Meet Your Maker // Move On Wood
Based in Granton, Move On Wood Recycling focuses on making a positive environmental impact by collecting waste wood, selling reclaimed timber and upcycled furniture, and providing volunteering, training and work experience opportunities for young people.
Managed by charity Move On, the organisation is based on a similar concept that started in Glasgow 25 years ago. FareShare works with the food and drinks industry to save good quality surplus food from going to waste and sending it to organisations working with the most vulnerable people in the community.
Craig explains: “We wanted to use the same model in Edinburgh and that’s where Move On Wood came from. We launched in 2018 as a social enterprise providing young people and those with mental health or additional issues with an opportunity to volunteer, train and gain work experience for future employment through the different strands of our business. They are involved in the collection and processing of the wood, right through to making furniture from recycled wood.”
Recycling is at the heart of the organisation – everything is centred around reusing and cutting down on carbon emissions.
Craig says: “A lot of our sustainability is down to logistics and planning. In terms of collections, we will maximise how much we can get in the van, but minimise how long we are on the road. We have zero waste – nothing goes to landfill. If we can’t resell it, or recycle it, then we use it for biomass fuel.
“We create sustainable jobs, as well as training and volunteering opportunities for local people, especially those who might find it difficult to get into or back to employment. And our affordable waste wood collection service, timber yard and upcycled furniture range offer alternatives that are good for your pocket and the planet.”
Move on Wood became a business member of EOW last year, in particular taking advantage of the large industrial tools and machinery that allow them to cut through donated hardwoods. This has saved a lot of time in the processing stage and has allowed the organisation to take on more work as a result. Craig says the flexibility of the membership is also beneficial as they might only need to use EOW a couple of times a month, and with the PAYG option, they don’t feel that they are wasting money and time.
“We have a very close relationship with EOW,” says Craig. “We send our customers there to do projects and EOW sends customers to us to buy the supplies for their projects. Anybody with a membership at EOW we give a 15% discount. Due to the nature of the open workshop, we get a range of requests – we have people buying palate slabs or just one bit of wood to make a spoon.”
Extending the partnership further, Move On Wood regularly collects waste timber from EOW, so all the off cuts and wood dust created within the workshop are recycled and put to good use. Craig says this is all part of the Move On Wood story.
“People come to us for the reclaimed and recycled elements. Our selling point is that we are green – we can create furniture in an environmentally friendly way and design it exactly how the customer wants it. Leith is very popular for arts and crafts and it is good to be part of this community. Alongside organisations like EOW, we can help each other to meet our sustainability responsibilities, give back and provide services to the local area, and create really good products that people can buy at affordable prices.”
