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.

The first item sold on EBay and lessons in resource efficiency

I don’t like useable stuff ending up in skips. So I set up www.warp-it.co.uk last year. We have saved clients £1000’s, 1000’s tonnes of CO₂, diverted tonnes and tonnes from landfill. 80% of Tyne and Wear Local Authorities use WARPit.

The secret to keeping nice stuff out of skips is being able to find new owners quickly and easily. To do this, a large network of interested subscribers is required.

The first item ever swapped on EBay demonstrates that if you have a large network you can almost always find a home for resources that are surplus or underused.

WARPit allows organisations to set up sharing/swapping circles for their staff to trade surplus or underused resources with other staff in the organisation, to stop unneeded purchases, save money and reduce environmental impact.

To maximise value to the primary organisation it is important to reuse items within the organisation where possible. Staff subscribers belonging to the primary organisation are known as Priority 1 subscribers. I tell clients to have as many staff as possible on their internal network.   

The more internal subscribers on an organisation’s WARPit system, the more chance that the items will be reused within the organisation and save money on purchasing new equipment.

In some circumstances there may not be the opportunity to reuse the equipment/items within the primary organisation due to time and space pressures- or lack of storage facilities. In this situation the items can be advertised to Priority 2 subscribers if required.  This is another benefit of having a large extended network- never incur disposal costs or risks again- because you can pass unwanted surplus resources to other’s.

Priority 2 subscribers are usually local partners, charities and businesses. Priority 2 subscribers help to set up town/city and region wide sharing networks. This is a network of organisations who are swapping and sharing surplus or underused resources with each other.

If you have a large enough network you can always find a home for your surplus or underused resources.

A tool for Facilities Management and the efficient management of surplus and underused resources #FMto set a title.

WARPit is a management tool for an organisation’s resources.  The system finds new owners for surplus resources, such as furniture, equipment, consumables, supplies, fixtures and fittings- whilst dealing with issues such as liability, duty of care and security.

Through a system of sharing networks- the system finds new owners within the same organisation in the first instance, or if not available in partner organisations. This reduces disposal costs and risks as well as freeing up space and provides a legal auditable traceable system for the management of resources- as well as other benefits.

 

Freeing up space

 

WARPit also helps to free up badly used space, as WARPit encourages staff to upload and redistribute surplus resources- it encourages de-cluttering, which increases space efficiency.

 

Furthermore the loaning facility allows organisations to free up space by loaning out resources they might only use once in a while which they normally have to store. A great example of this is a University who usually stores exam desks between usage. WARPit provides the legal framework to loan the desks to schools when not in use- saving on warehousing. 

 

Storage solutions

If an organisation does have the luxury of storage WARPit acts as a stock management tool- so that resources which are surplus to one staff member can be efficiently collected, stored and via the system, redistributed.

There is usually a problem with storing resources in large organisations. See here: Additional there is  only usually one person (if any) who knows what is in the store, this can be a drain on time and effort. WARPit solves this. Using WARPit search facility- staff can view the stored resources online which means they don’t have to visit the store, saving time and risk.

Another common problem in organisation stores is that convenient space can often get overwhelmed by the sheer volume of resources being stored which can lead to a mismanaged store. As there is no easy way of knowing what is in the store, the resources in the store do not get redistributed efficiently. The resources then are stored over time becoming obsolete- and then have to be thrown in the skip. In effect some organisations are actually paying to store waste before paying to dispose of it- with all of the human effort this entails of loading the store and then transferring to skip.

Bulky waste management

There are also some other features of WARPit which makes it a good FM tool- users can upload details of bulky waste and WEEE and the details can be sent directly to the responsible disposal person or contractor- acting as a bulky waste management system

 

Efficiency

The obvious environmental benefit of WARPit is that it keeps stuff circulating, maximising use and extending the life span of equipment. The big environmental saving is that organisations do not have to buy new products- saving waste carbon emissions and of course purchasing costs.

However because the system finds new owners feeing up space- then waste disposal costs and risk are avoided. Furthermore space is used more effectively which saves costs also. 

Endorsements

I have had some nice endorsements for WARPit lately: 

 

Julie Parkinson, Category Procurement Specialist , Northumberland County Council said 

"WARPit is a no brainer. There are so many benefits to the authority using WARPit.  Led by Procurement we have managed to intercept orders and steer staff to this portal which not only saves our disposal costs but reduces spend.  Working with a local social enterprise for all our transport requirements has also been working well for the local economy.  Overall after only a few months, the benefits have been fantastic!"

