What we learnt operating the garage2green take-back scheme

For anyone considering setting up a re-use-focused take-back scheme similar to garage2green we have listed below a number of key 'take-away' messages and lessons learnt:

1. There is no shortage of redundant golf clubs (and by inference other items of sporting equipment) that members of the public are keen to donate or pass-on
2. Be prepared to receive lots of items following roll-out and initial promotion of such a scheme
3. Unless access to containers is actively monitored and controlled, e.g. through use of locks or placement with access restricted to staff members, expect to see items other than those targeted deposited. Understandably, we received lots of ancillary equipment, e.g. golf clubs in bags, trollies, golf balls, shoes etc. as people looked to clear out all redundant golfing equipment in one go. Our focus was on golf clubs but we did our best to find homes for other items where they were in good, usable, condition
4. Think carefully about your drop-off sites. We found that placing a container at a tourist/corporate golf course is unlikely to yield much material. Infrequent visitors are unlikely to research and plan ahead to deposit old equipment. Uptake is much better at well-established (larger) couyrses with a strong membership base
5. On reflection, having a rolling (visiting) service may have worked well. Given what we found in point 2. above, placing a container at a site for say 1-3 months and then moving it elsewhere would probably have generated a greater yield per container. The benefit of this approach is a need for less containers, albeit they must be easily transportable and sufficiently robust to handle being moved multiple times. Operating on an 'amnesty' type model would also mean hosting staff are likely to promote the service when it arrives, whereas having a container permanently on site may result in the service being forgotten about over time 
6. We received lots of requests from people wishing to drop clubs off in Edinburgh. Ultimately our coverage (around Glasgow (initially) and Inverness) was dictated by the capacity of our Third Sector partner, Blythswood Care, but as you might expect big cities are likely to yield the most deposits
7. Having a local (logistics and fulfilment) delivery partner is critical to success. We established a positive working relationship with Blythswood Care who responded promptly to container delivery and emptying requests and had sufficient warehousing space to enable equipment to be held in advance of sorting and redistribution. Having co-located charity shops also provides backstop outlet for items that cannot be redistributed through other channels, e.g. online