Don't skip it, share it!

Don't throw it out! See if another organisation can use it. That's the concept being explored at a special conference at County Hall in Exeter next week.

Public sector organisations are doing more to reuse items of furniture or office equipment by passing them on to someone else rather than throwing them away.

However, it's a fairly new initiative and the Council is working with WARP-It to try and encourage more organisations to do it.

Conference organiser, WARP-It, is a reuse network which helps find, give away, or loan office furniture, equipment and other resources.

The conference on Tuesday 30 June is welcoming 11 forward thinking speakers to talk about what's known as the 'Circular Economy' and the importance of reusing valuable materials within organisations.

Simply put, it is where resources and materials are reused as much as possible.

Officers with responsibilities for waste management, sustainability, facilities management and procurement in the public, private and 3rd sector will be coming together to find practical ways to develop more sustainable practices in Devon.

For example, a council building may no longer need 10 office chairs and desks, but a local charity could make use of them, or maybe a large number of lever arch files which a local school needs.

Some of the speakers at the event are Daniel O'Connor from Warp It, Karen Gallagher, Sustainability Manager at Exeter University who will be talking about what we can learn from the end of term student clear out.

Also attending is the Restart Project which organises repair parties, they will be explaining how organisations can improve repair opportunities for electronics within organisations and Louise Swift from Interface will be introducing Net Works where discarded fishing nets are turned into carpet tiles.

Daniel O’Connor from the Warp It Reuse Network says; “It will be a great opportunity to hear about the tools, tips and techniques which others have used to achieve success and will hear about various case studies demonstrating the significant savings that the Circular Economy and in particular, reuse and repair can generate.”

Councillor Roger Croad, Cabinet Member for Community and Environmental Services says; “As a County Council we have a responsibility to help and encourage organisations in Devon to adopt better ways of working. This event will provide an opportunity for leading organisations to network and find ways of working together to save resources and money.”

Devon County Council is already a member for WARP-it and as Cabinet Member for Performance and Engagement, Councillor Barry Parsons explains, its working well;  "With all the cuts in government spending, Devon County Council is radically down sizing its floor space and relocating staff to different premises. By using Warp it we can identify and move surplus furniture between offices more efficiently and pass surplus items to community organisations such as schools and charities"

For more information go here or contact Bobby Hughes, Devon County Council, Tel: 01392 383121.