Xmas green waste collection

Love this pic by @ showing Redcar & Cleveland council Xmas tree collection.

50% of items taken to the tip can be re-used with little or no financial investment.

I organised an event on the subject of reuse, repair, Household Waste Recycling Centres and "Bulky Waste" last week,

The event went very well. The speakers were varied and all interested in a different aspect of reuse or repair.

My vision is to make it easier for the householder to reuse or repair an item locally, than it is to get a Bulky Waste Collection or take it to the tip. So I was keen to explore all the niggly issues that can stop this.

Below you can find all of the speaker's papers. I would like to thank all of the speakers for their insight as well as the Chair, Jeff Moffit from Gateshead MBC and Sunderland City Council for hosting. Together I thnk we made for a great event which the 28 attendees appriciated- and that I hope we can develop something which has high social impact and lowers wasted disposal costs for LAs.

A couple of comments from attendees

"We have the need, we have the skills - it's not an impossibility. It's time to get together and make a difference."

" It was one of the best events I have attended over a long period of time."

"There have been few things that have excited me quite as much as the ideas and opportunities discussed by those at the Bulky "Opportunity" Event.

PRESENTATIONS:

Jenny Robinson WRAP

BWC and HWRC Practices from across the UK

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/47360674/FGH/Presentation%202%20Sunderland%20Bulky%20Waste%20ppt%20RR.ppt

 

Daniel O’Connor founder of   WARPit reuse network

Benefits and capacity for online exchange;

http://prezi.com/qp5ebpzevuic/a-summary-of-the-online-exchange-potential-impact-by-wrap/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=landing_share

  

Jenny Robinson WRAP

Study into the re-use potential of household bulky waste. http://dl.dropbox.com/u/47360674/FGH/jenny%20Re-use%20Potential%20of%20Bulky%20Waste%20(2).ppt

 

Andrew Stephenson. Senior Trading Standards Officer Sunderland CC

Trading implications of online exchange;

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/47360674/FGH/ANDREW%20Warp-IT.ppt

 

Esther Kiddle Solicitor, Women in Waste

Discusses the issue of waste definition and  reuse liability in online exchanges;

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/47360674/FGH/ESTHER%20Warp-It%20November%202012.ppt

 

[If any female waste or sustainability managers are reading this I would advise to join Women in Waste for free.] 

 

Daniel O’Connor founder of WARPit 

Householder exchange system to maximise reuse and repair- proposal

For a outline of this proposal please email.

 

ADDITIONALLY Ian Dales from the White Goods Trading Association gave an more traditional talk,  with only a broken washing machinas a presentation aid! The presentation highlighted the fact that there are a network of local repairers who would glady take a proportion of the goods presented at the HWRC.

 

The reuse opportunity is massive

Last year WRAP released a report which highlights the massive opportunity in reuse: http://www.wrap.org.uk/content/re-use-new-research-shows-so-fa-so-good-so-many-more-opportunities

 

There is a surplus of underused resources within the business system. The public and private sector have reduced in size. This results in a large surplus of equipment and resources.

 

Furthermore it is easier for staff to buy new than it is to claim unused items off others. Conversely it is also easier for staff who are disposing of items, to book a skip rather then redistributing to others.

 

Other staff within these organisations, charity, start up businesses and other organisations require these resources. There is no convenient and legitimate way of transferring resources at present.  

 

There are two distinct opportunities: Reduce waste costs and risk: Every business process produces waste. It is cheaper to recycle waste than dispose of waste to landfill.  It is even more beneficial to reduce waste in the first place by redistributing it to someone else.

 

Reduce procurement costs- WARPit provides a platform for those with underused or surplus resources to find homes with others in the same organisation or in other organisations. 

Ig this issue concerns you have a look at www.warp-it.co.uk

Is anyone else getting direct procurement savings of £62K a quarter?...

We have just had news that one of our customers quarterly furniture spend has reduced from £78K/Quarter to £16K/Quarter,  using WARPit to share resources better.  

 

So the system is making direct procurement savings of £62K a quarter!

 

I know, that's crazy isn't it?

 

Not good news for furniture suppliers but great news for system efficiency.

 

I can provide references on request.

What are the guiding values of your project?

These are the values I am working to when delivering WARPit and other resource efficiency services...

Reduce unnecessary procurement- avoiding environmental impact

Avoid the landfill of usable resources

Keep resources circulating

Maximise idling capacity

Encourage micro collaboration between organisations

Support start ups, schools and charity

Anti storage

How does WARPit reduce Green House Gas and Carbon Dioxide (CO2) levels?

How does WARPit reduce Green House gas and Carbon Dioxide (CO₂)  levels?

WARPit matches staff who have surplus or underused resources, with staff who were going to buy a new item.

Every item that finds a new home on WARPit,  stops the purchase of a new item.  It is a no brainer and a win win situation.  When we stop the purchase of a new item- we avoid costs, carbon and waste. Simples.

Carbon and other Greenhouse Gases (GHG) are given off in the manufacture of products. Every item transferred to a new owner using WARPit saves on carbon emissions because a new item does not have to be manufactured, transported and purchased.

The WARPit database knows the carbon value of each category and item transferred on the system and so can illustrate the savings generated when items are transferred. As far as I know this is unique and nobody else is doing this worldwide for redistribution markets. Please email me if I am wrong.

The GHG or Carbon Dioxide Equivalent (CO₂e) can be measured by estimating the amount emitted during manufacture, using activity data (such as the amount of fuel used) and applying relevant conversion factors (e.g. calorific values, emission factors, oxidation factors). This conversion factor can then be used to estimate the amount of CO2 in a specified unit.

 

These conversion factors allow organisations and individuals to calculate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions  from a range of activities and enable you to convert activity data (e.g. litres of fuel used, number of miles  driven, tonnes of waste sent to landfill) into kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e).

The Carbon Dioxide Equivalent (CO₂e) is a universal unit of measurement used to indicate the Global Warming Potential (GWP) of one unit of  Carbon Dioxide.

Using conversion guidelines, we are able to apply conversion factors to various categories (eg furniture or IT) that are transferred on WARPit, producing the Carbon Equivalent saving on each transaction of items in that category.

The conversion factors are calculated by Centre for Sustainability Accounting (CenSA), York, based on previous calculations by Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI), University of York- and are nationally recognised being used by DEFRA and HEFCE.

99 words...

WARPit is a resource sharing network for organisations. Staff can give away, swap and loan surplus or underused items within  their own organisations- or even between organisations.

 

This creates an organisational then town/city/ region-wide resource sharing network. Where public , private and third sector, as well as  schools, start ups and small business can all share resources if they choose to. 

 

This means nobody buys anything that is already surplus within the network. This avoids unnecessary purchasing, which in turn reduces costs , carbon & waste. Other benefits include supporting small business and charity, better use of space and encourages micro collaboration between staff and organisations.