Corby skip hire staff get 'no brainer' clothes recycling scheme off the ground with charity skydive

Thanks to some blue-sky thinking staff at a Corby skip hire and recycling company will launch their new charity partnership with a spectacular fundraiser.

Bailey's Skip Hire and Recycling employees chose Warwickshire and Northamptonshire Air Ambulance (WNAA) to not only benefit from a fundraising skydive but a new clothes recycling scheme.

The lifesaving service will receive money generated by unwanted clothes that would otherwise go into skips and be contaminated as well as the £6,000 sponsorship they hope to raise on the day.

Levi Robinson, general manager of Bailey's Skip Hire and Recycling, said: "I couldn't think of any bigger way of launching the recycling scheme. We really want the public and our customers to get behind it.

"It's a no brainer. As a company we segregate our waste that comes in our skips. By getting customers to bag the clothes it will save landfill and raise money for the air ambulance.

"I was employed at the beginning of this year, to reduce the end-of-life landfill waste.

"As a trial, we removed all textiles from the skips and baled them. In around a month we produced in excess of 25 tonnes, but after many phone calls and emails to the textile recyclers in the UK, to my shock, they could not process any of the textiles. Because they had been put through a materials recovery facility they were soiled and contaminated."

Mr Robinson, 33, decided that the only way to ensure clothes were not wasted was to provide clothes recycling bags to every skip hirer who wanted them.

It is hoped that the clothes collection will bag the charity thousands of pounds of clothes that would otherwise be binned.

He said: "We will ask people to place the full bags on top of the skip to minimise the chance of any contamination. Once back on our site, we will segregate and store until the Air Ambulance collects a bulk load. This will not only reduce their carbon footprint, it will generate an income to the charity of approximately £1,050 per tonne."

"Each lifesaving mission the Air Ambulance undertakes costs them £1,700. I believe if even a portion of our customers segregate their waste correctly we can divert between 10 to 20 tonnes a month from landfill as well as funding the charity of up to £10,000 to £20,000 a month."

To kick off the scheme the eight-strong Bailey's team, ranging in age from 18 to 50, will be jumping out of a plane at 14,000ft on Sunday, October 4,

Each member will raise a minimum of £600 with the company putting in a total-boosting donation of £4,000.

The firm and WNAA are hoping other skip recyclers will join in the scheme across the UK saving tonnes of clothes from landfill and raising thousands of pounds.

Mr Robinson added: "I believe this is a great way to start our partnership. If we can reach the heights of these early predictions, we will help fund many lifesaving missions, so in my opinion, why not reach for the skies like they do."

To donate to the Bailey's skydiving team's fundraising total click here. Warwickshire and Northamptonshire Air Ambulance charity receives no government funding for its daily missions and relies entirely on voluntary donations and support from communities and business.

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