14 November 2011 WRAP to target reuse in coming year Delegates at tomorrow's annual WRAP conference will hear how reuse is key to reducing carbon emissions in UK households and businesses, and will be a "major theme" of WRAP's work over the coming year. WRAP (Waste & Resources Action Programme) will launch research results at tomorrow's conference outlining the potential savings that could be made, both financially and in terms of CO2, by reusing everyday household and business items.
Furniture is one area where the potential is huge. According to the research, one million sofas are reused in the UK every year, saving those households giving them a new home more than 320m.
However, says WRAP, those one million sofas only represent 17% of the total number discarded in a 12-month period. And, reusing one tonne of sofas has the same environmental benefit as recycling one tonne of plastics. Currently 83% of sofas that aren't reused are sent to landfill or for recycling. By doubling the number that are reused, the equivalent of 52,000 tonnes of CO2 could be saved, equal to taking 17,000 cars off the road each year. For the full news article and to be taken to the website, click here |