Trash or treasure? Help us redefine furniture reuse in Hampshire

Hampshire County Council has launched a survey to gather people’s views on the value of second hand items of furniture – as part of efforts to help reduce the volume of waste in Hampshire.

Views are being sought whether people have never brought a second-hand item before or if people are a regular donators and buyers.
Councillor Rob Humby, Deputy Leader of Hampshire County Council and Executive Member for Economy, Transport and Environment, said: “This survey is a bit different from others we have done before. Residents will be asked to value furniture from different sources and in different conditions. The responses will help us to understand which factors influence people’s second-hand purchasing behaviours and the information will be used to understand the best way to re-use or upcycle large furniture items.

“As resources and public finances are squeezed, it’s important we look at all options to reduce volumes of waste in the system to try to bring down the £100 million each year that Hampshire’s household waste is costing.

“There are many aspects to reducing waste from upcycling to composting, but this survey is specifically looking at large household items such as sofas and tables to try to find out how we can encourage more people to consider re-use.”

The online survey is open to all Hampshire residents until 17 August 2020.

The results of the survey will help inform the County Council’s Smart Living campaign which began in 2015 to encourage people to make small changes to their lifestyles in order to waste less and save more.

For more information visit: https://www.hants.gov.uk/wasteandrecycling/smartliving