The Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS) is making a huge change to its clothing recycling operation to help protect the planet.
As of 1 May, the charity’s Trading Company which collects and recycles used clothing, books and office supplies, will no longer be distributing clothing bags and will only pick up arranged collections.
Last year the charity’s recycling team posted over 500,000 plastic bags through supporters’ doorsteps, so they could fill them with unwanted clothing and be collected a few days later.
The money generated through clothing collections and the recycling of office supplies is reinvested back into the charity, and their most recent donation was £200,000, which helped to fund over 40 call-outs.
While the current method of delivering and collecting bags from homes around the region provides good visibility for the charity, unfortunately this is not sustainable.
Phil Hall, commercial projects manager at GNAAS, said: “Last year we were distributing approximately 2,000 bags per day around the North East, North Yorkshire and Cumbria areas. To distribute these bags, our recycling team drove at least 30,000 miles per year in a van, and then had to drive around the same streets to collect any bags left out.
“Upon reviewing our operations, we found that for every 1,000 bags we distributed, we received an average of 35 bags full of donations when we collected them a couple of days later.
“As a recycling service we’re very conscious of our environmental footprint, so to help support the planet as well as save the charity money, we have decided to cease the distribution of bags from the start of May.
“Instead, we will be focusing our efforts more on our already successful pre-arranged collections, where our supporters can book collections through our website, via social media or over the phone.”
The Trading Company offer their collection service Monday to Friday, which allows people to book in a collection at a pre-arranged date and time.
This service is available across the North East, North Yorkshire and Cumbria and can be booked by filling out a short form on their website: https://www.greatnorthairambulance.co.uk/support-us/fundraising/recycle/clothing-collections/enquiry/
Alternatively, supporters can book a collection via GNAAS’ Facebook page facebook.com/GNairambulance, or by calling 01325 308 139.
Donations can also be dropped off on-site at the Trading Company’s address which is Progress House, Urlay Nook Road, Eaglescliffe, TS16 0QB.
Mr Hall added: “By solely offering arranged collections we will be saving at least 938 gallons of diesel per year and reducing the amount of plastic being distributed to our supporters. This should also help to reduce the amount of bag thefts we’ve encountered in the past, as we will be picking up bags at pre-arranged times.
“I’d like to thank the thousands of people who have supported our charity over the years by donating their unwanted clothing. While we may no longer be posting bags through doors, we hope the public keep us in mind when they’re next having a clear-out.”
GNAAS does not receive government funding and needs to raise £7.7m a year to remain operational. To find out more about how you can support the charity visit: gna.as/readyforanything
