City of York Council is teaming up with the British Heart Foundation and students from both the city’s universities to help recycle and reuse household goods from students who are coming to the end of their academic year.
The council will be running two extra waste collections for students who are leaving before their designated collection day. The collections will be on June 15 and 29. Two crews will be circling the main student areas in The Groves and Haxby Road on both dates, and also in the Heslington Road and Hull Road areas on June 29.
Students can also use the Household Waste Recycling Centre in James Street, and are reminded to show their Student Union cards if they are using trailers or hired vehicles so they do not need a permit.
Students are also able to donate any unwanted clothes, CDs, DV’s and small electrical items to the British Heart Foundation at any of the eight collection banks that will be in place until the end of August.
The banks are located at:
•The corner of Kent Street and Barbican Road
•The corner of Harlington Road and Gordon Street
•The corner of Garrow Hill Avenue
•The corner of the allotments on the Newby Terrace and Vyner Street junction
•Outside the Londis shop on the corner of Haxby Road and White Cross Road
•The Jaipur Spice car park, Haxby Road
•Londis shop, Penlys Grove Street
The first collection on 2 June saw 100 bags of recycling being diverted from landfill whilst helping the charity. Residents are also encouraged to take advantage of the British Heart Foundation donation banks if they have any suitable unwanted items.
York St John University (YSJ) is running its annual Freecycle scheme which provides bags for students to donate reusable household goods which will then be given away to students and the local community at an event at the YSJ Students Union on 22 June.
Adam McSkimming, President York St John Students’ Union, said: “This is the fourth consecutive year we have run our Freecycle initiative and it is going from strength to strength. The initiative aims to divert from landfill in our city. We will be collecting items from student residences at the end of term, then student volunteers who are running the initiative sort through items and will hold a Freeshop for local York residents to attend and collect items for free.”
Smarter York aims to help maintain a clean, green and safe environment for York. The initiative encourages and works with residents to create attractive neighbourhoods with a real sense of community and to tackle the things that can spoil our neighbourhoods for example littering or fly-tipping.
For more information please visit www.york.gov.uk/smarteryork or follow @SmarterYork on Twitter.
To find out more about how students are making a positive contribution to the city of York, follow @York_students on Twitter #YorkLovesStudents.