You can remove your item from the site in a few easy steps.

• Find your item on the site and select the item name.
• On the next screen you will see your items details, at the bottom of that page there is a "Status" section. By selecting the appropriate outcome of your advert you can remove the item from the site.
• All of the options will take the advert off the site except the option "live, my item is still available"

As mentioned previously, Freeuse LA has been developed to provide an easy way to allow Local Authorities and schools in Leicestershire to reuse unwanted office items. However, as you may expect there are certain rules and procedures that must be complied with.

Under procurement and financial rules only items of no or negligible value can be offered for reuse. The cost of legally disposing of the item can also be taken into account when deciding if giving the item for reuse is the best value option. For this reason, any staff wishing to offer an item for reuse must first get permission from their Line Manager, Procurement Officer or other appropriate officer/manager depending on the nature of the item to be offered.

Staff will need to make sure they have permission to put any items on the site and to confirm which tiers they are allowed to offer the item to.

(See "How to give an item" for more details on the tiers).

Freeuse LA can be accessed by staff from Leicestershire local authorities and schools (to Give AND Take items) and by Leicestershire charities and community groups (to Take items ONLY).

Local Authorities & Schools
To access the site you must first register by filling in your details in the registration form provided. If you already have an account using your work email address on Freeuse LeicesterShire you can login with the same account details.Your official local authority (.gov.uk) or school (.leics.sch.uk) email address will automatically enable you to access the Freeuse LA site. All email addresses will be validated before access to the site will be permitted.

Charities & Community Groups
You must first register by creating an account with Freeuse. Please provide your name, email address and set up an account password. If you already have an account on Freeuse LeicesterShire you can login with the same account details. Once logged in, you can request access to Freeuse LA for your charity or community group. You will be asked to provide further details about yourself and your charity or community group. Details will be validated before access to Freeuse LA will be provided. Please note only Leicestershire charities and community groups can register with Freeuse LA.

Staff from all local authorities within Leicestershire can use Freeuse LA. This includes staff from the County, District and Borough councils as well as staff from all local authority schools in Leicestershire. Local authority and school staff can use Freeuse LA to both Give AND Take items.

Leicestershire charities and community groups that are approved registered users of the site can also use Freeuse LA to Take items ONLY.

Remember, the Freeuse LA is provided for the reuse of local authority and school property within and between the local authorities and schools. No personal / non-work related items can be offered on the site and no items can be taken for personal / non-work related use.

Freeuse LA is provided for the reuse of local authority and school property within and between the local authorities and schools. No personal / non-work related items can be offered on the site and no items can be taken for personal / non-work related use.

Only items of no or negligible value should be offered for reuse. The cost of legally disposing of the item can also be taken into account when deciding if giving the item for reuse is the best value option.

Each “donation” should be a separate transaction with no consideration and therefore no contract.

Examples of the types of items that could be offered for reuse are:

• Stationery such as files/folders/storage items etc.
• Items of furniture or shelving if of little or no value
• IT and electrical items if of little or no value and if they have been properly PAT tested and the necessary information security measures have been taken in the case of IT equipment.

Any items not reused by the local authorities and schools can be offered to local charities and community groups if this tier has been selected by the Giver. Items can also be offered to the General Public via the main Freeuse Leicestershire website if this tier has been selected by the Giver.

(See "How to give an item" for more details on the tiers).

If you have an item to offer for reuse first click on the “Give” button, this will open the “Add Item” page that allows you to add details of the item you wish to offer for reuse.

You will first be asked to tick a number of boxes to confirm that you have the necessary permissions from your Line Manager, Procurement Officer or other appropriate officer/manager depending on the nature of the item to be offered.

You will then be asked to provide the following:

• Item Name – The name/type of item e.g. 20 lever arch folders, office chair
• Item Category – Choose the most appropriate category from the list provided. Note: most items will fall into the “Photo, Office and Phones” category.
• Item Description – This is your opportunity to provide more details about the item such as colour, condition, age, size etc. Provide information that will assist someone in deciding whether they could reuse the item.
• Item Location - This is the location of the item being offered. Choose the nearest town/village from the list provided. This information will help any potential takers to decide whether they could travel to collect the item.
• Upload Photo of Item – Here you can upload a photo of the item by following the instructions provided. Adding a photo makes your item look better, and dramatically increases the chances of your item being taken.

