Furniture recycling charity Richmond Furniture Scheme has unveiled its new electric van.

The Deputy Mayor of Richmond Upon Thames, Councillor Fiona Sacks attended the event, which took place on 6 November, for the official ribbon cutting ceremony.

The Deputy Mayor thanked the scheme for the 30 years of dedicated work in the borough and community. In her speech, Councillor Sacks said: “Richmond Furniture Scheme actively helped protect the environment through its upcycling and its repair workshop, reducing the amount of furniture that’s being sent to landfill with the acquisition of this new greener cleaner electric van. This wonderful local charity and its volunteers will continue to achieve its goal and provide invaluable service to the whole of the community for many years to come.

“Thank you to Simon, the team and the volunteers for all they do for the borough. It is hugely appreciated by the Borough and across the Borough. So I’m thrilled to welcome Vanessa, clean, green, quiet electric van and Richmond Furniture Scheme’s newest member to the Borough. I declare her open for business.”

The charity added: “We would like to say thank you to the Deputy Mayor of Richmond Upon Thames, Cllr Fiona Sachs, for coming to cut the ribbon. We would also like to officially extend our thanks to our van sponsors, who made upgrading our environmental objectives possible and ensured that we could continue to serve our community.”