Yorkshire-based Harrison Spinks has partnered with a not-for-profit social business in Liverpool to tackle furniture poverty, donating over 100 mattresses to those in need in the local community.
The Harrison Spinks mattresses have been delivered to Bulky Bob’s, a social enterprise and charity that supports local people in crisis. Bulky Bob’s is part of the FRC Group.
Nick Booth, Managing Director at Harrison Spinks, said: “The thought of having no bed to sleep on or spiralling debts can feel unimaginable for some, but for others it is a terrible reality – the work FRC Group is doing to tackle the growing furniture poverty crisis really is admirable. We’ve donated 100 mattresses so far and are aiming to provide a further 40-50 mattresses a month. We hope this goes some way in supporting the aims and ambitions of FRC Group.”
Shaun Doran at FRC Group said: “Our social mission is to reduce and ultimately eradicate furniture poverty, and so we campaign to raise awareness of furniture poverty and create practical solutions to get furniture to the people who need it most. Partnering with companies like Harrison Spinks is exactly what we need, and we’re thrilled that the team was so keen to work together for this important cause.”
For many years FRC Group has measured the social value its activities create. It measures this against its mission and it sets a social value budget annually in the same manner as the financial budget, being prepared, discussed and signed off by the Board. It aims to create £4.5 million of social value in 2022.
For more information on Harrison Spinks please visit https://www.harrisonspinks.co.uk/. For more information on FRC Group please visit https://frcgroup.co.uk/ and for more information on Bulky Bob’s please visit https://frcgroup.co.uk/Bulky-Bobs/.
After the incredible efforts of everyone involved in sustainability and resource efficiency over the last few years, it is rewarding to see reuse making such huge leaps towards being recognised as ‘the norm’.
The benefits of reuse:
Why give old furniture to charity?
As the old saying goes, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. Well, your old office furniture is full of treasures! Unwanted electrical equipment, old chairs, desk, sofas, stationery, and more, can all be useful to a charity. It’s not just charity furniture shops that can benefit from your donations, think also of making charitable donations to community centres, churches, nonprofit organisations, and shelters. There are so many deserving outlets.
Useful equipment should never go to landfill, there will always be a new home for it, it just requires a bit of thought to find the ‘where’. Remember that it helps your community and those within the community who need help. You might also get some tax benefits!
Is repurposing furniture a good idea?
A good idea? It’s a great idea! Imagine you’ve got a chair and the fabric is all messed up, tattered, or super dirty. You can’t really salvage that fabric, but if the chair frame itself is still strong, and simply replacing the fabric would give you a functional and comfortable chair, then repurposing it would be a great idea!
We’ve seen even cooler ideas, such as filing cabinets being turned on their side and used as flowerbeds. The truth is though, it doesn’t matter what you turn old furniture into, as long as it’s useful and creates less waste, it’s better than going to landfill.
Are you keen to get creative? Search the term ‘upcycling’, plus the furniture you have available, on a search engine, and see what others have done. Repurposing furniture is not much different from recycling it and it leads to many of the same benefits.
Summary
By now you have a pretty good idea of the benefits of reusing and donating office furniture, so we leave you with just one more thing to think about. Consider the way the world has changed over the last decade. We’ve seen the vegetarian and vegan movements make huge strides, we’ve seen more people work from home, more people commute by bicycle, growing global recycling rates, and much more. Being green is positive, it’s pro-humanity and pro-Earth, it’s something to shout about. That’s the point, you should be shouting about it.
The next time your company makes a progressive decision, such as donating some old computers to charity, or turning a filing cabinet into a flower garden, just make sure to get some photos, to write about it, to spread the word, to let potential customers know that you are thoughtful and considerate. This can win you new business and help to keep the customers you already have.
The prestigious MRW National Recycling Awards are the top awards in the recycling and resource management sector, with winning projects and teams recognised for their achievements within the industry. Last night, finalists gathered at a glittering awards ceremony at the stunning London Hilton Hotel on Park Lane, where the winners were announced, and FRC Group’s UltraClean mattress cleaning machine was crowned winner of the ‘Innovation – systems and technology’ award.
FRC Group, who have a mission as a social enterprise to End Furniture Poverty, designed the ‘UltraClean Mattress Machine’ to prolong the life of mattresses which can then be reused by those living in furniture poverty. It is the first automated mattress cleaning machine in the world and delivers high quality, clean and fresh mattresses, giving them a new and extended life. This means good as new, clean mattresses can make their way to those in need as quickly as possible, or even be returned to accommodation providers for ongoing use rather than buying new mattresses.
