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.

Ten years later, total financial savings made by the Warp It community are at £36,574,108, while waste diverted from landfill has reached 5,028,392 kg and carbon saved is 26,825,039 kg. 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.

The performance league table (above) demonstrates the dedication and the support of Warp It and its growing community in the fight to reduce waste, carbon and the strain on our planet is making an impressive impact.

Daniel concluded:

“We must transform all the elements of the take-make-waste system. Shifting to a circular economy is a recognised solution to address the climate crisis and reuse is a crucial element of this. The last decade of reuse with Warp it has achieved remarkable results and we’re looking forward to continuing the reuse revolution for another 10 years and beyond.” 

Make circularity a priority for your organisation and start reusing today. Take the online tour and get in touch to join the Warp It reuse community.

Start reusing today and register with Warp It.

Read our guide to reuse.

Why reuse? The benefits of reusing.