A GREEN initiative aimed at people moving house and clearing out old furniture has been given a cash boost as it searches for interns.

Bicester Green, an initiative set up to repair, refurbish and upcycle unwanted items, is launching a Bicester Moves project for those heading to a new home.

The initiative now wants interns to help with the project which will give people moving advice on upcycling their secondhand goods, cutting waste and matching up unwanted items with others on the hunt for furniture.

Centre manager at Bicester Green Emma Gordon said: “Think of Bicester Moves a bit like a dating agency for household items in Bicester. We will link people who need things like furniture, soft furnishings and electricals as they move home with people who have things they no longer need and want to get rid of.

“We started two years ago with just one employee which was myself, all the way through to winning two awards recently and a visit from the Duke of Gloucester. We have almost 30 volunteers helping one way or another, we have come so far.”

The project has received £29,300 funding from Department for Environment for Food and Rural Affairs minister Rory Stewart through sustainability organisation Waste and Resources Action Programme (Wrap).

Bicester Green volunteer Motoko Wingate-Pearse said: “We are very excited because Bicester’s housing situation is growing, so we see it as a very good opportunity to implement this kind of initiative. It will help reduce waste but also create jobs and opportunities for people to learn new skills.”

Bicester Green is based in a warehouse in Station Approach and is linked to the neighbouring Sobell House Hospice charity shop. Both organisations work together for collections of unwanted items that can be upcycled and then sold by the charity to raise funds to support the Oxford hospice.

Bicester Green is looking for two paid interns to work over three days a week, earning £250 a month.

One will collect data and conduct research for the new Bicester Moves project and the other will be designing the project’s promotion and communication material.

To apply for the internship with Bicester Green contact motoko.bicestergreen@gmail.com