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WORTH A VISIT: Rickmansworth charity store saves 900 tonnes of waste from landfill

 Published on: 2nd June 2021   |   By: Lizzie Ellis   |   Category: Uncategorized

9 Lives Furniture Store in Rickmansworth is thrilled to be back open to the public, helping reduce carbon footprint across Three Rivers by upcycling furniture and providing volunteering opportunities.

The charity, which has been running for more than 16-years, is keen to bounce back from the pandemic and wants to encourage residents to visit the COVID secure shop and see what’s on offer. They are also on the hunt for new volunteers to help with a variety of tasks in the shop, van and workshop.

9 Lives sells up-cycled and second-hand furniture including tables, sofas, chairs, beds and bedside tables, along with vintage and antique pieces, household items and bric-a-brac, chalk furniture paint and quality clothes and accessories.

They also support the community in many ways, running weekly free courses for people with learning disabilities or mental ill-health, as well as offering a 50 per cent reduction on furniture and clothes for residents with means-tested benefits.

Marie Frost, manager at 9 Lives told RICKYnews: “I want the community to know that we are a shop open for everybody and we have all sorts of pieces and hidden gems. 9 Lives has a great pool of volunteers but we are always on the lookout for more.

“Because we aren’t on the high street we don’t get as many walk-ins as we would in a busier location, but as soon as people discover us, we become a daily or weekly part of their lives.”

Since opening, the charity has sold more than 50,000 items of furniture to more than 13,000 customers. That is the equivalent to around 900 tonnes of usable items which would otherwise have gone to landfill or been burned.

In 2019-2020 alone, 9 Lives sold 2,679 items of furniture and over 2,000 other items including clothes and household goods to 889 customers, saving 45 tonnes from landfill or incineration, around the weight of seven and a half elephants.

Councillor Phil Williams, Three Rivers Lead Member for Environmental Services and Sustainability said: “9 Lives are doing great work to help the district reduce its carbon footprint.

“In the past couple of years, we have seen a definite trend for people who could easily afford to buy new furniture, wanting to reuse instead. The likes of David Attenborough and Greta Thunberg, and popular TV programmes like The Repair Shop have made people wake up to the inconceivable volume of waste produced in the UK alone and the impact it has on our natural world.”

9 Lives Furniture was founded in 2003 by the late Pam Handley, whose voluntary work helped to improve the lives of people across Hertfordshire by looking at which services were needed most in the community.

For more information on the charity head to www.9livesfurniture.org.uk

 

 

 

 

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