Wolverhampton Wood Recycling in the news
Wolverhampton Wood Recycling CIC – the newest member of our Community Wood Recycling network – has been featured by the BBC for the inspiring social and environmental impact they’re already bringing to the local community.
Founded by Jim Brennan and Eimert de Graaff, the social enterprise is already proving just how transformative rescued wood can be. Since launching at the end of last year, they’ve been getting stuck in to all the work of a busy wood recycling project.
As the BBC explains, Jim and Eimert have brought together a dedicated team of volunteers ranging from people in their early twenties to those well into their seventies, who collect unwanted timber from building sites, sort it, clean it and give it a second life. This rescued wood is either sold for DIY projects or transformed into hand‑crafted items including benches, bird boxes and bespoke pieces. Their newly opened retail area is already proving popular, and the project is steadily building its presence while saving wood from the waste stream across a wide area stretching from west Birmingham to Stoke-on-Trent, Worcester, Shrewsbury and Oswestry. Meanwhile, their volunteers, many of whom are marginalised or dealing with challenges in their lives, are benefitting from the opportunity to develop their skills, build their confidence, and be part of a beacon of sustainability in their local community.
Jim and Eimert are now working to develop a Men’s Shed, offering a safe, welcoming space where people experiencing isolation, particularly men post‑retirement, can come together, make things, talk, and support one another. With future plans for a repair café, skills workshops, and more paid roles to fight unemployment, they’re building a community.
Jim’s own experience with mental health challenges alongside his professional work in the charity sector has shaped his vision for the organisation. As he told the BBC, recycling wood is just the start:
“It’s using the recycling of used wood to do good in the community… give it a new life.”
Eimert brings his own perspective too, having retired five years ago and wanting to give something back. “It keeps me fit,” he says – and anyone who has stepped inside a wood recycling workshop knows exactly what he means.
We’re incredibly proud to welcome Wolverhampton Wood Recycling into the Community Wood Recycling network and thrilled to see their inspiring approach recognised by the BBC. Their belief in using waste wood to change lives reflects the values that underpin our entire movement.