Innovative clothing recycling scheme in Corby raises thousands for Air Ambulance

A Corby-based skip hire company has been presented with a prestigious business award after their innovative clothing recycling scheme raised lots of money for the Air Ambulance service and reduced waste sent to landfill.

Bailey's Skip Hire and Recycling was awarded the title of 'Small Business Partner of the Year' at the Air Ambulance's inaugural gala awards evening on Friday, September 17. This came after the company implemented an innovative clothing recycling scheme that has, so far, donated at least £7,000 of recycled clothes and shoes.

A spokesperson for Bailey's Skip Hire said: "We are absolutely delighted to win this award and look forward to a long partnership with the Air Ambulance Service for the foreseeable future. With the clothing scheme gathering traction, the diversion of clothing from end of life waste will be increase, while helping the Air Ambulance to fill their shops.

"We were all so proud to be nominated let alone win the award. I hope this exposure of the recycling scheme can be shared across the UK so other skip hire companies can follow suit and supply charities close to their hearts."

The recycling scheme sees the Air Ambulance issue Bailey's Skip Hire with textile bags, which are then handed to customers every time a skip is delivered. Customers then have the opportunity to become a part of this sustainable scheme by separating all of their unwanted clothes and shoes from their waste and placing them into the textile bags.

These bags are then returned to Bailey's site ready for the Air Ambulance to collect in bulk and transport to their local charity shops to sell. This, overall, reduces their carbon footprint and generates huge amounts of revenue for the charity. The Air Ambulance receives around £1,050 per tonne of recycled clothes and shoes.

Community fundraising executive at The Air Ambulance, Darcy Hodges, said: "We were so thrilled to have so many of our wonderful supporters attend our Charity Showcase and Awards Ceremony on September 17.

"The support we receive from our community is phenomenal and we wanted to celebrate our unsung heroes of the charity who work tirelessly to raise vital and lifesaving funds to keep us flying.

"The team at Bailey’s Skip Hire and Recycling Ltd are so passionate and enthusiastic about supporting our services, from their pioneering recycling scheme which helps to divert tonnes of good quality clothing and shoes from landfill, to taking on the incredible challenge of a skydive, nothing will stop this team from going above and beyond to raise lifesaving funds for Your Local Air Ambulance."

To date, Bailey's Skip Hire and Recycling has donated more than seven tonnes of stock to the Air Ambulance's reuse department, which will generate income for the charity through their clothing stores and online sales.

The skip hire has also raised a jaw-dropping £7,805 from their skydive fundraiser, which the team will embark on in 2022.

Darcy continued: "We truly cannot thank the team at Bailey’s Skip Hire and Recycling ltd enough for their continued support, which helps to keep our helicopters flying and we are so proud to have presented them with our Small Business Partner of the Year award."

The Air Ambulance's annual gala awards evening celebrates and showcases the heroic work of its volunteers and partners, who save lives every day. The Air Ambulance receives no funding from the government, despite attending an average of ten rescue missions a day. They are entirely funded and supported by the help of communities, charities and individual donations.

Find out more about Bailey's Skip Hire and their recycling scheme by visiting their website at https://www.baileysskiphire.co.uk/.

For more information about the work carried out by The Air Ambulance and to make a donation, visit https://theairambulanceservice.org.uk/