Council Joins Forces With Charity To Launch Repair Re-Cycle & Re-Use Service

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William Wilberforce Trust will collect, repair & reuse household items

The service launched on 4th January will collect items that are in good or repairable condition including furniture, bicycles, children's equipment and toys and gardening equipment.  It will also collect electrical items such as computers and washing machines - even if they aren't working.

The Re-use service means rather than chucking items away, householders will be able to get them picked up from their home by the William Wilberforce Trust, a charity that provides practical support to vulnerable and isolated people across London. Collected items will then be refurbished at the Rework workshop in Smugglers Way, Wandsworth, and sold to other local people at affordable prices.

The initial launch will be in Wandsworth and three other boroughs, but it will eventually go London-wide. It is part of the London Re-use Network, made up of re-use projects and charities across the capital that work together to find new homes for donated items.

Wandsworth council tax payers will benefit because the service will save resources and reduce the borough's waste disposal costs.

The scheme also provides employment because the network is working in partnership with Groundwork, which is employing 16-25 year old job seekers to repair items at the workshop.

To check whether an item is suitable for the Re-use collection service and for full details of both the Re-use service and the council's standard bulky waste collection service, go to www.wandsworth.gov.uk/bulkywaste. 

To book a Re-use collection, call (020) 3142 8506. The charge is guaranteed to be the same as the couJanuary 6, 2012r re-use or disposal can also be dropped off at the Smugglers Way waste and recycling centre in Wandsworth.

The new service is expected to further boost Wandsworth's 2011 recycling rates. In the year up to April 2011, local households cut the amount of rubbish they produce by 1.25 kilos a week, saving the council £642,000 in disposal costs.

2011 also saw the opening of a new recycling plant at Smugglers Way , which increased the types of plastic accepted in the council's orange recycling sacks and banks. Residents can now recycle plastic bottles, pots, tubs and trays.

Cabinet member for environment and culture, Cllr Jonathan Cook, (pictured left) said:

"I'm delighted that Wandsworth has been chosen as one of the first boroughs to launch this exciting new reuse scheme. It's good news for the environment and for our council tax payers.   Along with the other recycling improvements that we introduced in 2011, this will make it easier than ever for residents to cut waste and recycle more."  

January 4, 2012