Quote Bank

This is to help Volunteers with writing emails, letters, comment, appeal for support, tweets etc.

Weight of stuff kept out of Landfill

If you use the Facebook Republisher you can view the amount your group has saved from landfill in the last 31 days-
View your Facebook page
Click Edit Page
Click "Apps" (left hand side of page)
Scroll down to Freegle Republisher
Click "Go to App"
Hey presto, a page will appear giving you the estimated weight kept from landfill in the last 31 days

• "On average every person in the UK throws away their own body weight in rubbish every seven weeks."

http://www.southampton.gov.uk/s-environment/householdwaste/

• "The average kg per household per fortnight, weighted to reflect the population of the area, was 17.54 kg."

http://www.southglos.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/6A5A1670-6A9B-4255-91AB-15DCB28C3EC7/0/COS090013.pdf

• Pick any item from the Furniture Reuse Network list

http://www.crni.ie/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/2009_FRN_Average_Weights.pdf
Calculate how much your Group saves from Landfill and divide this by the average weight of one chosen item
eg 4483kg saved from landfill is approx 118 fridges.

Freegle Statistics

To see some statistics on membership, have a look at Freegle Group Membership, and for message counts and website visits see Freegle Group Messages.

WRAP study shows re-use potential of household bulky waste

August 2012: The purpose of this research was to understand the composition of bulky waste in terms of item type and re-usability, in order to identify the opportunities for the re-use of bulky items across the UK. National estimates derived from WasteDataFlow (WDF) suggest that across the UK during 2010/11, some 1,590,000 tonnes of bulky waste is collected at the kerbside or taken to HWRCs. Approximately twice as much is taken to HWRCs (1,050,000 tonnes) than is collected at the kerbside (540,000 tonnes).

Using the above data and extrapolating the sample findings across all UK kerbside and HWRC bulky waste collections suggests that of all bulky waste in the UK, (including both kerbside collected and HWRC bulky items), around 42% consists of furniture, 19% textiles and 19% WEEE. These estimates equate to 670,000 tonnes of furniture and 310,000 tonnes each of textiles and WEEE disposed by householders in the UK annually.

There is a perception that items, when they reach the HWRC, or are collected at the kerbside are no longer fit for re-use, yet this report identifies down to specific product level the significant amount of products that are potentially re-usable. It is hoped that this information can help to inform re-use organisations, local authorities and waste management companies of the potential re-use of items that are currently being recycled or disposed.

http://www.wrap.org.uk/content/study-re-use-potential-household-bulky-waste

WRAP Facts and Figures

October 2012

• WRAP estimates that around 600 million tonnes of products and materials enter the UK economy each year… only 115 million tonnes of this gets recycled.
• Between now and 2020, WRAP estimates that electronic waste in the UK will total more than 12 million tonnes. A quarter of this will comprise of IT equipment, consumer electronics and display screens. This 12 million tonnes will include precious metals, which at the time of writing, have a total estimated market value of £7bn.
• Nearly 25% of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) that’s taken to household waste recycling centres could be re-used, worth around £200m gross a year.
• We throw away more than 7 million tonnes of food and drink every year from our homes - most of which could have been safely consumed.
• UK hospitality sector (hotels, pubs, restaurants and quick service restaurants) could save £724 million a year by tackling food waste.
• By pursuing opportunities for re-use, the UK could reduce its reliance on raw materials, including rare earths, by as much as 20% by 2020.
• Our research shows doubling the number of sofas re-used, could save 52,000 tonnes of CO2 equivalent. At the moment, 83% of sofas are not re-used and are sent to landfill or recycled.

And this is only the tip of the waste iceberg.

http://www.wrap.org.uk/content/facts-and-figures

Unusual and Interesting Freegles

Interviewers or reporters often ask for examples of unusual or interesting things that have been freegled. Keep a note for your own group, but across the UK the following have all appeared as offers on Freegle groups:

• World War II air raid shelter
• Giant African Land Snails
• several hundred wine bottle corks made into a cork noticeboard
• shop mannequins
• a yacht
• hospital hoists
• unicyle

Misspellings:

• bag of badgers

Items people don't immediately think of, but are requested often:

• cardboard boxes for moving house
• padded envelopes and bubble wrap
• plant pots
• jam jars
• egg boxes

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