A new exhibition at the Museum of London is highlighting an entrepreneurial waste-saving idea by Caroline Keppel-Palmer, that makes it easy for museums to recycle unwanted items.

Since the launch of Museum Freecycle in 2014, when it was the first industry freecycle group in the world, it’s grown into a well-oiled machine serving museums, galleries and science centres UK-wide.

Keppel-Palmer used to work for a design and architecture studio and noticed that when temporary exhibitions closed, the equipment was often thrown out.

“Showcases, plinths and mannequins worth thousands and sometimes even tens of thousands of pounds were being thrown away simply because museums lacked the space to store them,” says Keppel-Palmer.

By posting items on the dedicated area of the Freecycle website, museums allow other attractions to get the equipment they need at no cost. Keppel-Palmer has seen everything from display cases and furniture to a fibreglass cow and a Victorian Courtroom dock change hands on the site.

“Recently, the volunteer-run Bloxham Village Museum replaced their homemade donations jam jar with a beautiful purpose built donation box from the Natural History Museum, which they sourced through Freecycle,” says Keppel-Palmer.

The 650-member group has helped the museum sector become more sustainable and as it’s managed voluntarily by Keppel-Palmer, it’s free to users and the taxpayer.

“By diverting waste to productive use, it is improving efficiency and saving museum budgets. Since its inception, Museum Freecycle has given a second lease of life to many hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of museum items,” she says.

The exhibition, The City is Ours, looks at the way modern cities are changing and what global urban communities are doing to improve city life. Museum Freecycle is one of 25 innovative projects chosen by the Museum of London for the exhibit.

“It’s an honour to be a part of The City is Ours,” Keppel-Palmer says.“Curator Foteini Aravani compiled a list of projects – from sustainable food schemes to state-of-the-art technological ventures – that are working towards the sustainability of London. Foteini purposely selected projects that are in their infancy and immediate in their impact. Foteini chose to feature Museum Freecycle as an example of how we can help one another within a particular field.”

The City is Ours runs from 14 July to 2 January 2018. Keppel-Palmer also runs Museum Bookstore, which is an online store specialising in museum and exhibition publications.