People do not want to throw away good quality resources. But no one has any time or space and effective communications are challenging.
Transferring ownership of equipment requires time energy and effort as well as good quality communications. Issues include: finding a new owner for an item, checking the item, making sure the transfer is legal and safe, booking in collection, transport etc. It is an onerous task and it is often easier to book a skip or if you have good flexible third sector contacts- they may be able to help with the stuff that is excellent quality.
This is just too much for the average staff member who is working at full tilt already.
I have spent some time exploring the issues surrounding the transfer of stuff from one person/organisation to another. The following are a few of the pitfalls to avoid and observations I have made while trying to transfer resources within and across private public and third sector so that resources keep circulating.
Strategic barriers
Twitchy and rightly so: Legal and liability concerns.
Any efficient system should ensure Duty of Care and liability concerns are obliged and managed. There are specific actions that need to take place to make sure that equipment is reused legally and safely. If equipment does become waste, again, this has to be managed in a specific way.
Using social network features and technology it is now possible and convenient for users to match needs and wants in an almost instantaneous way in which both sides benefit- and resources are kept circulating rather than ending up in a skip because matches between contributors and claimants are easy and convenient.
Computer says ...yes.
The transfer of goods from one person to another on any scale is complex and there are many issues. Some existing online, email or message board redistribution systems involve clunkiness or manual inputting - this is time consuming and inefficient and does not maximise resource use.
Systems should be able to carry out 100s of transfers with minimum human administration. Any system should have as little manual admin intervention as possible- working automatically with fail safe mechanisms.
Ease of use, or can I say “idiot proof”?
To increase the chance of reusing equipment you need high participation. To get high participation you need ridiculously easy to use system. Ease of use is a very high importance. This is where a lot of schemes fall over. When designing a system keep thinking “is this a barrier to use?”. Every barrier will stop another person using the system and increase the chance of something ending up in a skip. However you have to balance this with other requirements such as security and accurate descriptions of goods for example.
Secure by design
Systems should offer a high degree of control and management. This is to avoid any abuse of the system and possible duty of care/legal issues. When dealing with potential waste material compliance with waste legislation and procedure is paramount. Your control system has to ensure traceability and duty of care. This is especially important when using third parties.
Ensuring good behaviour
Any system should have features which encourage good behaviour. For example what happens when J. Bloggs says he is going to claim an item but then does not show up? The system falls over for the contributor and they don’t participate the next time. There should also be features which ensure users of the system abide by certain terms- for example fraudulent use of the system could be possible without the right controls.
Putting the social in social media
Relationships between all users is very important to keep a system in high participation. Expectations, good behaviour and trusting strangers are all aspects that will keep a system running well. There should be mechanisms so that relationships can be nurtured and everyone knows what is expected.
Main aspects
Contributor is king
Be nice to the person uploading resources to be reused (contributor). The contributors are the lifeblood of any system. Make sure their experience is as easy as possible. For this reason it should always be the claimant’s responsibility to collect the donated item and to incur any cost. There should be as little burden on the contributing party as possible.
Best Value for all
Any system should be able to get maximum value from resources. For example, you could incorporate refurbishment or recycling opportunities for bulky wastes past their best. Furthermore if you can design a mechanism where you can get some sort of credit when you pass reusuable goods to others- then this is more value to your organisation- even if the credit is just civic leadership.
Great Communications
Efficient communications between contributor and claimant ensure good transfers of resources. Make sure full contact details are included in any transfer and remember to put the focus on the claimant to do the chasing up. Think about how other social networks allow easy communications
Paying to store waste?
Any system should transfer items from contributor to claimant directly- the secret to this is having a big network. Some organisations have storage: If you store items then you are increasing the chance of damage and injury by two. Also when in storage, items become obsolete and then have to be disposed of. In effect if you store equipment you maybe storing and paying for ‘waste’ until disposal.
If you are going to store, an automatic stock management system should be integrated into the system as well as an “on line shop” facility where possible claimants can view the item on line rather than going to a warehouse.
We are all good people- but rewarding good behaviour helps
People like being part of the solution. Any system should encourage a community of resource efficient members and explore incentives. For example I am currently exploring setting up partnerships with local discount schemes.
Best practice features
Tell me about it!
Any efficient system should record and monitor the levels of use with specific emphasis on carbon, waste and financial indicators. This is useful for senior management and ongoing funding of the scheme as well as positive feedback to the users.
Speed (carbon) dating
Resources end up not being used or in the skip because people leave thinking about their surplus resources to the last moment. Any system should find new owners quickly. This has to do with ease of use, good features and a large network of communication. The larger the network the more likely you will find a match.
Never work with children and animals...or adults in a hurry
The transfer of resources from one person to another is fraught with possible pitfalls. Expectation issues from both parties, transport issues, Health and Safety, locational issues, making sure claimants collect etc
These are all areas where the transfer can fall down and resources end up in the skip. It is important for systems to have fail safe mechanisms to reduce the likelihood of any of the above happening. This can be done through well designed features which lead users along the correct path.
Be ambitious!
At present most systems only attempt to transfer office furniture. If you can get the legal and liability concerns obliged there is no reason why any resource should not be transferred. Other resources should be able to be distributed such as fixtures and fittings (e.g. shelves), electrical, consumables (e.g. inkjet cartridges, lab glass ware), supplies (e.g. food) and non standard items such as books- any physical resource really.
Consult consult consult
The customer knows best and it is important to make it easy for users to pass comments and make feedback on the system. Hand in hand with this- systems should be flexible so you can drop in requested features.
Long term reuse
Any new system which is adopted should have longevity as big changes between systems should be kept to a minimum to ensure wide spread staff adoption. For this reason it is also important to have belief in any contractor who is providing the service. Things to look out for include robust financial models which ensure longevity of the scheme.
Help!
Any system should be highly user friendly but also include guides, clips and graphics to help. If there is a 24/7 customer support then all the better!
Notes and a plug
I have saved £MILLIONS in avoided procurement and waste disposal spend for over 100 organisations in the last 10 years. While working in public sector I noticed there were many issues which hindered the safe and legal transfer of ownership of usuable resources between organisations. Then the penny dropped one day. People don’t want to throw stuff away – they just need a system to conveniently safely and legally transfer goods from where they aren’t needed to where they are needed.
I have recently launched www.warp-it.co.uk an easy to use online portal which provides a platform for organisations to redistribute (give, sell, loan or share) surplus resou
rces legally and conveniently within the organisation and beyond, within other partner organisations.
- Avoids waste disposal costs
- Avoids the cost of purchasing new resources.
- Administration time for purchasing/ disposal reduced.
- Waste is diverted from landfill
- Carbon emissions reduced
- Supports charities, community groups and SMEs
WARP-IT creates a whole region/city/town level resource sharing network improving the sustainability of all organisations in the network.
WARPit launched 6 weeks ago and is attracting some serious attention around the UK and in Australia. Sunderland City Council are the first Local Authority to take advantage and have achieved pay back in about 20 days and have saved about 2 tonnes of CO2e in the first 30 working days of use.
If you are interested in resource efficiency and work for a large organisation SME or charity you should take a look at WARP-IT.
I have made th
is information public to encourage reuse and refurbishment. I hope you can use it to develop your own system. I have a matrix of aspects to look for when comparing different reuse systems. For a copy please send email to:
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