Open Door Furniture Recycling

The Open Door project recycles furniture and household appliances so that disadvantaged households in Pendle can find furniture and disengaged young people find jobs. By reducing the amount of bulky furniture that gets dumped in landfill sites the environment benefits too.

People who have old furniture and electrical goods can get Open Door to take them instead of throwing them away. The people providing this service at Open Door are mostly unemployed young people who are involved in the project through the New Deal. They get real work experience and the opportunity to train for an NVQ in warehouse distribution, administration or electrical and electronic servicing. Many young people, who have previously had difficulty securing full time employment, are successful in getting work once they leave Open Door after six months on the scheme.

When goods have been collected, and repaired or refurbished, they are ready to be delivered to needy households in Pendle who cannot afford to furnish their own homes. Single parents, young people coming out of care and families that are generally struggling, have all received help through Open Door’s furniture recycling.

Aftab Ali was 22 when he joined the scheme. He had been unemployed for two years prior to joining the Open Door team, but gained an NVQ level II in lifting and warehouse distribution. He enjoyed working as part of the team and liked meeting new people. He learned how to do paperwork including making out receipts and booking in goods, and was also given responsibility for training new volunteers. He saw first hand the huge need for furniture recycling from people who could not afford to furnish their accommodation.

Open Door can supply a wide range of goods including recycled cookers, fridges, freezers, washing machines and TVs, together with beds, settees, tables, wardrobes and chests of drawers.

The benefits to the environment are also considerable. By 2002 the project had already recycled and reused sixty tonnes of redundant furniture.

This project was funded by SRB5 from its inception, and has now been awarded additional ERDF funding under the 2002-2005 CED Programme, in order to further support its recycling and job experience activities.

Contact Open Door on 01282 869596
or furniturerecycling@btinternet.com.