This document summarizes Resource Futures' work assessing the potential for reusing household items. It finds that around 206,000 tonnes of furniture and 117,000-228,000 tonnes of large WEEE could potentially be reused annually in addition to current reuse levels. Barriers to reuse include a lack of incentives and high labor costs, but local authorities can help by supporting reuse organizations and collection infrastructure. Reuse provides environmental, social, and economic benefits like jobs and avoiding disposal costs.

1. Assessing suitability of waste for re-use
Billy Harris
14 March 2013

2. Overview
Resource Futures
Potential for re-use of household items
Barriers and opportunities
The benefits of re-use
Case study: Warwickshire HWRC re-use shops
March 2013

3. Resource Futures background
Environmental consultancy and project delivery
Long-history of involvement in waste developments – early
kerbside and campaigning, working with local groups, SW
CRN
Non-profit distributing, employee-owned
£2m turnover
30 + staff, UK wide
Research & Strategy work – waste prevention and reuse
Communications and public engagement strategic advice
Practical support – community engagement, „CAG‟ project
Oxon, Community RePaint, education services, development
of reuse initiatives – Bicester Reuse Centre
March 2013

4. Recent work on re-use (2012)
DEFRA: Assessment of market potential and demand for
product re-use
• Baseline re-use and market pathways
• Market demand, barriers and opportunities
• Measures to encourage re-use
WRAP: Composition of kerbside and HWRC bulky waste
• Baseline composition
• Assessed reusability
Worcestershire, Solihull and Coventry re-use strategy
• Re-use strategy, implementation plan and communications
strategy.
March 2013

5. Data health warning!
Data on re-use is generally extremely poor
Most re-use does not enter the waste stream
• Limits availability of data
It is not a discrete event
• It can happen more than once to the same object
• No end-of-waste criteria or equivalent
Even assessing “reusability” is not straightforward
• Visual assessments typically overestimate reusability
• Even if an item is technically re-usable, is it economical?
• Is there a demand for the item?
March 2013

6. Current pathways to re-use for furniture and WEEE
Can account for
around 390,000 tonnes
Other
FROs and re-
Private second hand is
channels
use
Car boot organisations
estimated for furniture
sales
and small WEEE only; Online Charity
exchange shops
data is low certainty Private
second hamd
Informal exchange is
Informal
exchange
very low certainty
Other channels include Total (tonnes)
export, asset FROs and re-use organisations 70,000
Charity shops 52,000
management and Private second hamd 60,000
commercial second Informal exchange 83,000
hand for other products Online exchange
Car boot sales
46,000
12,000
Other channels 67,000
March 2013

7. Estimating reusability
Based mostly on fieldwork observations from WRAP bulky
waste project
Operatives interviewed site users and examined all bulky
items being disposed
Reusable means in current condition. Reality is that very
few organisations refurbish
Have used HWRC observations, since this was the waste
stream that we were able to assess in most detail
• Bulky waste collections based mostly on collection records
Bulky waste reusability was lower
• Storage and handling damage?
• Could this be improved through a re-use led service?
March 2013

8. Furniture: overview
Current re-use – 247,000 tonnes
Potential for additional re-use 206,000 tonnes
Total arisings est. 1.1 million tonnes (including re-use)
March 2013

9. Large WEEE: overview
Current re-use – 62,000 tonnes
Potential for additional re-use 117,000 tonnes (228,000 tonnes
if slight repair is included)
Total arisings est. 543,000 tonnes (including re-use)
March 2013

10. Small WEEE: overview
Current re-use – 83,000 tonnes
Potential for additional re-use 27,000 tonnes (53,000 tonnes
with slight repair)
Total arisings est. 613,000 tonnes (including re-use)
March 2013

11. Barriers and opportunities
Lack of incentive to donate or buy re-used
High cost of labour and low cost of goods
Main issue is not a lack of education
Re-use often does not make social or financial
sense
Barrier Opportunity
Lack of incentive to re-use Potential for targets and incentives
Competition with recycling and recovery Implementation of the waste hierarchy
Low profile of re-use Consumer and business education
New items are socially valued Increase in re-use during recession
Concerns over product quality Quality standards and accreditation
Damage of items in storage and transit Growth of retailer feedback
Low price of new items Product / service innovation
March 2013

12. What can local authorities do?
Some barriers to re-use can be addressed locally
Lack of resident storage space and inconvenience of
waiting for collection
• Quick turnaround on collections and guaranteed collection
window.
Damage to bulky items in transit
• Can be resolved by collecting items for re-use
Damage to items at HWRCs due to handling and storage
• Provision of re-use facilities
Lack of re-use access to high-visibility retail space
• Provide a suitable location for re-use organisations
March 2013

13. What are the benefits of re-use?
Environmental –reduces material use and manufacturing
emissions
Social – Provide items to household in social need. Creates
jobs and training opportunities.
Economic – avoids disposal costs and generates income
Social value – charity and civil society benefits; potential
savings on welfare and social budgets
March 2013

14. Can we put some numbers on this?
Yes – but the following is tentative!
Weight (kg) Cost (FRO) Cost (charity Value (tonne)
shop)
Table 22 £10-25 (£17.5) £40 £740 – £1,800
Dining room chair 7 £5-10 (£7.50) £15 £700 – £2,100
Sofa 40 £25-60 (£42.50) £145 £1,000 - £3,600
Chest of drawers 27 £10-45 (£27.50) £50 £1,000 - £1,800
Wardrobe 46 £20-70 (£45) £70 £1,000 - £1,500
Washing machine 65 £80 £1,200
Electric cooker 56 £90 £1,600
Fridge 38 £70 £1,800
March 2013

15. Example: Warwickshire HWRC re-use shops
Re-use shops on 3 HWRCs
(with a 4th in
development)
• Operated by charities
and branded as charity
shops
• Removes any public
issues around totting etc
• Provides operators with a
source of material and Major items re-used include
footfall
furniture, WEEE, books and
First opened by bric a brac.
Shakespeare Hospice in
2003
March 2013

16. Impacts of HWRC re-use
Last year, re-use was estimated at 320 tonnes, around 1%
of site turnover.
Local authority cumulative investment: £148,000 since 2003
Peppercorn rent plus landfill savings to council of around
£28,000 per annum.
Estimated annual shop income: >£400,000 per annum.
March 2013

17. Final thoughts
As a way of diverting massive tonnages from landfill….
• Reuse is not the magic bullet
But there‟s more to life than landfill diversion
• Social value
• Carbon benefits
• Economic value
This is an area where local authorities can make a real
difference
March 2013

18. Thank you
billy.harris@resourcefutures.co.uk
March 2013