Our story
Warp It was established in 2013 by Daniel O'Connor following in the footsteps of his rag and bone man grandfather. Applying the principles of websites such as eBay and Freecycle, Daniel designed the web-based system to allow users to donate, sell, and rent unwanted items inside their own organisation, diverting waste from landfill while reducing costs and carbon.
To date, total financial savings made by the Warp It community are over £42 million, while waste diverted from landfill has reached 5.7 million kg and carbon saved is over 19 million kg, and donations to charity are over £6 million.
Daniel explained: "I've always had a bit of an obsession with rubbish. My great grandfather was a rag and bone man in Morpeth, so I think there's something in my blood. I created Warp it out of a need. While working in the waste management sector, I saw too many perfectly good items being thrown away.”
Annual global waste is expected to reach 3.4 billion tonnes by 2050, and global population is predicted to grow to 9.7 billion by 2050. Projections by the United Nations estimate we will need the equivalent of three planets to sustainably support current resource consumption rates. This makes it clear organisations and businesses must swiftly implement circular economy strategies.
Daniel said: “Our vision has always been to be a network where buying new is the last resort and nothing is wasted. A network where reusable items are redistributed for their second and third useful lives. When the items fail, they are diverted into repair and reintroduced later.”
Warp It makes it easy to swap surplus work items within organisations and externally to other organisations, charities, and not-for-profits. Members comprises a wide range of organisations. This includes NHS Trusts, universities in the UK and abroad, local authorities, and colleges. And over 2,000 charities and non-profit groups in the UK and overseas are part of the community.
Our advice
With the anticipated rise in global waste and population, adopting circular economy strategies is essential. Warp It exemplifies how a shift towards reusing and recycling can significantly cut down waste and environmental impact. And it's easier than you may think! Check out our top reuse tips at https://blog.warp-it.co.uk/top10reusetips
Our metrics
The Warp It performance league table demonstrates the dedication and the support of its growing community in the fight to reduce waste, carbon and the strain on our planet is making an impressive impact.
