New reuse hotline to help locals ‘gift on’ the good stuff

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A new freephone hotline which aims to make it easier for people in Renfrewshire to donate quality, unwanted goods like furniture, working electrical items, and clothing for reuse by others has been launched today.

Funded by Zero Waste Scotland, the reuse hotline - 08000 665 820 - will initially cover 11 local authority areas, including Renfrewshire with Paisley reuse centre Project Oskar taking part. The service will extend to other local authority areas as more reuse organisations sign up.

The hotline will help householders pass suitable goods to others by arranging for a local reuse organisation to come and collect items. The hotline will be managed by the Wise Group.

Recent research by Zero Waste Scotland identified that more materials could be reused. Only a very small proportion of items commonly suitable for reuse are being donated. Instead they are sent to landfill disposal or recycling.

Only 17% of unwanted sofas are donated for reuse with 83% sent to landfill while just 3% of washing machines are donated with 97% sent to landfill.

Environment Secretary Richard Lochhead said: "This new service, which aspires to become Scotland's first national reuse hotline, will make it easier to donate goods to be reused by others.

"Reuse helps our environment, saving new things being made from scratch, which in turn saves raw materials and energy. Scotland already save almost 85,000 tonnes of CO2, the equivalent of taking more than 25,000 cars off our roads, but there is so much more we could do. Only 40% of us say we have donated to charity shops in the last year.

"It also gives people the chance to pick up some great bargains and save money. Buying reused items already saves Scottish householders over £80million a year. We are only just at the tip of the iceberg when it comes to enjoying the benefits reuse has to offer us economically and for the environment."

The reuse hotline is one part of Zero Waste Scotland's work to support the reuse sector, which aims to boost donations, raise awareness and encourage more people to shop in their local reuse store with confidence.

Iain Gulland, Director of Zero Waste Scotland, said: "By reusing more unwanted items, our vision for the future is that reuse organisations will compete with some of the best high street shops to offer quality reused goods at competitive prices. Nobody wants to throw out perfectly good things, and reuse provides an outlet for unwanted items to be put to a good use.

"As more reuse organisations sign up to the scheme, we hope the reuse hotline will provide a local collection service to everyone in Scotland. This will make it easier for more people to donate suitable items for reuse rather than throwing them in the bin."

Brian Canning, Head of Sustainability at the Wise Group, said: "We are very excited to be working with Zero Waste Scotland and local organisations to give people's unwanted items an appreciative new home. We will also be working with local authorities who will help us promote this service to their residents."

The reuse hotline is 08000 665 820.

Press release issued by the Wise Group: Thursday 2 February 2012