The University of Queensland is sixth in the world for total savings achieved under WARPit, the global office furniture and equipment reuse program. Nearly 4,500 items have been re-used by UQ staff in the past two years.
Ranked just below prestigious institutions such as the University College of London and the University of Edinburgh, UQ is the only Australian university to make it into the top 10. Global program participants also include city councils, hospitals and other organisations with intensive equipment requirements.
UQ Principal Program Officer – Sustainability, Christine McCallum, set up WARPit at the University, and has overseen it ever since.
“We’re so pleased to see UQ WARPit is genuinely useful to people and has become a ‘first port of call’ for many staff now when they are seeking furniture or other office items.
“We also have stationery and lab equipment available through the system, and it’s great to see unwanted gear end up in new hands, rather than just the recycling bin – or worse, landfill.
“The circular economy concept of WARPit is terrific, and it is helping the University to achieve both waste reduction and savings in procurement costs.”
Register to use UQ WARPit here today.
WARPit at UQ
Since the program was implemented at UQ in 2020, UQ staff have re-used 4,344 items.
WARPit founder, Daniel O’Connor, said this was a strong track record.
“What has particularly stood out in the University of Queensland’s participation, however, is how much its staff seem to enjoy using the system,” Daniel said.
“We receive a lot of positive feedback from the University of Queensland staff. Your commitment to re-use and recycling is a result for the entire University community to be proud of.”
A range of WARPit users’ feedback and experiences are published on the WARPit website. Comments from UQ users include:
“It’s been really easy to exchange items with people.”
“This is an awesome service where discarded items find new homes.”
“This service has helped us with saving revenue and solving some storage issues, but it has also delivered a networking component. It has opened discussions around the University and helped with resource sharing, service opportunities and collaboration.”
What is WARPit?
WARPit is an online resource sharing tool that allows staff at participating organisations to post unwanted items for collection. It helps staff to save money, reduce waste and optimise property utilisation across an organisation.
Launched in the United Kingdom in 2013, WARPit now operates across the UK and the European Union, in the United States and Canada, and throughout Australia and New Zealand.
In addition to keeping perfectly usable assets circulating round an organisation, WARPit enables its participants to pass on items that aren’t eventually claimed to charities or registered partner organisations, thereby further minimising materials sent to landfill.
Want to know more? It’s easy to start using UQ WARPit. See how you can register today.