Shaun Doran, CEO at FRC Group said “We are absolutely delighted to be awarded this prestigious accolade. We are always looking at ways to reuse items of furniture to help those in need and in designing and developing the UltraClean Mattress Machine, FRC Group have created a new technology and business model that will result in a positive environmental impact as mattresses move up the waste hierarchy, and at the same time help make a difference in our mission as a social enterprise to End Furniture Poverty. We congratulate all finalists and are thrilled to have won the award.”
Juliette Bauccio, Reuse Leader at FRC said “Almost 20 million people are without sufficient income to afford essential items like beds and this means there are over 400,000 children without their own bed in the UK. We had already commenced a manual mattress cleaning programme to treat unwanted, great quality mattresses which was very time and labour intensive. As an innovative company we wanted to develop the optimum solution to deliver high quality, clean and fresh mattresses to those most in need so designed, developed and launched the first automated mattress UltraClean machine.”
The seven stage UltraClean process ensures high quality, pre-loved mattresses, which may have been destined for landfill or broken down into parts for recycling, are UltraCleaned to remove:
The mattresses are restored to extremely high cleanliness levels and good as new. This is great news for the environment too. Every mattress which is reused saves 79.5 kg of CO2 which is the equivalent of taking 14 cars off the road for a day. The machine can be viewed in action here.
In their continuing commitment to ‘End Furniture Poverty’ and having supplied more than 200 full computer systems to those in need via their Reuse IT programme, much-loved Merseyside headquartered Bulky Bob’s launched their ‘Computers for Kids’ programme last week, which sold out the same day. As a charity Bulky Bob’s measure the social value created through items which those in need would otherwise not be able to access, and in this case generated over £58,800 of social value in just one day.
They are now launching an urgent appeal to businesses who have bulk loads of computers, potentially gathering dust in an archive room, to use the Bulky Bob’s for Business service to get these computers refurbished and out to those most in need.
All computers are data wiped and refurbished at the Bulky Bob’s workshop before being made available to purchase at the much reduced price of £100 each.
CEO of Bulky Bob’s, Shaun Doran commented:
“We have a waiting list of organisations who support children who need computers, but we have totally sold out of stock. We are sending out a plea to businesses who have 10 or more computers that they no longer use to contact us so we can ensure these make their way to those most in need in society, particularly children without IT access during the current lockdown”
The latest offering sees high-spec full pcs with MS Windows operating system, monitor, keyboard, mouse and base unit offered at the less than cost rate of £100 (subject to minimum order of 10 units). This will allow schools, charities, housing associations and other organisations supporting the children of our region to offer IT access to children who otherwise may be struggling with home learning now COVID-19 has forced the closure of many schools.
Reuse IT is the latest in a long line of innovations from Bulky Bob’s, ensuring those who need essential items, such as computers for our young people, can access them.
Sadly, there are thousands of families across Merseyside living in Furniture Poverty, sharing beds or sleeping on the floor, living without essential furniture items. Items collected by the Bulky Bob’s collection service are reused where possible, being refreshed and fixed then sold at the Bulky Bobs Furniture World London Road site in Liverpool. Although currently closed, Bulky Bob’s is still open for appointments for our crisis referral scheme with our charity partners. This is why it’s crucial items left for collection are protected from the elements as much as possible prior to collection, to give them the best chance of being reused.
Shaun Doran continued:
“Items such as computers are often in great condition when businesses decide to purchase new equipment. Our mission as a group of charities under the FRC Group umbrella is to End Furniture Poverty, and this includes data wiping and refurbishing computers which are often very high-spec. We then make them available for organisations who support our local children to bulk buy at a fraction of the price of new equipment. We’ve also given away the equivalent of 20 full PC units through our partnership with Citizen’s Advice Liverpool, donating 20% of computers to those most in need.
“Schools have been left in the difficult situation with a legal obligation to provide remote learning where needed, but 80% less computers being made available to them than was initially promised. Many other charities and organisations supporting children are crying out to help children gain access to online learning during thus current lockdown. We were pleased to be able to help many children and now want businesses to do their part in contacting us to arrange collection, data wiping and refurbishment of computers to continue to support our Computers for Kids programme ”
Those interested in the programme can email marketing@frcgroup.co.uk or call 0151 305 5201.
