Waste Aware Scotland campaign

www.wasteawarescotland.org.uk

I had the pleasure of helping Waste Aware Scotland, the Community Recycling Network for Scotland and their Highland campaign partners launch their new furniture reuse campaign on the 11th of September at the Eastegate Shopping Centre in Inverness.

Too appropriately, the Cabinet Secretary Richard Lochhead was their to help launch the campaign as well.

How sensible it is to donate the old furniture you no longer use, in order that a less fortunate family or person has access to these perfectly functional goods. It's an easy yet dramatic difference to make, to help those who are more vulnerable in our communities, as well as lessen our impact on the environment, by donating good quality furniture to reuse organisations like Waste Aware and the Community Recycling Network, instead of sending it to an untimely demise at landfills.

There are many exemplary reuse organisations across the Highlands, and if you have any furniture that no longer serves purpose in your household, get in touch with any one of those below to pass it onto someone who would put it to good use:

• Blythswood Care is headquartered in Evanton and operates an international network of 56 charity shops, including 18 in the Highland region. Three of these shops sell large items of furniture (Inverness, Evanton, Wick) and others sell smaller household goods. It also diverts large quantities of textiles, books, CDs and bric-a-brac and provides emergency food parcels.
  
• HomeAid Caithness is a community-based reuse charity with a shop and warehouse space in Thurso. It operates a referral system for providing emergency furniture packages to homelessness and social work referrals. The project is also expanding its reach to include the west coast communities of Lochinver and Kinlochbervie.
  
• New Start Highland is the main furniture project operating in and around Inverness. It provides a range of support services to people moving into social tenancies, including providing furniture and home starter packs. It also runs two community shops, with more in development.