Furniture has a new future

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It was out with the old, and in with the new. Refurbishments all over campus this summer kept the Environmental Officer, Amanda Hastings, busy as she worked with colleagues to ensure the best possible use of any furniture that could be re-used or recycled.

A number of departments on campus were able to make use of some items of furniture from Sussex House. Amanda then arranged for two local recycling companies - Furniture Now, from Lewes, and Brighton-based Ecosys - to take away any remaining furniture that they could refurbish and re-use or recycle.

Only damaged pieces of furniture and upholstered chairs were put in to skips. "The upholstered furniture cannot be re-used," explained Amanda, "because the seat materials and stuffings are not fire retardant, so they don't comply with fire regulations."

Elsewhere on campus, Mary Ticehurst (Buildings Manager of the Park Houses) arranged for desks and bedside lockers from Norwich House, beds from Lancaster House and curtains and mattress covers from other residences to be donated to a local company, t he Wood Recycling Project. These particular items of furniture are going to Romania to furnish schools.

Another success story in diverting waste materials from landfill comes from BIOLS. Maria Ribeiro, a research student, got in touch with Amanda to ask where she might be able to recycle over 500 unused petri-dish lids.

Amanda contacted the SCRAP scheme (Schools, Community, Recycling and Play) in Lancing, which is part of a nationwide network. Local businesses and organisations give the SCRAP scheme any unwanted materials such as wood, paper, foam, fabric offcuts, plastics, adhesives, etc. Community groups and schools then use the materials for art classes or play schemes.

The SCRAP store were delighted when Amanda offered the petri-dish lids as they can be used for mixing paint or glue in art classes. Nearly all have been used up already. "Let's hope that the biologists have done enough experiments to keep the SCRAP store supplied in the future," said Amanda.