It's perhaps the stereotypical view of a University building; dusty shelves filled with books and old documents. Certainly a common sight around the University, storage is a key issue for many departments.
Our Department is no different. In the bowels of the Hopkins Building, up until recently an archive room lay over-bound with shelves full of a myriad of documents and folders. Under-used and over-stocked, the space had become something of a challenge. That's until Roger Biamonti, the Department's Building Services Manager, spotted a 'rolling' shelving system that had been posted on the University's WARPit portal. No longer needed by the Vet School, the shelving was the perfect fit for our problem archive room. Fitted in hardly any time, the rolling system now allows for a more effective use of the space, and makes life easier for the Accounts and Admin Teams.
The best thing? The whole system was free, and Roger's claim on the items prevented them from ending up in a skip and contributing to the University's £1.4M annual bill for waste disposal. It's all thanks to WARPit, the University's free internal re-use platform. As Roger testifies: "We find WARPit an extremely useful site as it enables users to recycle, relocate, or reuse unwanted items. The items we claim may be new or pre-used, but are often a big improvement on items we already have."
Working equipment and usable resources should not be wasted. WARPit is a free service for all Cambridge University staff to share unwanted office and lab equipment. It helps reduce cost, save time and make a positive environmental impact.