Press Release

January 2006 - Defra - Choose2Reuse to help charities and the environment

The successful recycling campaign 'Choose2Reuse' goes regional this month to encourage East of England residents to find new homes for their unwanted items.

The campaign - a partnership between the Association of Charity Shops, Cambridgeshire and Essex Community Reuse and Recycling Networks - encourages people to donate items and buy previously-owned goods at charity and community shops.

Residents and the media are invited to attend the launches, which will include a green Santa to redistribute unwanted gifts, at:

The Forum, Norwich, on Tuesday 17th January at 11.30am

and

High Chelmer Shopping Centre, Chelmsford, on Friday 20th January at noon.

Choose2Reuse started in Cambridgeshire in 2004, and is now being expanded to cover Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk, Northamptonshire, Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire, with support from the Defra Environment Action Fund.

Forty national, regional and local charities have come together to promote the importance of reusing items and to encourage people to donate good quality resaleable items. These include Newmarket Open Door, the Pasque Charity in Bedfordshire, Farleigh Hospice in Essex, The Peace Hospice in Hertfordshire, Northamptonshire Association for the Blind, Arthur Rank Hospice in Cambridgeshire and the East of England Children's Hospice.

Defra Environment Minister, Elliot Morley, said he was delighted that a scheme like 'Choose2Reuse' has been given the support it needs to expand:

"Initiatives like this are essential if we are going to educate people about the impact they have on the environment, and encourage them to make a difference.

"We all produce too much waste, but some of the things we throw away can be put to good use. So why not pop in to your local charity shop and ask about the items they can find a use for.

"Of course, if the items you have can't be re-used, the local council may have facilities available to recycle them. Both options are safer, more sustainable and more economical than simply sending your old items to be buried in landfill."

Based on actual landfill costs, the savings represented by the volume of textiles re-used and passed for recycling each year by charity shops, are between £2 million and £4 million every year.

However, Kay Barnes, campaign project co-ordinator reminded people to check with the charity shop before delivering any items.

She said:

"We strongly encourage people to deliver good quality reusable items to their local charity within their opening times. Items that are left outside the shops can become damaged and dirty, and are then unusable. The charity then has to pay to have these items disposed of, using funds that could otherwise support the charities' aim."

The charities will be promoting the campaign through posters and FREE information leaflets throughout 500 charity shops in the region, from the week beginning the 16th January 2006.

Fact file:

1. 72% of people in the UK claim to have bought second hand goods at least once in 2004
2. Over 100,000 tonnes of textiles that cannot be sold in charity shops are sent for recycling or further re-use by charity shops each year - yet only a relatively small number of local authorities pay recycling credits for this activity and count it towards their recycling performance figures.
3. Each year, charity shops collect approximately 15 million sacks of textiles and other materials from UK households.
4. Over 20,000 tonnes of textiles are sold in shops and therefore immediately re-used.
5. The Association of Charity Shops represents 250 charities operating over 6,300 shops selling almost wholly second-hand donated goods.
6. Charity shops give 1.9 million households the opportunity to reuse and recycle unwanted items every week.
7. Charities with shops handle textiles and a range of other items collected through house-to-house collections, direct donations, textiles and book banks.
8. Only 4-5% of materials donated to charity shops end up in landfill.
9. In addition to this recycling/reuse contribution, charity shops are raising important revenues for their parent charities, many of who are involved in the provision of services to local communities that would otherwise fall to the local authority to provide and fund.

To attend the photo opportunities, please contact: Nikki DiGiovanni, Project Co-ordinator on 01354 742300, mobile 07905 951735 or e-mail: info@ccorrn.org.uk

Notes to Editors:

1. The Choose2Reuse campaign is being part- funded by a Defra Environmental Action Fund grant of £111,000 over three years and is being delivered by the Association of Charity Shops in partnership with the Cambridgeshire and Essex Community Reuse and Recycling Network's (CCORRN & ECORRN)
2. Choose2Reuse was created by CCORRN in 2004 and it has already been acknowledged for environmental best practice by winning a Green Apple Award.
3. The Environmental Action Fund (EAF) helps voluntary groups in England promote sustainable development through projects on Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP). For more information on the fund, including other funded projects see: www.defra.gov.uk/environment/eaf/index.htm.
4. List of participating charities and number of shops

Age Concern England	(16)
Age Concern Milton Keynes	(6)
Age Concern Suffolk	(7)
Arthur Rank Hospice Charity	(1)
Barnardo's	(36)
Branching Out	(1)
BREAK	(23)
British Heart Foundation	(37)
Cancer Research UK	(72)
Compass (Peterborough) Ltd.	(5)
East Anglia's Children's Hospice	(7)
Farleigh Hospice	(9)
Hamelin Trust	(5)
Haven House Foundation	(4)
Havens Christian Hospice	(10)
Help the Aged	(26)
Lady McAdden Breast Unit Shop	(1)
Minds Matter	(14)
Newmarket Open Door	(1)
Northampton Association for the Blind	(1)
Oxfam	(10)
Pasque Charity	(10)
RSPCA Norwich & Mid-Norfolk	(3)
Save the Children UK	(9)
SCOPE	(26)
Shelter	(3)
Splinters (of St. Elizabeth)	(1)
St. Elizabeth's Centre	(2)
St. Elizabeth Hospice	(8)
St. Helena's Hospice	(8)
St. Luke's Hospice Trading Ltd.	(8)
St. Nicholas' Hospice	(4)
Sue Ryder Care	(71)
The Big 'C'	(2)
The Children's Society	(13)
The Home Farm Trust	(3)
The Hospice of St. Francis	(1)
The Peace Hospice	(7)
The Salvation Army (Anglia Division)	(24)
YMCA England	(8)
Total no. of participating shops	(503)

Defra's aim is sustainable development

Issued on behalf of Defra by Government News Network East. Further information from Suzanne Donovan or Jenny Thompson, tel 01223 372797/89 or email suzanne.donovan@gnn.gsi.gov.uk