Alloa Community Enterprises (ACE) Recycling Group provides a variety of recycling services to homes and businesses throughout the Stirling area, Clackmannanshire and beyond. For businesses it offers glass, cardboard, can, paper and textile recycling, and much more. For the community it operates a number of textile, bottle, can, paper and plastic recycling banks as well as a kerbside pickup. ACE also collects good quality second hand furniture from homes which is used to provide furniture packs to individuals being re-housed from homelessness. Bedroom, lounge and dining room furniture is accepted, although soft furnishings like mattresses and suites should be fire regulation compliant. No electrical goods or smaller household goods are accepted. See website for more info and for pick up days. ACE is a Scottish Charity that operates profitable waste management businesses which provide employment, improve employability, increase environmental awareness and returns profits to support the social needs of the communities which it serves.

Covering a substantial area of the Highlands, Acharacle Community Company is based in the township of Acharacle, by the west tip of Loch Shiel, approximately 45 miles from Fort William via the A830 and A861. Its area of operation is West Lochaber: the peninsulas west of Loch Linnhe including Ardnamurchan and Morvern. Currently, the organisation is staffed by volunteers and accepts donations of furniture and household goods from across the district although these can also be collected. In the spirit of reusing, sharing and swapping, these items are then made available – for free – to whoever needs them. Its Reuse Shed at Acharacle opens Wednesday 11.30am-1.30pm and Saturday 10am-12noon.

Active4All operates the Yooz project, uplifting unwanted items for a fee then selling those items to anyone who needs them, preventing many tonnes from ending up in landfill. Yooz focuses on surplus materials from the building trade, and also offers house and office clearances. It doesn’t deal in waste, or small domestic items of poor quality. Its main area of activity is Greater Glasgow although uplifts elsewhere in Scotland are considered if the job is big enough and cost-effective. It has two depots: Bellshill deals with the buildings materials, while Neilston handles the domestic and office furniture. Active4All has a long-term aim to create a world-class centre for disabled activities and sports in west central Scotland. Yooz is helping to raise the money needed for this.

Aspire2Gether helps certain local authority and housing association tenants with the basic day-to-day competencies needed for a successful tenancy: for example, paying rent on time, keeping up arrears payments, decorating, gardening, literacy and other basic skills. By helping people become good tenants, Aspire2Gether benefits both those individuals and the local authority or housing association by integrating the tenants more firmly in their local community and preventing problems that could lead to homelessness further down the line. It’s currently planning a furniture recycling scheme to be up and running sometime after April 2011. This will particularly help new and temporary tenants, and those who find it difficult to afford furniture.