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Western Riverside Waste Authority to launch collection service for Wandsworth's reusable household items
6:20am Monday 26th July 2010
A new £850,000 collection service for reusable household items is set to inspire the borough’s residents to live greener lives.
The Western Riverside Waste Authority (WRWA) was awarded the cash to set up the service after the London Waste and Recycling Board (Lwarb) announced £8m funding to create the world's largest ‘reuse network’. If it proves successful it could be rolled out across the capital.
Under the scheme, the WRWA will target unwanted objects in Wandsworth, like old televisions or furniture, which can be fixed up and re-sold. The aim is to increase the amount of waste put back into use.
Councillor Tim Ahern, WRWA chairman, said: “This is an exciting and innovative project that will move material up the waste hierarchy and make a significant social contribution by offering job opportunities and training in these difficult economic times.
“The Mayor of London wants us to regard waste as a resource and this project together with the authority's recycling initiatives will help achieve behavioural change leading to residents asking ‘what can I do with this’ rather than ‘how do I get rid of this’.”
Anyone with a reusable item will soon be able to call a telephone hotline to arrange for the goods to be taken to a workshop in Smugglers Way, where they will be repaired and made ready for resale. The workshop will double as a training centre where unemployed 18 to 24-year-olds can gain experience and new qualifications.
Boris Johnson revealed the Lwarb had given the London Community Resource Network (LCRN) £8m to create the London Reuse Network earlier this month.
LCRN subsequently teamed up with the WRWA, which is responsible for the disposal of waste from Wandsworth, Hammersmith and Fulham, Lambeth and Kensington and Chelsea, to deliver a reuse network with key organisations and community groups.
By 2015 the network aims to be diverting over a million items from the waste stream every year.
For more information visit wrwa.gov.uk.
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