Harrogate Borough Council

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10 October 2008 -   IF you are thinking of a new look for the lounge, kitting out the kids' bedrooms or something different for the dining room, Harrogate Borough Council invites you to attend a "makeover" roadshow with a difference.

 

On Friday, 24 October there will be an Inside Out Roadshow on Prospect Crescent, Harrogate.  Being held from 10.00 am to 3.00 pm, the roadshow will be displaying an interior room entirely sourced from local charity shops and furniture reuse groups.

 

As a partner in the York and North Yorkshire Waste Partnership, the council is doing all it can to persuade people to donate to or buy from charity shops and other charitable organisations to divert useful objects being sent to landfill. 

 

One of the main sources for the display is Harrogate's Essential Needs.  This charity receives a £10,000 grant from Harrogate Borough Council to help it provide people of limited funds with furniture, household goods and many other items at minimum cost.  It also has support from North Yorkshire County Council. 

 

Councillor Andrew Jones, Harrogate's Cabinet Member for Resources, will be visiting the roadshow.  He said:  "The saying that one person's trash is another person's treasure is certainly ringing ever more true in today's world.  We can be too keen to throw things away where, with a little bit of thought and community spirit, not only can help good causes we can also help protect the environment."

 

The roadshow is the second phase of the local Choose2Reuse campaign, which was launched in January with a very successful 'donate' event.

 

Chair of the Partnership, County Councillor Clare Wood, says that charity shops and furniture reuse groups play a key role in society by raising funds for good causes.  She added:  "This campaign is about raising awareness among residents that there are some very good quality products available that may have been used before but are of perfectly good use.  It is a crying shame that so much gets thrown away.  Across our county, we know that thousands of tonnes of material is thrown away that could be reused.  This is one way to highlight that waste."

 

Choose2Reuse was previously run as a pilot funded by Defra's Environment Action fund.  York and North Yorkshire councils are the first local authorities in the country to adopt the campaign beyond the pilot.

 

PHOTO OPPORTUNITY:  Councillor Andrew Jones will be popping in to the roadshow at 10.30 am on Friday, 24 October 2008.  The trailer will be parked on Prospect Crescent near to the war memorial.

 

NOTE TO EDITORS:  The York and North Yorkshire Waste Partnership comprises North Yorkshire County Council, Craven District Council, Hambleton District Council, Harrogate Borough Council, Richmondshire District Council, Ryedale District Council, Scarborough Borough Council, Selby District Council and the City of York Council. By working together, they have developed a joint waste management strategy for the next 20 years which will work with the community and stakeholders of York and North Yorkshire to meet their waste needs and deliver a high quality, sustainable, customer-focused and cost-effective waste management service.

 

For more information on the work of the Partnership, please visit www.letstalklessrubbish.com