 

Dianne Pattison, Policy Officer Sunderland City Council said

“I would definitely recommend the system to other councils. It has solved all the issues we had initially [redistributing resources efficiently] and eventually the system should run itself. I think it is imperative to be seen to be leading by example. We are now rolling out WARPit to other large organisations in the city”

 

Tessa Bowering, Senior Environment Officer, Environment Agency said 

“Daniel made an excellent presentation to the South Wessex Waste Minimisation Group (SWWMG) on his redistribution network, WARPit... we are hoping to utilise the system on a large scale with all 250 member organisations.  I am looking forward to taking the project forward as I see it as a very worthwhile and exciting venture. ”

Louise Moore  , Managing Director, Innov8 Disposal Ltd said

“The work he has done on WARPit is amazing and I believe the future for Councils/Blue Chip companies and Multi-Nationals. I can highly recommend Daniel and his business.”

 

Vishwa Wijedasa, Practitioner, National Industrial Symbiosis Programme (NISP) said

“Daniel is an excellent speaker that can captivate an audience. He is an entrepreneur and has created a system that can assist organisations of all sizes to reuse their surplus or unwanted resources. Professionally, Daniel is very approachable and is able to transfer his positive energy to those that meet him to great effect. The British environmental sector needs more people to follow his lead.”

 

Simon Ward, Solicitor, University of Sunderland said

“Daniel's concept is impressive and I'm sure it will be a winner. I have been pleased to assist the University of Sunderland in finalising its agreement with WARPit. Daniel deserves his success.”

 

WARPit has only been live for 11 months and is saving an average of £1K and 700KG CO2e per week for clients. 

 Sunderland City Council have saved £75,000, 31.4tCO2e and diverted 15 tonnes  waste from landfill in 10 months.

The University of Southampton have saved £3.5K in avoided procurement in 4 weeks!

Northumberland CC acheived payback in 8 days. 

A big thank you to my early clients!

Partnership working and benefits of scale

For the attention of strategic partnerships

For every member joining www.warp-it.co.uk or expressing a very positive interest before the end of this financial year a 5 % cumulative discount will be applied to all member’s subscription rate, up to a maximum of 50% off.

That means if 5 members join- a 25% discount is applied to all members. If 10 members join a 50% discount is applied to all members.

Standard price list here: www.warp-it.co.uk/register

Graduate Placements

We are all pushed for time.  It is easy to push those “nice to do” projects to the back of the priority list. Then they never get done. 

Graduates and University students find it hard to break the cycle of “not having enough experience" and not getting on the first rung of the ladder.  A good way of getting good quality project work and giving students meaningful experience is to offer placements. Some of our interns wrote a blog about their experience here. Make sure you interview for the position- you need a good student. 

The best way of finding students is to get in touch with the local University career centre or alternatively get in touch with the relevant university academic who covers sustainability or waste management . Academics are desperate for work placements after Christmas to deliver May- Aug. Change Agents UK are also worth looking at.

True Sustainable Procurement- don’t buy stuff you don’t need?

All manufactured resources have embedded carbon. If you are buying "stuff" that is already surplus or underused in your organisation- then you are not purchasing sustainably. The sharing economy is booming- eBay (sell) and freecycle (give away) are the Daddies of the sector- but more recently Ecomodo allows householders to rent their goods out to Neighbours.

How can this principle be applied to large organisations in an easy way to encourage participation and subsequently resource efficiency?  I recently launched a sharing platform for organisations- check it out: www.warp-it.co.uk wasteaction.posterous.com/true-sustainab...ent-dont-buy-stuff-y 

WARPit in 100 words (ish!)

• www.warp-it.co.uk  is an online resource redistribution portal for organisations- like a corporate  Ebay/Freecycle- Or Noel Edmonds swap shop if you are a bit older!

 

• Makes it easy for staff with underused or unwanted items to find others who require- saving waste disposal and improving space efficiency.

 

• Makes it easy for staff who want to buy new, to check whether anyone else inside organisations has resource spare- avoiding unnecessary procurement

 

• Saving significant resources for organisations- Sunderland CC are saving average of £5.5K a month and Northumberland CC achieved payback in 8 days.

 

• Facilitates the legal redistribution (donation/loaning/selling/renting) of unwanted/ underused assets between all  staff and all organisation estate (including schools etc).

 

• Also possible to redistribute to partner organisations (eg  public sector, charity) for reciprocal sharing- creating whole region sharing network.

 

• Brings benefits to procurement, Facilities Management, finance, schools and sustainability.

 

• More benefits here: www.warp-it.co.uk/benefits

Brief overview here: http://prezi.com/hulwixhn51mw/warp-it-brief-overview/ 

Or if your IT system does not have Flash try here, hit “start presentation”: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1nkFwYc0WhGFI1WMW6WcVA1C0y-DLVQnS-tSz3nijZMo/edit