After moving into the role in September last year, Prestwich Hospital’s Waste and Environmental Manager Gary Roberts talks us through how unused Trust furniture ended up finding a second home in Africa.

“Part of my role includes managing the GMMH (Greater Manchester Mental Health) Warp It Page which is a platform that lists any unwanted furniture or stationary that departments no longer want or need. People can identify products that they may require for their respective workspaces and claim them, leaving me to arrange the delivery of the items. This diverts any waste away from landfill and helps with the avoidance of any unnecessary waste costs that may have been produced if this platform wasn’t available.

In November last year I started to realise that as an organisation we weren’t using this platform as effectively as we could. This led to me opening our site up to other NHS Organisations and local charities. In December; I donated unused and unwanted ink cartridges to help a foodbank in Middleton print posters off in the run up to Christmas.

In March, The Kori Project (that builds schools in Sierra Leonne) contacted me to ask whether the project could claim equipment we had registered. The project claimed 8 x old desks, 8 pedestals, 14 x 4 draw filing cabinets and 10 chairs. All the items were collected from Prestwich and taken to a shipping container in London to be loaded up and shipped to Sierra Leonne. I was delighted to receive photos from Rose Simbo, leader of the project, to show our old furniture in use in the Ann Hay Vocational Education Centre and a New School in Gbuwehun.”

Visit the Warp It Page here to see GMMH impact

Visit the Kori Women’s Development Project Facebook Page

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