In their continuing commitment to ‘End Furniture Poverty’ and having supplied more than 100 full computer systems to those in need via their Reuse IT programme, much-loved Merseyside headquartered Bulky Bob’s are now working with organisations who support children to provide computers at a fraction of the cost, to ensure children without IT access are supported.
The latest offering sees high-spec full pcs with MS Windows operating system, monitor, keyboard, mouse and base unit offered at the less than cost rate of £50 (subject to minimum order of 10 units). This will allow schools, charities, housing associations and other organisations supporting the children of our region to offer IT access to children who otherwise may be struggling with home learning now COVID-19 has forced the closure of many schools.
Reuse IT is the latest in a long line of innovations from Bulky Bob’s, ensuring those who need essential items, such as computers for our young people, can access them.
Sadly, there are thousands of families across Merseyside living in Furniture Poverty, sharing beds or sleeping on the floor, living without essential furniture items. Items collected by the Bulky Bob’s collection service are reused where possible, being refreshed and fixed then sold at the Bulky Bobs Furniture World London Road site in Liverpool. Although currently closed, Bulky Bob’s is still open for appointments for our crisis referral scheme with our charity partners. This is why it’s crucial items left for collection are protected from the elements as much as possible prior to collection, to give them the best chance of being reused.
CEO of Bulky Bob’s, Shaun Doran commented:
“Items such as computers are often in great condition when businesses decide to purchase new equipment. Our mission as a group of charities under the FRC Group umbrella is to End Furniture Poverty, and this includes data wiping and refurbishing computers which are often very high-spec. We then make them available for organisations who support our local children to bulk buy at a fraction of the price of new equipment. We’ve also given away the equivalent of 16 full PC units through our partnership with Citizen’s Advice Liverpool, donating 20% of computers to those most in need.
“Schools have been left in the difficult situation with a legal obligation to provide remote learning where needed, but 80% less computers being made available to them than was initially promised. Many other charities and organisations supporting children are crying out to help children gain access to online learning during thus current lockdown. We are pleased to be able to help and welcome talking to any organisations interested in purchasing the £50 computers or indeed businesses looking to donate their computers to the cause”
Those interested in the refurbished computers can email marketing@frcgroup.co.uk or call 0151 305 5201.
Much-loved Bulky Bob’s have collected pre-loved items from residents and business across the region for many years and last week saw their three day ‘Free for All’ event take place, during which 387 furniture items were given away to 121 families in need across Liverpool. This is the equivalent of generating £99,000 of social value for the local area.
With the announcement of a second lockdown, as part of Bulky Bob’s mission to End Furniture Poverty, Bulky Bob’s Furniture World is extending the ‘Free for all’ throughout the lockdown period starting 12th November.
Those in receipt of benefits can call the shop to arrange a time to attend the London Road store to choose up to three furniture items which will be delivered free.
The time slots allow minimal queuing and allow the store to adhere to strict COVID-19 secure guidelines.
In these difficult times it’s sad to think that there may be families out there sharing beds, sleeping on the floor, or without basic furniture items. Items collected by the Bulky Bob’s collection service are reused where possible, being refreshed and fixed, then sold at the Bulky Bobs Furniture World London Road site in Liverpool which is open to the public Mon-Fri 10am until 4pm.
This is why it’s crucial items left for collection are protected from the elements as much as possible prior to collection, to give them the best chance of being reused.
CEO of Bulky Bob’s, Shaun Doran commented:
“We are delighted with the success of the event last week which helped so many families, and an equivalent social value of £99,000. With the Government announcement of a second lockdown we want to continue to provide essential furniture items to those most in need. Furniture is often bottom of the pile when putting food on the table and paying bills are prioritised.
Ending Furniture Poverty is our mission, and with the success of last week’s event we simply had to extend the offering throughout the second lockdown. We look forward to welcoming as many families in need as possible to the Covid-19 Safe store, where they can choose their preferred items and we will deliver these for free”
Those interested in the Free For All event should call 0151 207 2148 to arrange an appointment Monday-Friday 10am – 4pm at the store: 129-139 London Rd, Liverpool L3 8JA.
In light of the government announcement to Headteachers that they will receive far fewer laptops for distance learning than they were first promised, Bulky Bob’s are providing high quality refurbished computers, at a fraction of the price, to schools as part of their pledge to End Furniture Poverty. They also donate 20% of all refurbished computers to families living in poverty.
Much-loved Merseyside headquartered Bulky Bob’s have collected pre-loved items from residents and business across the region for many years and ensured these items benefit those most in need.
