The Scottish Government offered Employability Orkney a Sustainable Action Grant of £34,000 in 2006-07, £30,000 in 2007-08 and £30,000 in 2008-009 for a Restart Orkney project to re-use, repair and recycle furniture and household goods to fulfil local demand for donated or low-cost furniture to people in need or on low incomes, divert waste from landfill and provide employment and training opportunities. This included a repair element and would avoid waste being exported to Shetland.
Restart Orkney, which aimed to be self sustaining by 2009-10, worked in close partnership with other local agencies. There was funding also from Orkney Islands Council and the Community Regeneration Fund.
Furniture was collected twice weekly by a van crew and then labelled and stored in the warehouse ready for redistribution. Restart Orkney negotiated with customers a price which they could afford. The van crew also delivered directly to customers' doors.
Furniture delivered to the warehouse was sorted into 'ready for redistribution' or 'needing work', with a lot of the items needing some minor repairs. Soft furnishings were steam-cleaned while wooden items were either painted or stripped down and re-varnished or polished. Items which could be seen as old-fashioned or undesirable were transformed by the team. As much as possible was reused; if an item was beyond repair it was dismantled and the individual components reused.
Restart Orkney sourced a supply of unwanted wood and started experimenting with a range of furniture crafted from this 'waste' wood, to be sold mainstream to generate income. Restart Orkney had a great number of requests for floor coverings and started accepting carpets to be cleaned, trimmed and rolled ready for redistribution to unfurnished council tenancies, generating another income stream and providing a much needed service.
By 2008 it had become clear that the project had outgrown the existing store, and that larger premises were required if Restart Orkney was to fulfil its development potential. Employability Orkney agreed with Orkney Islands Council a 20-year lease of Grainshore Training Centre, where it had rented office space for the Restart project.
In 2008-09 Restart Orkney gained additional funding from the Voluntary Action Fund (funded by the Scottish Government), and the Scottish Government's community recycling sector INCREASE III programme.
Restart Orkney's additional funding allowed the purchase of portable appliance testing equipment and training, and allowed acceptance of donations of waste electrical and electronic equipment for resale to the public. Larger items such as fridges and washing machines were particularly in demand, and this development - increasing waste tonnage diversion and generating a further earned income stream - helped to take the project closer to financial sustainability.
Project volunteers made the building used for storing furniture fit for use as a showroom, opened in February 2009 to the public 6 days a week. This led to sales doubling.
Restart Orkney diverted from landfill or export in 2006-07 14 tonnes, in 2007-08 15.5 tonnes and in 2008-09 20 tonnes of pre-used furniture and household goods.
Between June 2006 and April 2007 the project collected donations of furniture and household goods from 110 homes and businesses throughout the Orkney mainland, enabling Restart Orkney to assist 54 families or individuals to establish their homes. In 2007-08 372 items of otherwise unwanted furniture and household goods were collected and recycled and furniture and household goods were provided for 66 low income households. In 2008-09 furniture and household goods were provided for 103 low income households, and 642 items of otherwise unwanted furniture and household goods were collected and recycled.
In 2006-07 Restart Orkney provided 6 part-time paid work placements and had 12 volunteers. By 2008-09 Restart Orkney was employing some 5 staff and achieved a maximum of 33 volunteers.
All of those working or volunteering with Restart Orkney faced significant barriers to mainstream employment, such as alcohol and drug addiction, physical disabilities, learning difficulties and mental health problems, and they recognised they were doing work important to both the local community and the environment.
Restart Orkney featured in a number of relevant local monthly newsletters. The project was also covered by the local press, and leaflets and posters were distributed throughout Orkney. When there was a torrential downpour in October 2006, causing some of the worst flooding in living memory, Restart Orkney responded, offering a range of furniture to help victims of the flooding cope with the damage they suffered.
Beyond the project period this social enterprise aimed to increase waste tonnage diversion, and facilitate more opportunities for reuse and recycling, to assist more people facing poverty with the provision of affordable furniture and household goods, to create further supported employment and volunteering opportunities and to generate additional earned income and move towards financial sustainability.
Further information
Employability Orkney
E-Mail: enquiries@restartorkney.co.uk
www.orkneycommunities.co.uk/restartorkney/index.asp