About us

The FRN is the national body which supports, assists and develops charitable re-use organisations across the UK . We do this to reduce poverty by helping households in need access furniture, white goods, IT and other household items at affordable prices. In addition, we support re-use organisations in providing training and work placement opportunities for people who are socially excluded.

Approximately 400 re-use organisations work with social and environmental aims across the UK . These vary in size from small local charities to large social enterprises. Some are attached to housing associations, development trusts and councils for voluntary service. The benefits of our members work extends far beyond that which can easily be quantified, for example, rebuilding someone’s confidence or turning the shell of a property into a home. However, the following statistics, based upon our membership form returns, provide just an idea of the impact of our members work.

The sector

• employs over 3,000 staff
• provides training for over 8,000 trainees
• supports over 10,000 volunteers
• helps around 700,000 low income households
• reuses 2.5 million items including 300,000 electrical items and over 200,000 computers
• diverts 90,000 tonnes of waste from landfill

The sector is small but growing. It is able to reprocess electrical items in line with Waste Electrical & Electronic Equipment (WEEE) regulations and is developing partnerships with local authorities to collect bulky waste. We expect the outputs of the sector to double over the next three years with the FRN helping its members to deliver more and better services.