In recent weeks the Acorn Reuse Centre, in Trinity, has sold a piano, a gramophone and a table football table, and the executive director said their new centre was going ‘better than expected’.
Last year, Acorn Enterprises – which is the trading company of the Jersey Employment Trust – was awarded the contract to manage the new recycling centre at La Collette by the Infrastructure Department.
Islanders can take their recyclable items to the centre at La Collette and any suitable items which can be upcycled and repaired are sold at Acorn’s base in Trinity. All the money raised is reinvested in the charity, which trains and supports local people with disabilities and long-term health conditions.
Jocelyn Butterworth, executive officer at the Jersey Employment Trust, said that the centre said: ‘We can’t believe what kind of items some people chuck away.
‘Someone dropped a brand-new Dyson vacuum cleaner in this week which his wife had only used a couple of times and didn’t like.
‘We are lucky that items are coming in as quickly as we sell them. We want to reuse as many items as possible, so it’s fantastic we are getting so much in.
‘It’s the best thing we have ever done but it’s been a lot of work.’
Since opening the new centre, the Jersey Employment Trust has created 15 jobs for people with disabilities. It has also donated a number of items to Autism Jersey, Headway, Mind Jersey and the Salvation Army – to sell in their charity shops.
Last month the charity submitted plans to replace a polytunnel at the site with a more permanent structure. If the plans are approved the project is expected to cost £600,000. The new shed would provide a retail unit, workshop and store.
Ms Butterworth said: ‘The centre has provided a fantastic opportunity for us to create a realistic retail experience for the people working with us because it is so busy.
‘We have a tutor who comes in for a few hours one day a week who teaches our clients how to upcycle and give the items a really nice professional finish.
‘We also have people who work for us who have a history in antiques – they will give items a once-over before we put a price on them.
‘I think a lot of people give more expensive items to us because we are a charity rather than taking them to the tip.’
The charity recently received £5,000 after it was named Large Charity of the Year in this year’s Jersey Charity Awards, run by the Association of Jersey Charities and the Ana Leaf Foundation.
Acorn is planning to hold a furniture sale in the coming weeks where they will be selling the majority of items for £1.
