FURNITURE SCHEME RICHMOND UPON THAMES
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We have a selection of good-quality second-hand furniture available, We are open on Mondays to Thursdays from 10 am to 3 pm Thanks to the help of volunteers, The next Saturday openings are on Visit us at 1a Fortescue Avenue, Twickenham TW2 5LS (off Turner Avenue, between Fielding Avenue and Twining Avenue on the Staines Road) We look forward to seeing you |
In the course of a year, each person living in Greater London will create almost half a tonne of waste. If waste continues to grow as it has done over the past decade, there will be twice as much to deal with by 2020. Disposing of the waste by burying it in the ground is becoming more difficult in the South East as we run out of space – in Richmond upon Thames, our waste is transported to a landfill site in Bedfordshire. There are also environmental problems as rotting waste creates methane (a powerful greenhouse gas) and can produce leachate (a poisonous liquid).
We cannot sustain our current throwaway lifestyle and need to reassess what we do with our waste. It is estimated that up to 1000 tones of furniture may be thrown away each year in Richmond upon Thames. Beds, chairs, tables and sofas in clean and good condition could all be reused, thereby reducing pollution and improving the quality of life for people on low incomes.
Recycle your furniture
We are very much in need of good-quality furniture, especially double beds for which we have a waiting list. If you have good-quality furniture that you no longer use or want, get in touch with us and we can make arrangements to collect and reuse your furniture for people in need.
Don't worry if there are a few scratches – last year, the Furniture Scheme received funding from Awards for All (part of the National Lottery) and Bridge House (now City Bridges Trust) to build a workshop to repair furniture and a lean-to to protect furniture from the elements.
Find a home for recycled furniture
We collect donated furniture for the primary purpose of making it available to people in need. However, we always have surplus furniture and are keen to ensure that this gets reused. With this in mind we have decided to open to the general public. This has two purposes:
1. to help us increase the rotation of furniture in and out of the warehouse so we reuse more and reduce the amount going to landfill;
2. to help us generate some much-needed funds to keep going;
To give working people an opportunity to get to know us we are opening (with the help of volunteers) on the first Saturday of May, June and July 2007 from 10 am to midday. This is a three-month experiment only. The Furniture Scheme is also open to people in need from 10 am to 3 pm on Mondays to Thursdays.
The furniture that we collect is of a good quality. You may find something special. Come and visit us and see for yourself.
Volunteer with the Furniture Scheme
The scheme is run by a full-time co-ordinator who is assisted by two part-time workers and volunteers and we are always looking for more people to get involved. If you would like to volunteer for this extremely worthy charity then please get in touch.
Contact us
Call 020 8755 4665 to find out more or arrange delivery/collection of furniture. Our phones are very busy. If you are unable to get through please call after hours and leave a clear message with your contact details. We will contact you as soon as we can.
Or visit us at 1a Fortescue Avenue, Twickenham TW2 5LS (off Turner Avenue, between Fielding Avenue and Twining Avenue on the Staines Road).
You can also visit our Web site: www.furniture.scheme.ukgateway.net for more details for download an A5 leaflet here (please print double-sided). We would also be very grateful if you could mention us to your friends and colleagues. Our larger A4 leaflet (which could be used as a poster) can be downloaded here.
