Gideon Rose and James Jarvis at Bright Sparks

Two big recycling projects are encouraging people to reduce waste and help save the planet.

The Bright Sparks project, on the Andover Estate, Holloway, and Stuff for Free, in City Road, Finsbury, are steering old, unwanted goods away from landfill sites and into homes that need them.

At Bright Sparks, 40 refurbished garages on the Andover are being used by teams of volunteers to refurbish old appliances and sell them on at knock down prices.

The items are picked up from empty council houses, then sorted, cleaned and fixed by the Bright Sparks experts for their showroom in Seven Sisters Road.

The project has been so successful a second shop is about to open – plus five volunteers have been trained up and have now found paid jobs.

Diye Wariebi from Bright Sparks said: “This is a great example of the social, economic and environmental benefits that can be achieved when a local authority partners with a social enterprise.

“We’re creating new local jobs, diverting waste from landfill, saving local people money and inspiring young people.

“To date, about 10 per cent of our volunteers have gone on to paid jobs.”

Meanwhile at Stuff For Free, people can get rid of their clutter and pick up some items left by others that they really need.

The give weekend took place on February 23 and 24, and this weekend people can come down and sift through unwanted books, furniture, clothing, toys and gadgets.

The event is being organised in partnership with the North London Waste Authority (NLWA).

Clyde Loakes, chairman of the North LondonWaste Authority which helps stage the event, said: “There really is truth to the saying that one man’s junk is another man’s treasure.

“It’s a great thing too, to see people coming together in these difficult economic times to help save each other a bit of money, while stopping such a large amount of perfectly usable items from being simply thrown away.”

For more information visit www.brightsparksonline.com and www.healthyplanet.org/stuffforfree.