A campaign encouraging Fifers to stop wasting good quality furniture and household goods and instead donate them for the use of those in need launches this week.

Householders are asked to look out for their blue guide coming through their door which tells them everything they need to know about how to donate unwanted furniture and other household goods to local community reuse organisations.

It stresses that donating is easy to do and that items will be collected for free from their doorstep. The guide also tells people how to get their old furniture refurbished if they don't want to part with it, as well as how to buy second hand furniture directly from the organisations.

The new campaign is a collaboration between Fife Council, Zero Waste Scotland and the Community Recycling Network for Scotland (CRNS). Under the initiative Fife furniture reuse projects Castle Furniture, Furniture Plus and Matrix Fife are coming together to urge local people to ensure that good quality furniture and other household goods are reused rather than sent to local landfill sites. Zero Waste Scotland believes the timing is especially important as the recession is starting to hit these projects hard, with furniture donations drying up.


Councillor Ross Vettraino, vice-chair of Fife Council's Environment, Enterprise and Transportation Committee said: "I would encourage as many people as possible to give their unwanted furniture to these worthy social enterprises. It's good for local people AND the environment.

"There are many people struggling to get by and badly in need of help and an easy donation like this would make a visible impact in their lives. It is also the case that by doing so people will be making a valuable contribution towards Fife Council’s objective of becoming the leading green council in Scotland."

Noel McKenna, Secretary of Furniture Plus said: "A house is not a home without furniture. We all hope this campaign will encourage people to donate their furniture instead of sending it to landfill as by doing so they will give people in their community a second chance at a better quality of life.

"Donations of good quality electric items, mattresses, baby equipment, bedding and bric-a-brac are always welcome too, which we try to reuse as far as possible."

Iris Kernaghan, manager of Matrix Fife added that "you could also consider extending the lifetime of your favourite piece of furniture by getting it reupholstered or refurbished, saving you money and reducing the amount of used furniture going to waste."

Similar furniture reuse campaigns have been piloted in Dundee, Glasgow and the Highlands which have led to significant increases in donations.

In an innovative move, the campaign is linking up with mainstream furniture and household retailers by providing them with promotional materials to use in-store.

(GK/BMcc)