Casla Conversations... with Paula Gibson, Communications Manager at Waste To Wonder Worldwide

Millie Hurst, 13th October 2025

Joining me on a Google Meet call from her home in Shropshire, her dogs occasionally making an appearance, Paula Gibson shared her views on the importance of storytelling in marketing, the ripple effect of Waste To Wonder WorldWide’s initiatives, and how she cries every day at work – she assures me this is for ‘all the right reasons.’

Waste To Wonder Worldwide is a social enterprise that repurposes office furniture to support schools and charities in underserved communities worldwide. We talked about daily operations, the biggest lessons she has learnt, and the turning points that have shaped her working life.

At Casla, we’re interested in sustainability and the circular economy, with experience working with a number of social enterprises and B Corps. Waste To Wonder is doing great things: 97% of what they collect is reused, 3% is recycled, and none goes to landfill.

What does Waste to Wonder Worldwide do?

‘We take furniture and equipment from office buildings and redistribute it to schools and charities around the world. Our “school in a box” initiative ships a 40-foot shipping container full of furniture to our charity partners who then redistribute it to schools, communities, hospitals, and orphanages across the globe,’ says Paula.

‘We redistribute everything from generators and commercial kitchens to furniture and sanitary products. We have a very small storage facility, but everything goes instantly. We never want to throw furniture at charities if they don’t need it, because then it will end up in landfill. So we ask for wishlists from our charity partners to ensure we are not overwhelming them with things they don't need.’

Paula’s team is currently promoting a fundraising dinner for a sustainability cookery school they’re building in The Gambia. ‘We’ve bought the land and we’ve raised £49,000 out of the £100,000 target to build the school and buy a hydrogen cooking system. Social enterprises and our corporate partners have donated beer and raffle prizes, and we've got award-winning chefs coming to cook the meal for free, and performances from Gambian musicians.’

What has been the biggest turning point in your career?

‘My dad died a couple of years ago, and it put things into perspective about what I wanted to do with my life,’ says Paula. Previously, she worked at an events company, and realised she was ready for a change. ‘Even when you work at a great company, the targets and the KPIs are tough. I wanted to have a job where I'm making a difference every day,’ she adds.

Paula’s team often receives videos that show just how much of an impact the furniture and equipment make on the communities receiving them. ‘It’s mindblowing,’ says Paula. ‘A set of furniture can change people’s lives – children can sit at their own desk rather than being stuck three to a desk. They take so much pride in the furniture we send.

‘We also build solar-powered borewells for communities. One man, Keta, was 65 years old and had never had access to running water. It means so much more than just having clean water – often, the children have been walking six miles every day to collect water, but the borewell means they can now go to school.

‘The water is also used to water the crops, so they can have food to feed the entire community, and can sell anything left over at the market. That money goes towards education and other things they might need, so the whole circular economy piece creates another circular economy. Children are teaching their parents how to read and write in the schools. So if you could actually measure the ripple effects that it's having, it's huge.’

How has post-Covid hybrid working affected Waste To Wonder?

‘In some ways, it's great because companies want to make the workplace more attractive so people will go into the office and be more productive. I think when lockdown started, we were all incredibly productive because that was the new normal, but going into the office and being with your colleagues – that's where the ideas happen.

‘So people want the nice acoustics and the furniture and the coffee machines that will attract people to come in. The nice meeting rooms with all the fancy AV equipment, and they want to update that every four or five years.

‘This is great from our perspective, because we can take it away, and that furniture still has a great life cycle, because it's still so new. In Ghana, there's an issue with logging at the moment, so the government have said no more wooden furniture can be produced, because they've depleted their forests.

‘That's great for us, because we have loads of wooden furniture that comes out of clearances, which is great for schools and communities over there. That's the thing with the impact, it's not just giving a desk to someone in a school, it’s giving them the chance to regenerate their forests.’

What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learnt in your career?

‘Be human, be compassionate, and listen to people. The most valuable thing to me is connections. I've made friends for life through work, who you wouldn't expect. You're nothing without your connections, are you?’

How do you switch off?

‘Well, I live in the middle of nowhere, on a farm. It’s stunning. I'm so obsessed with reuse – honestly, I must be so annoying to my husband. I try to put everything sustainability-wise in work life into my home life, so cutting down food waste and making sure we’re using everything – I made asparagus butter at the weekend. I love cooking and just being outside.’

Tool you can’t live without?

‘My colleague Tom, he's incredible. He does all of our design and videos. They're just so beautifully done. I definitely couldn't live without him.

‘The impact reporting side is really important as well. If we didn't have that, we wouldn't be able to tell the stories that we can tell. All of our clients are choosing to do the right thing. That’s the hardest part – not many people know that reuse is a solution, and think the right thing to do is recycle.

‘So it's that storytelling piece which Tom does perfectly, along with the impact reporting, along with people choosing to do the right thing if they know that it's a solution. So it's really educating the industry to know that reuse is a solution.’

Last great piece of B2B content you saw?

‘I follow Vojtech Vosecky, who's big in sustainability. He's big on circular economy and reuse and always posts really incredible stuff on LinkedIn. He posted about a Netflix documentary on waste, which was really interesting.’

What’s your favourite marketing buzzword (that you secretly love)?

'Content is king.'

Biggest marketing myth?

‘That having a great product or service is enough. I really do think it's all about the storytelling and getting people to do the right thing.’