The London Re-use Hotline, which has operated since 2011 and provided a centralised telephone number and online booking service for London residents to donate their unwanted bulky items and white goods for re-use, will wind down operations by October of this year.
Since its launch in 2011 the Hotline has offered residents in nine London boroughs an alternative to the traditional Council bulky waste service. A centralised phone number and online booking system provided a straightforward means of donating furniture and white goods for re-use. All items donated via the Hotline were collected from inside residents’ homes and passed on to local charities and social enterprises. Between 2011 and 2015 the Hotline took nearly 11,000 bookings, diverted almost 1,200 tonnes of furniture and white goods from landfill or incineration, and saved about 1,800 tonnes of Co2.
In the light of unprecedented cuts to Local Government budgets and the financial constraints faced by third sector organisations in recent years, it was no longer economically viable for LRL to continue operating the Hotline. However, re-use collection will continue in the boroughs previously served by the Hotline, with local authorities and their respective third sector re-use collection partners collaborating directly to provide the service.
The service is popular with residents who appreciate the chance to pass on items they no-longer need to charities and community groups. Closer partnership between re-use organisations and local authorities has helped raise the importance of re-use and the profile of these organisations within their respective boroughs – we believe this has stimulated re-use activity in London and provided a valuable legacy.
Charles Craft, Managing Director of London Re-use said:
‘We are confident that the Hotline, during the four years it operated, helped raise awareness of re-use opportunities in London. We are proud to have been instrumental in promoting re-use, and building relationships between re-use organisations and local authorities within London. Importantly, we are pleased that these relationships and the service will continue in the boroughs following the Hotline’s closure.”
Wayne Hubbard, Chief Operating Officer of the London Waste and Recycling Board (“LWARB”) said:
“In addition to the environmental benefits generated, the Hotline has created jobs and volunteer opportunities, and has provided good quality furniture, at low cost, to many people, including to low income families. LWARB is very pleased to see that the re-use service will continue to operate in the boroughs in which the Hotline had operated, thus building on the important work undertaken by London Re-use Limited.”
London Re-use Limited will continue carrying out its mission of diverting re-usable items from landfill and incineration by creating other collaborative and effective solutions with the public, private and social sectors.
Londoners who are still keen to donate items for re-use can find details of our partner organisations here.