Do you ever finish a DIY project and end up with bits you don’t need? A tin of paint, some old decking, a kitchen sink? Wouldn’t it be great if there was a place you could go to give them away so that someone else could make use of them. How about a place that you could check to see if unwanted DIY materials were available for free for a project you want to do? Well now there is and it’s called DIYGogo! An innovative new website for giving away unwanted DIY waste. I interviewed Alex from DIYGogo who told me more about the site.

Tell me about DIYGogo

DIYGogo is a new website dedicated to repurposing DIY waste. We are a National Lottery funded Community Interest Company, with the following core objectives :

• To increase up-cycling and reuse of unwanted DIY materials
• To increase property maintenance and restoration opportunities for the financially marginalised.
• To reduce the amount of DIY waste going to incineration and landfill

The service is intended for for anyone to use including individuals and businesses across the UK. Both the service and the items are free – we cover our overheads from donations made by users.

Why did you set up the site?

Through my experience in the building trade, I noticed that an incredible amount of materials that could be reused would end up in the skip. Things like sinks, baths, kitchen units, timber, tiles, insulation, windows and more. The point came when I felt I had to try and do something about it. Especially now that our choices bear more heavily then ever. So I decided to set up DIYGogo around 2 years ago so that people could give their unwanted DIY waste away to be up-cycled.

There are various sites that you can give things away for free on. What is the advantage to posting DIY stuff on DIYGogo

There are other sites that serve to up-cycle unwanted goods, such as Freegle and Freecycle. However, these services don’t directly address the DIY sector. I felt there was a need for a service dedicated to up-cycling DIY reusables. The website is organised into DIY categories to make the search process simple, and every consideration has been taken to ensure the website is easy, convenient and safe for the user.

What is your vision for the future of DIYgogo?

In future we’d like to look into social development programmes, such as running course at schools; exploring the concept of up-cycling, using construction as an example. By demonstrating the potential of ‘waste’, we can contribute to the shift towards a more balanced society, that I see as so fundamental for the sake of our future. We’d also like to provide free courses to the community to develop DIY skills – brick laying for example. These skills can then be applied as professions, helping individuals to finding work or starting up businesses. There’s many ways we could take it, so it’s pretty exciting!

Get involved and join in with the DIYgogo Big Exchange on the 22nd April, by posting as many DIY re-usables as you can to really help things going. So if you have any bricks, tins of paint, timber or baths lying around, please stick them up on DIYgogo. No disposal trips or costs for you, you’d be helping others, and you’re doing something for the environment. Big thanks!

Thanks to Alex from DIYGogo for answering my questions. Let’s help him make this project a success – either by joining in on the 22nd April or trying out the site next time you have some DIY waste!