Welcome! ...to New Interiors, the monthly email newsletter from Newbury Interiors.

The cost of WEEE

On July 1st new legislation was introduced concerning the disposal of any type of electrical equipment. The objective of the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive is to minimise the impact caused by electrical products to ensure that as much material as possible is recycled and any hazardous material is disposed of safely. All producers of electrical equipment are now required to take responsibility for financing the disposal of their products at end of life.

As a result of this there is a knock-on effect to the users of electrical products as the WEEE Directive allows producers to apply a levy to their products to cover the cost of disposal that they are now responsible for. As each individual producer can implement different methods for the collection and disposal of products it is important for users to be aware of the relevant information.

To learn more about the legislation click here.

To visit the Environment Agency website click here.

Bringing the outdoors inside

Life is the innovative new product range from Whitecroft Lighting that has been designed to simulate the appearance of skylights and provide daylight conditions in any environment. They have taken the Life series into another dimension by providing a unique outdoor effect through the use of natural sky scenes.

The lighting system creates the sensation of a skylight overhead, with blue skies and trees - bringing the outdoors inside through 5 different designs.

Life can fit into a standard suspended ceiling and is particularly suitable for use in hospitals, dental and medical practices as well as in commercial, educational and retail environments.

Click here to see how you can bring your lighting to life.

Green issues - transforming existing buildings

There has been a lot of press recently about the measures being taken to reduce carbon emissions and increase the energy efficiency of our homes, but could more be done to renovate and refurbish existing commercial buildings - 44% of our carbon emissions come from buildings, of which 18% is from the non-domestic sector.

The challenge has been taken up by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors in their recently published, ground breaking report setting out practical recommendations to tackle climate change in the built environment.

They have outlined a 15 point plan for reducing energy use in existing buildings which includes proposals for incentives from government as well as giving some simple, practical measures that could be taken by businesses, which could offer them real savings in energy use.

To read this thought provoking report in full click here.

West Berkshire Council's Superstore office

West Berkshire Council recently approached Newbury Interiors to help them fit out their new enquiry centre office in a Sainsbury's Superstore near Reading. Believed to be the first council office to be located in a supermarket, it is an ideal and convenient location as it already offers easy transport access and free parking. The enquiry centre was previously an unoccupied concession within the supermarket that required extensive fitting out and re-decoration to make it suitable for the council's needs.

Challenges for Newbury Interiors included having to work with a project manager from Sainsbury's to ensure they met the supermarket's own building regulations.

To read more click here.