Council joins forces with Yorkshire Air Ambulance to run textile amnesty
Wed 8th March 2017
East Riding of Yorkshire Council is teaming up with the Yorkshire Air Ambulance to hold a series of textile amnesties across the East Riding.
Residents are being encouraged to take any unwanted clothing, shoes and textiles - including sheets, blankets, towels and quilt covers - to amnesty events so they can be collected by the charity for recycling to help to raise money.
The events are being held to encourage residents to recycle their old clothes and materials and not to place them in their household bins, as they cannot be recycled that way.
Each year in the East Riding around 8% of all waste put in blue bins is textiles. That is 2,820 tonnes of fabrics from an overall total of 35,245 tonnes of waste collected for recycling.
Instead residents are being urged to take all old items of material to local clothing banks for recycling. There are clothing banks located at any of the 121 mini recycling sites across the East Riding at supermarkets and other sites.
Yorkshire Air Ambulance has a number of clothing banks across the East Riding.
The council’s waste and recycling officers will be holding the first textile amnesty event at Driffield Market on Thursday 16 March. They will be there with their van and trailer from 9am to 3pm to offer recycling advice and to collect textiles on behalf of the charity.
Then Yorkshire Air Ambulance staff will join the waste and recycling officers at the following textile amnesty events:
Goole Tesco store on Tuesday 21 March from 4.30pm to 7.30pm.
Market Weighton Tesco store on Monday 27 March from 4.30pm to 7.30pm.
Bridlington Co-op store in Martongate on Tuesday 28 March from 4.30pm to 7.30pm.
Withernsea Market Car Park, behind Aldi, on Wednesday 29 March from 4.30pm to 7.30pm.
Hornsea Tesco store on Thursday 30 March from 4.30pm to 7.30pm.
Beverley Tesco store on Wednesday 5 April from 4.30pm to 7.30pm.
Willerby Retail Park, near Waitrose, on Tuesday 11 April from 4.30pm to 7.30pm.
Residents are encouraged to go along and take any unwanted clothes, shoes, bedding, towels or other material to give to the Yorkshire Air Ambulance.
Councillor Symon Fraser, the council’s portfolio holder for asset management, housing and environment, said: “East Riding residents are some of the best recyclers in the country, so it would be great if every old t-shirt or pair of shoes was taken to a nearby clothing bank rather than placed in the bin at home.
“And that’s what our amnesty is about – helping the environment and helping to raise money for a worthwhile charity too.”
Anyone with questions about recycling textiles can email the council’s waste and recycling officers at wastewatchers@eastriding.gov.uk
