Furniture recovered from Southwark rubbish depot raises £12,000 for charity

Last January we reported that the council and Veolia had teamed up with the British Heart Foundation to give the charity access to all the unwanted furniture and electrical items in the borough that go to the recycling and reuse centre at Manor Place.

All the items are given a new lease of life at the British Heart Foundation's furniture and electrical store on the Old Kent Road.

In the scheme's first year approximately 350 items have been salvaged and sold on to new owners, raising £12,000 for the work of the British Heart Foundation and diverting five tonnes of waste that would otherwise have gone to landfill.

"It's great that this scheme has proved so popular, and is doing such good work, not only for this important charity but also in terms of giving furniture and electrical items another lease of life," says Cllr Barrie Hargrove, Southwark's cabinet member for transport, environment and recycling.

"At this time of year many people may be thinking of getting rid of older items, having been given a new one, and I'd urge them to think of our recycling and refuse centre as the best place to do this."

Simon Bussell, managing director of Veolia Environmental Services in Southwark, added: "We would also be interested in talking to other community led organisations that have ideas about how we can work in partnership for the good of the borough."