You are then asked to provide your Contact Details:

• Contact Name – provide your name
• Contact Telephone – provide your daytime telephone number
• Contact Email – provide your work email address
• Authority – choose from the list provided which authority you work for or indicate that you work at a local authority school.
• Choosing Tier - your item can either be offered to only within your local authority or to all local authorities.

Once you have completed all the required fields, check that you have provided the correct information and click Submit. The information you have provided will be sent to our Moderation Team to be checked, once authorised your item will go live on the Freeuse LA site.

Now sit back and relax...

All you have to do now is wait for someone to get in touch with you to take your item. When it has been taken by another Freeuser, or if you decide you want to keep the item or dispose of it another way, you can go back to your item listing and change the ‘status’. This will take the item off the website and means that no one else will contact you about it. When you are logged in, you will see how much (in kilos) you have saved from going to landfill – this is based on the items you have listed which have been Freeused.

The Leicestershire Waste Partnership (LWP) is comprised of Leicestershire’s seven District Councils and the County Council. Bound by a Memorandum of Understanding, the Partnership collectively works towards it’s primary aim of improving the management of municipal waste in Leicestershire. Leicester City is an associate member, as it has made its own arrangements.

The Partnership and it's members also have a commitment to lead by example in the reduction of their own waste and Freeuse LA is one of the ways it is doing this.

You can remove your item from the site in a few easy steps.

• Find your item on the site and select the item name
• On the next screen you will see your items details, at the bottom of that page there is a "Status" section. By selecting the appropriate outcome of your advert you can remove the item from the site.
• All of the options will take the advert off the site except the option "live, my item is still available"

The website is owned and operated by the Leicestershire Waste Partnership. The partnership is made up of the seven Leicestershire Districts or Borough Councils and the County Council.

Searching the site for an item is really easy. You can type the item you are looking for in the search bar at the top of the page, or you can use the search bar to look for an item by category or location.

It really helps find a new home for your item. If users can see the items they are more likely to want to take your item. It is really easy to put a picture on your advert and we can accept almost all types of photo.

RSS feeds are a way of delivering regularly changing web content. On a site such as Freeuse, items can come and go within hours, so you will want to keep up to date with any changes.

You can view site content without visiting each site individually, many sites use this format as a way of allowing users quick access to new information.

We have the small orange RSS Feed logo at the bottom of the item pages. We also have a help button next to it, that way you can iron out any problems.

Searching the site for an item is really easy. You can type the item you are looking for in the search bar at the top of the page, or you can use the search bar to look for an item by category or location.

Freeuse is the right place to come. We have a step by step guide on our "Give" page, follow the link to view the simple steps to placing an advert and having your item freeused.

Freeuse is run by the Leicestershire Waste Partnership, it was started by North West Leicestershire in July 2008 and has since been expanded to the whole of Leicestershire and Leicester City. For more information follow this link to the "About Freeuse" page.

 You do not need to register if you want to take an item.

The original freeuse site involved no login process but it was limited in what it could offer the user. A very short and simple registration process increases the security for the user, makes the site more productive, and keeps the site as easy to use as possible.

It really helps find a new home for your item. If users can see the items they are more likely to want to take your item. It is really easy to put a picture on your advert and we can accept almost all types of photo.

Yes. We often have users who place adverts on the site for friends or relatives who do not have a computer. This is easily done and means that you can still place and advert without a computer.

We also recommend using the local library. There are plenty of computers available and staff that can help you get started, that way you are more in control of what you place on the site.

RSS feeds are a way of delivering regularly changing web content. On a site such as freeuse, items can come and go within hours, so you will want to keep up to date with any changes.

You can view site content without visiting each site individually, many sites use this format as a way of allowing users quick access to new information.

We have the small orange RSS Feed logo at the bottom of the item pages. We also have a help button next to it, that way you can iron out any problems.