Do you have unwanted furniture, household and electrical items that are just too good go to waste?
This Recycle Now week (21 to 27 June 2010), Dorset councils are urging residents to help the environment by donating their good quality furniture and larger electrical appliances such as fridge freezers, microwaves and cookers to local community furniture reuse organisations.
Recycling is good for the environment and thanks to efforts of local residents, the county has one of the best recycling rates in the county.
However, encouraging the reuse of furniture and household goods is even better for the environment as it saves energy and reduces the carbon footprint.
Dorset has a number of not-for-profit furniture reuse organisations operating throughout the county, which jointly diverted 226 tonnes of household furniture away from household recycling centres and landfill in 2009-2010. These centres collect unwanted goods from people s homes, repair or refurbish them and then supply them,at a minimum cost, to individuals and families that are in receipt of benefits or on low incomes.
Dorset County Council s Cabinet member for environment Robert Gould said: "Recycle Now Week is a great opportunity to highlight the superb work of our furniture reuse organisations in Dorset and encourage more local people to think of them before throwing reusable items away".
Generous donations of furniture and household goods are vital to the success of these organisations, which help others in the community put unwanted items to good use. Unfortunately, good quality reusable items still end up in landfill sites and so we are reminding people to make use of these centres.
When purchasing some new appliances such as fridges, retailers usually offer to remove old ones free of charge. If the item is still in good working order, we encourage residents to first contact their local furniture reuse group to see if they can find new home for it.
To mark Recycle Now week, recycling roadshows are taking place in the west of the county, where residents can drop off their unwanted but reusable small waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE). These are taking place:
- 23 June Culverhayes Carpark, Sherborne 10am to 2pm
- 24 June Bucky Doo Square, Bridport 10am to 2pm
- 25 June South Street, Dorchester 10am to 2pm
For more information or to find your local furniture reuse organisation go to www.dorsetforyou.com/furniturereusegroups
Alternatively, request a district or borough reuse directory from your local council s recycling officer. This contains a list of local reuse groups or charity shops. Copies can also be downloaded from www.dorsetforyou.com/reusedirectory.
If local residents have other smaller unwanted household items, there are also a large number of charity shops across the county that are in need of clean, good condition items including clothes, books, toys and other household things. To find a charity shop near you visit www.charityshops.org.uk.
