Reuse. Reduce. Recycle.
10th January 2020
Buying and selling antiques at auction really is the most sustainable way forward. We'd like to go one step further in 2020 and make every effort to run a more eco-friendly business.
Sustainability of an auction house:
The positive impact we have on the environment is already underlying in Burstow and Hewett. We are constantly enabling the reusing of items by passing them on to new owners; this in turn greatly reduces the amount of waste from our community.
Every month we see hundreds of furniture items come through our doors (and back out again). Passed on to new owners that would have otherwise bought new. As the buyer, not only have we hopefully saved them a great deal of money, their carbon footprint is reduced - no longer opting in to cheaply made flat-pack furniture imported from across the globe. Instead, a solid piece that will last a lifetime and can be redecorated or repurposed if desired.
So, this is what we already do. But what is changing...
Smaller habitual changes:
In 2019, we began making small changes to our daily habits. For example, did you notice we switched our coffee station up to using compostable cups? Even better - we'd love for you to bring your own mug/flask on auction days.
At the end of the year we bought a brand new van! More environmentally friendly everyday we are out on the road. While constantly driving around may not at first thoughts sound eco-friendly, by collecting your items we can consolidate 4 pick-ups in Hastings in to one journey. That is surely better than 4 individual cars/vans coming out to Battle!
In retail, the packaging of items is such a large contributor to landfill. Single use plastic and unecessary materials mount up to have such a large negative impact on our planet. While not offering packaging may feel like as a business we are neglecting our service to you, we do not want you to see our reduction of waste this way. We encourage customers to bring their own boxes and newspaper when collecting items. Any packaging we can offer is that left behind by others and is often old newspapers and boxes that can be reused and then recycled. By not purchasing bubble wrap and plastic bags, we reduce the waste leaving our premises greatly.
We fixed our dripping tap! It may sound small but every little helps.
What's next?
We'd love for you to follow our on-going efforts and perhaps join us in promoting a more sustainable way of living through any changes big or small. If you have purchased any item from Burstow and Hewett that has gone on to be repurposed, repaired, reused please do share it with us on any social media platform using #BoughtAtBurstow.
