Essex Enactus team into national final

A group of enterprising University of Essex students aiming to take a stand against illegal dumping and industrial waste in Colchester have been shortlisted for a national award.

Project Tip+ is a student-led furniture recovery project being developed by members of Essex’s Enactus which has won through to the final of the R&Co4Generations – Empowering Generations category of the Ideas4Impact Awards. The awards are organised by Enactus UK & Ireland – which supports students and young people across the country to engage in social action and social enterprise.

Project Tip+ is looking to promote better furniture disposal by offering legal alternatives to disposing of bulky waste such as sofas, mattresses, and white goods. The aim is to reduce fly-tipping in hotspot areas like Greenstead by up to 40%, and the team is currently fundraising to get the project off the ground.

The idea is to collect unwanted furniture items for free so they can be refurbished or resold, or dismantled with materials returned back into the local economy.

The Essex Enactus team includes Sharon Musonza from the Institute for Economic and Social Research, Emmanuel Offei from the Department of Economics, Ryu Bo Young from Essex Business School, and Omaruaye Peters and Yankyai Kanwa from the School of Computer Science and Electronic Engineering.

Sharon said: “Our team is made up of exceptional students who are passionate about social change. We are a team drawn together from various departments but united with one goal of changing the world.”

She added: “It is beautiful to be shortlisted and incredibly rewarding. Being shortlisted validates our efforts, the months of research, fieldwork, and all the innovations that we put energy into. Most importantly, it reinforces our belief that student-led teams can design meaningful solutions to some of the most pressing issues in the community, solutions that can be environmentally meaningful and economically realistic.

“To us, this recognition is not just about the competition, it's also about shining a light on a problem that affects not only the communities in Colchester but nationally. Being shortlisted helps us prove that students can help redesign systems for the better.”

The Essex Enactus team entered the Ideas4Impact competition after identifying fly tipping as the most pressing problem in our community and partnering with Colchester City Council to fully understand the problem in depth.

The team has been supported by Enactus Essex’s 40-plus members, Andy Mew from Essex Startups, the Students’ Union Society team, and the City Council.

Sharon added: “Their contributions have helped shape our project to what it is today.”