UK-based Bristol Wood Recycling Project is based on a splinter-free premise:

“We go and collect wood from building sites. They pay us and we are cheaper than a skip,” manager Ben Moss explains.

“We reuse and recycle what we can. We sort through it all by hand and spend a lot of time cleaning up the wood and de-nailing it. What can be resold is on display in the yard. Some is recycled into MDF and the unusable wood is sent to landfill,” says Moss.

This cleaned up wood keeps extra waste out of landfill as well as providing jobs for people in need. The founders of the Bristol Wood Recycling Project purposefully kept their business approach free of shareholders so the focus would constantly return to the community.

“We always wanted to maximize all the social and environmental benefits of the project. If we had shareholders, perhaps our focus would be more about making money and less about doing as much good as possible,” says Ella Furness, Volunteer Manager.

What do you have around your household that you could re-use or “pre-cycle”? I recently went to a construction work site and pulled enough clean firewood to last me through the winter. Or perhaps there are some repairs you can make on an appliance or piece of furniture instead of buying new. It gives you a great sense of gratification and resourcefulness…plus you save money!

Contact: Bristol Wood Recycling Project,
13 Cattle Market Road,
St Philips, Bristol, BS1 6QW.
Tel: +44 (0)117 972 3219
Website: http://www.bwrp.org.uk

The Project is dependent on the
help given by volunteers from
the local community