Our measures

How we measure and report our data

As a social enterprise, we need to track a range of factors from service quality to social benefit to ensure we’re doing the best we can for the people and businesses that depend on us. Some things we can measure directly, some things need to be defined in order to pin down a number, and some things we have to estimate. You can learn more about how we do this below.

Collections

Volume and weight of wood collected

Reuse

High/low grade reuse and recycling

Environment

Reduction in emissions and fuel use

Social impact

People trained and employed

0 cubic yards of wood collected*

*as of January 2025

Cubic yards (yds3) collected

Collection volume forms the foundation of how we track how much wood we’re collecting. Volume is measured during loading using volume markers on our vehicles and confirmed by a representative of the client when the waste transfer note is signed.

Tonnes collected

Weight is estimated based on volume, at a conversion of 10 cubic yards to 1 tonne1. The actual weight of wood can vary substantially depending on density and moisture, but given wood typical of our collection customers, we find that 1 tonne per 10 cubic yards is a good average. Bulk recyclers often weigh waste using weighbridges, but these can be expensive to purchase and run and we want to keep costs as low as possible for new enterprises.

0% reused as timber
0% community reuse

Reuse and recycling

The reuse suitability of the wood in each load is determined either when the collection is made or when the wood is sorted back at the enterprise. This information is reported on our collection summaries and social and environmental impact reports.

High Grade Reuse

High quality wood, such as sturdy lengths of timber, which can be either sanded and resold or used in our workshops to create products like shelving and planters.

Low Grade Reuse

Scrap wood unsuitable for production or resale as timber, but usable as firewood or kindling, and often donated to the community for uses like arts and crafts or raised allotment beds.

Recycling

Everything which can’t be reused is taken to the nearest bulk recycling facility, where it’s recycled into woodchips. Most wood recycled this way is processed into biomass for power stations or particleboard.

0 tonnes CO2e saved
0 gallons of fuel saved

Greenhouse gas reduction

We calculate the reduction in emissions represented by our activity based on Carbon WARM, which is a lifecycle-based tool created by the Waste Resources Action Programme (WRAP) to assess the greenhouse gas impact of waste management options2. It reflects the emissions avoided when recycled materials displace virgin material production, minus the emissions produced by the recycling activity itself, and is given in terms of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e). Figures reported are based on factors for:

Wood-based biomass

Burning wood for energy offers a carbon-neutral alternative to fossil fuels for baseload power, reducing emissions by about 310 kg CO2e per tonne of wood used in this way.

Wood recycling

Reused timber and particleboard products displace virgin wood, reducing emissions by about 480 kg CO2e per tonne recycled.

Our reduction estimates are not compatible with carbon inventories or mandatory reporting but can be used alongside these to gain a more complete understanding of the impact of wood waste recovery. The calculation represents our current best approximation, and may change on the basis of future research.

To find out more about the methodology used and how it relates to scope 3 reporting, the GHG protocol and the waste hierarchy, use the link below.

Gallons of fuel saved

Our 3.5 tonne caged vehicles can achieve a fuel efficiency of 25 miles per gallon of diesel, while skip lorries can manage at most 9.5 miles per gallon3. Assuming a load weight of 1 tonne and an average round transport distance of 25 miles, that’s a difference of 1.6 gallons of fuel per tonne collected.

0 years of paid work
0 volunteers trained

Jobs and training

To ensure we keep meeting our objective of changing lives, we track various statistics about the people working and volunteering in the network. The main measures we report are the levels of employment and training supplied in the network, measured in weeks.

Weeks of paid work

Each month, we record the number of people working in the network. This is then added up to get the number of months worked, and multiplied to get the number of weeks. We count both full-time and part-time work in this measure. For many people in the network, these jobs provide invaluable opportunities, like establishing a recent work history for those out of work for a long time, or providing flexible employment for those who require support.

Weeks of training

We record 1 ‘training day’ for each day a volunteer attends an enterprise for at least 2 hours, although a typical day would be about 5 hours. This is then divided by 5 to get the number of ‘work weeks’ of training provided. This training is not formally accredited but during this time volunteers are trained in collection and workshop safety according to our internal modules and receive mentoring and on-the-job training from our staff, as well as other forms of support such as help managing disabilities.

To help our clients demonstrate the social benefit of using our service, we supply Social and Environmental Impact Reports that estimate the impact of their contribution, given in terms of the network average social outcomes per tonne collected in the given timeframe. In 2025 we created approximately 60 weeks of employment and 9 weeks of training per 100 tonnes collected. Using this as a baseline, we can estimate a client’s impact on the basis of the tonnage we have collected from them. This reflects not just the impact of the collection work itself, but also the additional workshop and retail positions we’re able to provide because of the income and raw materials provided by collections.

Sources

  1. Volume to weight conversion: Based on a sample of 30 collections carried out by Southampton Wood Recycling in 2018
  2. Factors for wood outcomes: CarbonWARM2 (WRAP 2025)
  3. Comparative fuel efficiency: Ford dealership, Dinnages, Worthing

It’s important to us that our measures are transparent and reliable. If you have any questions about our calculations, or if you have a suggestion for how we could improve our reporting, please get in touch.