Council’s pioneering project will divert household furniture from landfill

Thursday, 25 June, 2009 – Today Banbridge District Council officially opened ‘restore’, a bring and buy reuse shop for second-hand household furniture and electrical goods at its community recycling centre on the Scarva Road in Banbridge.

‘restore’ is the first of its kind to be established and run by a council in Northern Ireland. This pioneering project, which aims to extend the life of many large items of reusable household furniture and thus divert these from landfill, is the latest major offensive by the leading local authority to winning the war on waste.

Council Vice-Chairman Jim McElroy, who officiated at the opening, said, “Every year, local householders dump many tonnes of perfectly reusable items of furniture without considering if they could be of use to someone else. By salvaging and restoring these at our 3,000 sq. ft. warehouse, we can save landfill space, reduce waste handling and disposal costs, offset the energy or raw materials needed to produce new products and create training opportunities for local people. We have a proven track record of leading by example particularly in the area of recycling. ‘restore’ will in many ways enable us to stay true to form by focusing on the reuse aspect of sustainable waste management.”

Council Director of Environmental Services, David Lindsay, added, “It has taken almost three years to bring this project to fruition. Considerable work has gone into the planning of ‘restore’ because we wanted to deliver a project that brings together all three strands of our sustainable development commitment – environmental, economic and social well-being. ‘restore’ will ensure that the life of household furniture is prolonged rather than prematurely discarded in landfill – thereby saving the planet’s supply of raw materials needed to produce new products.  Goods are often only ‘waste’ by virtue of the fact that the original owner has had them for a period of time and fancies a change.  But given a new owner and a new home, the goods effectively become new again. We hope local people will support us in delivering this really important service.”

‘restore’ will help reduce landfill costs on local ratepayers while at the same time make low cost household goods available to the public. ‘restore’ will fulfil a valuable social role by creating training opportunities for local people engaged in the project. This project has been delivered in partnership with a range of local training and education organisations, charities and voluntary groups. With their continued support, we hope to make this project a resounding success.”

‘restore’ will stock a wide range of household furniture and white goods, including beds and bedsteads, bikes, cookers, chests of drawers, dishwashers, garden furniture, mirrors, pictures, tables and chairs, three-piece suites, toys, tumble dryers, washing machines and wardrobes. Many of these items will be sourced via the bulky waste collection service or donated directly by the public. All profits from the sale of the refurbished, second-hand furniture will be ploughed back into ‘restore’.

(Pictured left to right are: Cllr Carol Black, Cllr Joan Baird vice chair of environmental services, David Lindsey director of environmental services, Cllr Nora Beare chair of environmental services, Barry Patience waste management officer, Cllr Patrick Mc Aleenan, Chairman Jim Mc Elroy, & Tom Mc Roberts restore training supervisor. Picture courtesy of Banbridge Chronicle)

As a result of securing £260,000 from the Department for Education and Learning under the Northern Ireland European Social Funds Programme 2007-2013, the Council has realised ‘restore’ at minimal cost to local ratepayers.  It is hoped that when the funded project ends in 2011, the Council will have developed a financially self sustaining service that forms an integral part of our ongoing sustainable waste management programme.

‘restore’ is open Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm. If you are looking for a particular item of household furniture, you can contact our waste helpline on 4066 0604 and leave your details along with a description of the item you want. You will be notified when the item is in stock.