PETERBOROUGH Environment City Trust is urging businesses to think about what they do with old furniture following refurbishment or re-organisation.
Unwanted furniture can be offered to other companies, charities or individuals for reuse via Eastex, the free online materials exchange www.eastex.org.uk

Over the past year, John Lewis has used Eastex to pass on a variety of surplus goods to not-for-profit organisations in the city, from window display stands to paint. The Queensgate store has also just reorganised some of its offices and used Eastex to get in touch with charities and businesses who were looking for good quality second-hand furniture.

Maintenance section manager Dave Key said: “We have recently reorganised some of our offices and were left with some surplus furniture. Through Eastex we were able to recycle our unwanted items while also saving money on the cost of disposal.”

Bitnam Singh is leader of the Parent Focus Group (PFG), based at the Singh Sabha Gurdwara Community Centre, Boongate, which gave a home to some of the furniture.

He said: “We have been delighted with the service from Eastex which has benefited us greatly. Peterborough’s Sikh community has, for a long time needed to bring it’s ideas up to date. The PFG is a team, consists of second and third generation Sikh Parents who are focusing on providing the youth of today facilities for furthering their personal and professional development.

“Eventually, we intend to, run workshops, sports clubs, IT classes and promote socio-cultural cohesion. We have got a lot of work to do in order to get the facilities up and running, but I’m sure with help from programs such a Eastex we won’t find it too difficult to obtain free resources for its success.

“We recently obtained some excellent quality second hand furniture from John Lewis (Peterborough) and RAGT Seeds (Cambridge) and IT equipment from another business in the city. Eastex’s helpful, friendly service is a refreshing change in today’s commercial climate. We have no hesitation in recommending Eastex to other
small businesses.”

Eastex is dedicated to the reuse of all useful materials and keeping them out of landfill.

Eastex regional co-ordinator Ian Tennant said: “Many businesses, large and small, have passed on furniture to charities, youth groups, start-up enterprises and business. Not only does it make sound environmental sense, it also stacks up financially – why pay for a skip when someone down the road or in the next county will gladly make use of it?”

The Eastex materials exchange website www.eastex. org.uk has received about four million hits and has inspired similar ventures right across the country. The home-grown technology is now available in 11 counties to more than 10.3 million people. It has diverted nearly 4,000 tonnes of material from landfill and saved businesses £400,000.

Eastex exploits the principle that one person’s or company’s waste is another’s raw material.

It works like a free online dating agency, with businesses, organisations and individuals viewing and placing adverts about redundant stock and surplus raw materials. Matches are made, saving businesses money and keeping useful materials in circulation and out of landfill.

Information from: www.peterboroughtoday.co.uk

This entry was posted on Sunday, May 13th, 2007 at 10:50 pm and is filed under Furniture, Office Furniture. Tags: Cambridge, Community Centre, equipment, Furniture, John Lewis, Money, Office Furniture, online, paint, Peter, second hand furniture, Small, surplus furniture, Today, Works, . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.