Benefits of re-use

 

Creating jobs and volunteering opportunities

Re-use is creating jobs, training and volunteering opportunities. Since 2011 LRN has created 60 jobs and over 450 work placements, and aims to more than double this over the next two years.

We provide accredited training programmes in Retail Skills, Business Administration and Waste Management to help people gain the skills and experience they need to get back into work.

Turning houses into homes

When someone is re-housed their new house or flat maybe completely empty. Household essentials such as a cooker to prepare meals, washing machine for laundry, a bed to call your own can turn an empty shell into a home.

Creating a space that is your own can be a life changing experience, providing a sense of security and belonging. Furniture provision has been identified as a key factor in preventing the cycle of homelessness. The housing and homeless charity, Shelter’s 2010 report: ‘Furniture for the homeless’ concluded that ‘Providing help with furniture and furnishings is a very basic form of homelessness prevention for impoverished households moving into unfurnished flats’.

Protecting the environment

Why should perfectly good stuff go to waste? In the UK only 17% of furniture is re-used. The rest will be stripped for parts and sent to landfill or for incineration. If this was re-used we’d save a massive 130,000 tonnes of carbon annually. That’s the same as taking 40,000 cars off the road.

Providing value for money

Re-use is a great way to furnish your home or office for a fraction of the price of buying new. Many of our partners offer additional discounts for people in receipt of benefits as well.

It costs councils an average of £120 a tonne to send rubbish to landfill- by diverting waste we are creating savings which can be put back into the community.

You can read more about the difference re-use is making on our case studies page.