As well as providing a skip hire service we also take our waste management very seriously, making sure that anything that's worth recycling gets taken to our recycling centre, where we recycle around 90% of the contents. We like to hear stories about people who do their bit for the environment and care about recycling as much as we do, so when we discovered Laura Tenison, the owner of JoJo Maman Bebe, who had an environmentally friendly campaign, we had to find out more. A Mother to Another Laura's campaign, A Mother to Another, is designed to make sure any unwanted clothes avoid the landfill and are given to deprived families instead. She has joined forces with charity Barnados and green group Hubbub; this is how it works:
- parents donate hand-me-downs which are then put together as complete outfits
- Once this is done, they are then gift wrapped for children from vulnerable families
- Barnados then donates them to parents in need
Parents can hand in their unwanted clothes (on the basis they are in good condition) to any one of the 66 JoJo Maman Bebe Stores in the UK. Laura believes that re-using clothes is good for the environment and says "We want good quality items you don't want to put in a black bin bag and if you haven't a friend to give to, perhaps give them to someone who is in a vulnerable situation, in need." The Facts When it comes down to the cold hard facts, the amount of textiles that doesn't get recycled will shock you. Research from 2011 found the destinations of end-of-life clothing:
- 34% went abroad
- 31% went to landfill
- 14% was recycled
- 14% was re-used in the UK
- 14% was incinerated
Studies show that across the UK an estimated 1 million tonnes of textiles are thrown away every year which amounts to ⅓ of the UK clothing ending up in landfill. On top of this a whopping £140 million worth of used clothing goes to landfill in the UK every year. Other research found that 56% of parents throw baby clothes away with the rubbish. WT Waste Management From reading these figures, you can see why we take our waste management so seriously. We do everything we possibly can to make sure anything that can be recycled will be recycled. When we come across any textiles from a job all good quality clothes are re-used, particularly in developing countries, whilst low grade textiles will be used as wiper rag or fill material. We hope Laura's campaign is a success and makes a difference to the families that need it the most within the UK. 