In six months a landmark scheme has collected over 1000 items to be reconditioned or recycled.

The Vine Project linked up with Sutton Council late last year to collect bulky household waste to be reconditioned and passed on, or broken up into its parts for recycling.

Since opening in the St Nicholas Centre on Sutton High Street, The Vine Project has collected almost 2,000 cubic metres of bulky waste totalling an incredible 78 tonnes - the same weight as 66 typical family cars.

Three quarters of the household furniture collected is made up of sofas, armchairs, beds and mattresses.

Monica Tyler, Vine Project chief executive, said: "We collect a lot of sofas and chairs and on one occasion collected a sofa that had clearly been outside for some time as there were birds nesting in it."

Councillor Colin Hall, deputy leader of Sutton Council, said: "I'm really pleased to see The Vine Project doing so well. Their efforts have helped create a value-for-money service which is increasingly useful in this tough economic climate.

"They are providing employment opportunities for local people and through their work, helping to reduce landfill making Sutton a cleaner, greener borough."

Anyone who has an item for collection can arrange to have it picked up by visiting sutton.gov.uk/largewastecollection or thevineproject.co.uk/donate.