As part of Bulky Bob’s mission to End Furniture Poverty, Bulky Bob’s Furniture World are offering free pre-loved furniture to families in receipt of benefits, when they visit their London Road store between Monday 2nd and Wednesday 4th November in their ‘Free Furniture For All’ sale. They’ll even provide free delivery to those in L postcodes.
Much-loved Merseyside headquartered Bulky Bob’s have collected pre-loved items from residents and business across the region for many years and ensured these items collected are reused to the benefit of those most in need.
In these difficult times it’s sad to think that there may be families out there sharing beds, sleeping on the floor, or without basic furniture items. Items collected by the Bulky Bob’s collection service are reused where possible, being refreshed and fixed, then sold at the Bulky Bobs Furniture World London Road site in Liverpool which is open to the public Mon-Fri 10am until 4pm.
This is why it’s crucial items left for collection are protected from the elements as much as possible prior to collection, to give them the best chance of being reused.
The shop is open to all members of the public to browse and purchase furniture every week, and this special event will see those most in need and in receipt of benefits, provided with furniture free of charge.
CEO of Bulky Bob’s, Shaun Doran commented:
“Items such as couches, wardrobes, drawers and cabinets are an extra expense that during these tough times many families simply cannot afford, as they prioritise putting food on the table and paying the bills.”
“Ending Furniture Poverty is our mission, and with many businesses offering to feed children over the school holidays we wanted to do our bit to improve the lives of local residents. We look forward to welcoming as many families in need as possible to the Covid-19 Safe store, where they can choose their preferred items and we will deliver these for free to L postcode residents”
Those interested in the Free For All event can visit the store between 10am and 4pm Monday 2nd, Tuesday 3rd or Wednesday 4th November at 129-139 London Rd, Liverpool L3 8JA or call 0151 207 2148 for any enquiries.
Spring Clean with Bulky Bob’s – at home and at work
Bulky Bob’s is relaunching the bulky household waste collection service in Oldham with a new van, a new Bob and a new service for businesses.
Mick Hart, Bulky Bob’s Operations Manager, said: “We’re delighted to be continuing to deliver this service to the people of Oldham, and to be expanding the range of services we offer to include landlords and businesses.”
Councillor Barbara Brownridge, Oldham Council’s Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods and Co-operatives, said: “Over the years hundreds of residents have used Bulky Bob’s to dispose of their unwanted household goods.
“The service is the cheapest in Greater Manchester and we are pleased people across the borough will be able to use it for years to come.
“As a council we are committed to making it as easy as possible for residents to dispose of, and recycle, their unwanted goods, which protects the local environment and saves money. Also the recycling of quality goods means other residents, who may not be able to afford them, will get use out of them.”
Bulky Bob’s is also a registered charity and has helped over 300 people into sustainable employment through Driving Change, a paid-training programme focusing on logistics and warehouse skills.
They can collect up to three bulky or large items from homes for just £17.43 with additional items at £8.20 each. Anyone entitled to an assisted bin collection, (those with a physical disability, pregnant, or infirm due to old age and no other permanent householders over 18), can also receive one free bulky household collection each year.
Bulky Bob’s also sells preloved furniture items at low prices from their warehouse at Unit A, Oldham Central Trading Park, Oldham, OL1 4EB.
Image features (l-r), Councillor Barbara Brownridge, Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods & Co-operative, Mick Hart, Bulky Bob’s Operations Manager, and Rosie Barker, Support & Development Manager, Oldham Council Waste Management in front of the Bulky Bob’s Oldham team.
By Guest Blogger, Cameron Little, JMU Intern
Cost and quality are vital when looking for a new waste service provider – but there is another factor you should consider, social value.
Here at a social enterprise like Bulky Bob’s every part of our organisation is dedicated to giving back to the communities we work with, meaning that when you engage with us, you are helping to give back too.
With Bulky Bob’s Office and Commercial Waste you can turn your waste budget into a social investment, through our award-winning training programme Driving Change, focusing on getting the most vulnerable members of the community into sustainable work with skills for life. So far there has been over 450 people who have successfully completed the scheme. And through the crisis furniture packages we give away to local people in need.
Nothing goes to waste at Bulky Bob’s, everything we receive is either reused or recycled, so you can be secure in the knowledge that your waste is contributing to environmentally friendly practices.
This is social value, and it takes your money even further than before.
Call Bulky Bob’s today at 0151 305 5200 to learn how you can turn your waste budget into a social investment today.
