Liverpool John Moores University have cleared their former campus at IM Marsh and enlisted the help of Johnsons 1871 and Bulky Bob’s for Business to organise and facilitate the donation of thousands of reusable items to charities, community groups and schools.
This project has brought economic, environmental and societal benefits, as these items will no longer face impending disposal at landfill, or the more sustainable but still impactful recycling process. The university’s used items now encounter a preferred outcome in the waste hierarchy, and have been made available to the local community, including schools and charities, free of charge. This not only reduces the amount of money required, but also reduces the environmental impact of using raw materials and manufacturing new furniture, so a better outcome for the environment.
The project involved the administrative input of LJMU, headed by recent graduate, Andrea Craig, Johnsons 1871 who categorised the many items and created the online portal, allowing users to reserve products, and Bulky Bob’s for Business, who publicised the project and provided the logistical delivery of donations to the recipients.
Shaun Doran, CEO of FRC Group said:
“This has been a very exciting and successful project which has received an overwhelming response. We are so pleased that it has granted reuse to over 3000 quality items from LJMU campuses, bringing both societal and environmental benefits. It was promising to see that there was such an interest in the used furniture and classroom equipment, so we really hope that this partnership will encourage other organisations to enlist our services to make used goods available to schools, charities and community groups in need.”
Mark Nevitt, Head of Business and Stakeholder Services at LJMU said:
“It is great to see the furniture being reused and helping out so many local groups and organisations. The mission of the Furniture Resource Centre is to end furniture poverty. We are delighted to work in partnership with them and Johnsons minimising our environmental impact”.
Within the first week, 750 accounts were registered to the portal, demonstrating the sheer amount of people who are in need or would be very interested in used furniture and equipment. The parties involved with this project hope that this will encourage other organisations to donate and reuse where possible. To find out more about the exciting work of Bulky Bob’s for Business, visit www.bulkybobs.co.uk or call 0151 702 0550.
