In the last 12 months, the British Heart Foundation’s (BHF) 160 furniture and electrical stores have diverted over 26,000 tonnes of used furniture and electrical items from landfill, the charity has announced.

According to BHF’s latest data, over one million 'unwanted' items were reused, resold or recycled between April 2012 and April 2013, including 61,000 sofas, 100,000 TVs and 55,000 beds and mattresses.

By collecting unwanted items via a free collection service, household clearances and by working with Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRC), BHF collected 1.3 million items for reuse, reselling or recycling in the past year.

Any broken waste electronic and electrical equipment (WEEE) left at HWRCs or stores was taken to repairers to be fixed for resale or sent for recycling.

This helped the charity raise over £31 million to help the fight ‘the nation’s biggest killer’, heart disease.

Mike Taylor, BHF Retail Director, said: “It is estimated that the UK throws away over one million tonnes of household items into landfill every year. We want to encourage people to think more carefully about what they do with their unwanted furniture and electrical items by donating to us.

“Not only do we offer a free collection service to make recycling as easy as possible but all the money raised helps us continue the fight against heart disease.”

Marcus Gover, WRAP Director, added: “Our research shows that more than half of all bulky waste items, such as furniture and electrical goods, which are currently taken to household waste and recycling centres (HWRCs) could be reused.

“It also reveals that 40 per cent of similar items collected at the kerbside, such as sofas and TVs, could be reused. Organisations like the BHF have an important role in helping to capture this potential and reduce the volume of material being sent to landfill.”

Read more about the British Heart Foundation’s work.