture reuse campaign is being piloted with projects in the Highlands, Glasgow and Dundee and it will be rolled out nationally over the next year. 

In an innovative move, the campaign is linking up with mainstream furniture and household retailers by providing them with promotional materials to use in-store.  It will also be supported by a website at www.wasteawarescotland.org.uk/furniture.asp

Ends