Furniture diverted from landfill as B&M announce partnership with Shelter

Waste management specialist Bagnall & Morris (B&M) will now supply homelessness charity, Shelter with unwanted furniture to support people in need and protect the environment.

B&M Waste Services will donate furniture that is collected when they offer their clearance service to clients. The furniture will then be restored by Shelter and sold in their retail outlets across the UK to raise funds to help those in crisis.

With estimates from the Centre for Remanufacturing and Reuse that over 50% of office furniture sent to landfill each year is reusable, B&M will play an important part in reducing the impact of this on the environment.

Mick Ashall, director of B&M said about the campaign, “B&M’s commercial ethos is to divert as much material from landfill as possible – recycling used furniture is part of this commitment.

“From our discussions with Shelter we discovered that we could do more to help the charity and we are delighted to now launch the recycled furniture campaign.”

The waste company is also in the process of sourcing new household goods, which will be donated to create a ‘Furniture Starter Pack’. Shelter will use these packs to help people equip new homes.

A recent survey by the housing charity found millions of working families in the UK have very little savings and could lose their home in just one month if they lost their jobs.

“Shelter already receives 470 calls a day and, with almost 4 million families living just one pay-cheque away from losing their home, we are determined to work tirelessly until there is a home for everyone”, said Chris Broom, area manager for the North-West division of Shelter.

He added, “We are delighted that B&M has chosen to partner with Shelter and we would like to thank B&M for the initial batch of products which have been donated. The value of the donation stands at £1,080 and the items will be offered for sale in our Shelter shops, raising important income for the charity.”

A report in March this year found illegal dumping of waste in the UK costs £568 million a year in tax evasion.

We could soon see lower VAT on recycled goods in a bid by MPs earlier this week to move towards a more circular economy and end the ‘throwaway society’.

Photo: B&M Waste Services

Further reading:

MPs back circular economy and call for an end to the ‘throwaway society’

Switching to a ‘circular’ economy will unlock crucial investment

UK losing £1.7 billion from reusable waste going to landfill – report

EU Green Week eyes a transition away from a ‘throwaway culture’

Online portal launched to help manufacturers recycle