Surplus NHS supplies find new life helping those in need

Six months after launching Warp It, the Wellcome Sanger Institute is already seeing impressive results. The programme has been widely adopted across Sanger, with 407 staff actively sharing surplus lab and office equipment and hundreds of items already rehomed.

Reuse has saved more than £27,300, avoided over 2 tonnes of waste, and cut 25 tonnes of carbon.

The University of Liverpool has reached one year of reuse with Warp It since its launch during Sustainability Week 2025. In just 12 months, the initiative has saved £315,000, prevented 38.2 tonnes of waste, and avoided 144.1 tonnes of carbon emissions.

The scheme is powered by 1,325 active staff users, and numbers are still climbing.

Five hospital trusts in Lancashire and South Cumbria have given unwanted office and ward furniture and clinical equipment a second life, saving more than £900,000 and reducing carbon emissions and waste.

Warp It was first piloted at Lancashire Teaching Hospital in 2015/16. After the scheme quickly proved its value by saving money while cutting waste and carbon the decision was taken to roll it out across other hospital trusts in Lancashire and South Cumbria. The regional rollout has since helped embed reuse into day-to-day operations, ensuring surplus items are put back into use rather than thrown away.

Fife Council’s reuse programme with Warp It is spreading across the county, helping public services save money, cut waste, and reuse resources instead of buying new.

From office desks and hospital beds to a piano, a dishwasher, and football goal posts, the scheme shows almost anything can be reused. Teachers often claim stationery and classroom supplies, while council staff share resources across departments.

The project is coordinated by Beth Ritchie, Graduate Project Officer and Kirsty Early, Environmental Strategy Officer both working in the Climate, Nature & Sustainability Team. Beth said: "The reuse ripple effect across Fife has been amazing in such a short time. Warp It doesn’t just save money; it’s also helping us reach our bigger climate and net zero targets showing how the circular economy can make a real difference."

In 2025 alone, Salford University’s reuse programme saved £32,000 and donated £10,000 worth of items to charities and other organisations. Six tonnes were reused, equivalent to 28,500 kilograms of carbon saved.

Derbyshire Community Health Services NHS Foundation Trust has recently donated a wide range of medical supplies and equipment via Warp it to help people who need it.

In the UK alone, an estimated 1.2 million perfectly good office desks and 1.8 million chairs are sent to landfill every year. 

One month since launching Warp It as part of Sustainability Week 2025, the University of Liverpool has saved nearly £30,000, as staff embrace reuse.

Hospitals, universities, councils, charities, and many other organisations are ditching the throwaway culture and embracing reuse thanks to Warp It.