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Towards zero waste: Don't bin it .... bank it

16 Jun 2009

Donate unwanted items to STARS' reuse and recycle scheme

recycling banks

"Each year in Britain, we throw away 28 million tonnes of rubbish from our homes. This weighs the same as three and a half million double-decker buses. A queue of buses that long would go around the world one and a half times".

With summer just around the corner and students leaving their halls of residence, STARS has set up a reuse scheme, with the aim of reducing the amount of waste from halls that goes to landfill. Members of staff are also invited to donate unwanted items to the scheme, which will run until 25 June.

Four local charities will benefit from discarded goods:

Oxfam

  • Unwanted clothes, shoes and handbags
  • Books, CDs and DVDs, which can be sold in their shops around the UK to help make money for the charity

RSPCA

  • Duvets and blankets for RSPCA animal shelters across Manchester, Salford and Cheshire

Mustard Tree

  • Non-perishable food items for homeless charities across Greater Manchester

Wesley Community Furniture

  • Furniture, working electrical appliances and kitchen utensils for reuse in the wider community

In addition, STARS will be recycling:

  • Old mobile phones
  • Inkjet printer cartridges
  • Oold computers and printers

STARS is also promoting the recycling facilities across its three campuses for:

  • Paper, newspapers and magazines
  • Glass bottles and jars
  • Food and drinks cans
  • Plastic bottles
  • Cardboard
  • Batteries

Collection points are being set up around the three campuses in Fallowfield, Victoria Park and City. For a list of the locations, please download:

This is part of a national campaign that many universities are joining to tackle the increasing culture of the 'landfill society'. The aim is to change the emphasis from waste to the three Rs:

  • Reducing the materials we use
  • Reusing what we have
  • Recycling what we cannot reuse

The scheme which universities are adopting is called 'towards zero waste'.

If you would like more information on this scheme, feel free to email: