£ 1,701,292.43 - So Far........

Figures in from Janauary, and we have now raised over £1.7m for our charity partners since 2005.

What shall I do with this?

Bag It up ltd recycles clothes, shoes and textiles for charities throughout the UK – we have over 900 clothing banks so chances are there may be one near you (go to http://www.bagitup.org.uk/ to find your nearest one).

But what to do with all of the other items that could be reused but the local council will not take them for recycling? Take a look at this blog http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/ there are loads of ideas on here, from what to do with empty foil containers, what to do with used sandwich bags and out of date fruit juice. It really is fascinating!

There are so many things that we use in everyday life that could be reused and recycled. For example the Hampshire & Isle of Wight Air Ambulance is now collecting old stamps to raise funds http://www.hiow-airambulance.org.uk/post.cfm/save-your-stamps-for-the-air-ambulance and the Woodland trust is currently collecting your old Christmas cards http://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/en/take-part/recycle/cards/Pages/christmas.aspx

There are so many things that can be done to reduce the amount of waste we send to landfill with just a few easy steps. I am a regular user of Freecycle, an organisation which allows you collect others unwanted goods and donate goods yourself for free! Check out http://www.uk.freecycle.org/ for further information. Just giving your unwanted clutter away cuts out the amount of material going to landfill (and also means you don't have to lug the item to your nearest tip!).

So next time you are clearing out your clothes to donate to one of our charity partners why not think of some other items which could do with a good home also.


Wendy Eldridge
Web: www.bagitup.org.uk

Frozen Textiles...

During these chilly times, people don't donate as much to the charities.  Please remember to help them out once the snow has thawed, as it's at times like these our Air Ambulances can be the 'only' emergency services that can get to an accident!

If you want to locate your nearest recycling bank, please go to http://www.bagitup.org.uk/

£1,612,687.19 - Donated up to the end of November!

Another great month for our charity partners.

October figures in - £ 1,567,594.37 raised for our charity partners...

We have beaten our 2009 target of £1.5m raised for partner charities with 2 months to spare!!!  On to the next target of £2m by June 2010.

Thanks to everybody who has donated unwanted items in support of our charity partners, I cannot tell you how much they appreciate it!

Latest Total - £ 1,488,689.64

We have just had the September figures in, and we have now raised £ 1,488,689.64 for charities through our recycling efforts!!!  This means we'll be in excess of £1.5m in October, this is outstanding!

2009 Awards for Excellence in Recycling and Waste Management

Bag It Up and Southampton City Council were finalists for the 2009 Awards for Excellence in recycling and waste management in the category of The Best Community Recycling Initiative.

The sixth annual awards were organised by letsrecycle.com to honour the efforts of the private, public and third sector in waste and recycling. This years gala ceremony was held at the Landmark Hotel in London and hosted by television personality and news reader Dermont Murnaghan. Bag It Up and Southampton City Council joined 23 other finalists that made the nine different categories which included, High Street Recycling Champion, Commercial Recycling Champion, Waste Management Initiative In The Commercial and Public Sector, Innovation In Design Of Waste Management Facility, Collection Crew Of The Year, Civic Amenity Site Of The Year, The best local Authority Recycling Initiative and Local Authority Recycling Champion.

We were joined by two other finalist's in our category and were runners up to this award. We achieved this great honour through our strong relationship with Southampton City Council to promote and develop recycling schemes and campaigns with the local residents and community groups. This partnership has seen an over whelming 212 % growth in recycled textiles since 2006, prevented 337.5 tonnes of greenhouse gases being generated in 2008-2009, 225 tonnes of waste diverted into reuse/ recycling in 2008/ 2009 and over 520 tonnes since this project first started, our continued work with Southampton Solent University which involves student design tasks and university recycling initiatives and our combined efforts to organise a very successfull "Enviro Day" in Southampton City Centre to promote recycling and sustainability and support recycling to save lives for the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance.

Click here to see the official awards write-up

Well done to all involved in this fantastic achievement.