MONTHLY CASE STUDY: MONTHLY CASE STUDY: MONTHLY CASE STUDY: MONTHLY CASE STUDY:

SKIPPING AWAY WITH THE SPACE & PORTER TEAMSSKIPPING AWAY WITH THE SPACE & PORTER TEAMSSKIPPING AWAY WITH THE SPACE & PORTER TEAMSSKIPPING AWAY WITH THE SPACE & PORTER TEAMS

The most ecoThe most ecoThe most ecoThe most eco----friendly piece of furniture is the one you don’t buy friendly piece of furniture is the one you don’t buy friendly piece of furniture is the one you don’t buy friendly piece of furniture is the one you don’t buy –––– but what does but what does but what does but what does

this look like in practice at UEA?this look like in practice at UEA?this look like in practice at UEA?this look like in practice at UEA?

Last year UEA threw away around 40 tonnes of furniture, directly costing around

£8,000 plus staff time. At the same time, UEA also spent £184,000 on new furniture.

Any reduction of these figures is good business sense, as well having environmental and

resource benefits. UEA Estates is leading the way on reducing how many still-useable

items are disposed of each year, with Rachel Brown (Head of Space Management and

Design) taking the lead.

“UEA’s Estates teams have been involved in some really exciting new trials recently.

One project in teaching spaces last summer also saw us relocate or replace 588 chairs

and 254 tables. This saved around £74,000, compared to buying new,” she explained.

Several stacks of chairs in UEA storage were unable to be used on campus because they

were not fire retardant. Rachel said, “If you have tired, worn, or potentially unsafe

furniture, we can look at recovering or repairing it — with a choice of fabric. Both save

money as well as the waiting time for new furniture.” A local upholsterer has upcycled

chairs for The Enterprise Centre and offices in LSB, with nettle and hemp fabric ranges

increasing the eco credentials of these items even further (top left).

Costs are approximately 50% of buying a new chair, and the service can be requested

by any member of staff for old, broken, dirty or damaged furniture.

Beyond refurbishing tired or broken fabric furniture, UEA is a member of the WARPit WARPit WARPit WARPit

resource sharing platform. From chairs to DVD players, hanging files to bookcases and

coffee tables, it is free and open to all UEA staff. Items are for use on campus only, and

it is a great way to pass on unwanted University assets. All of the items in the bottom

section to the left were available at the time of writing.

Contact the Space Team with any questions: space@uea.ac.ukspace@uea.ac.ukspace@uea.ac.ukspace@uea.ac.uk

Sign directly up to WARPit: www.warpwww.warpwww.warpwww.warp----it.co.uk/ueait.co.uk/ueait.co.uk/ueait.co.uk/uea (To find out more about WARPit,

as well as other ways to recycle correctly at UEA, head to www.uea.ac.uk/about/www.uea.ac.uk/about/www.uea.ac.uk/about/www.uea.ac.uk/about/

sustainability/campus/recycling/howsustainability/campus/recycling/howsustainability/campus/recycling/howsustainability/campus/recycling/how----totototo)

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