We currently generate around 290 million tonnes of waste each year in the UK, according to Defra; that’s an average of 263 kg per person per year. While the UK may no longer be the “dustbin of Europe”, as described in 2007, around 50 per cent of waste collected by local authorities still goes to landfill. These figures are an improvement on previous years – only 11 per cent of household waste was recycled in 2000/01 – but the cost, in terms of wasted resources and environmental damage, is still enormous.
Prevention is a good first step – we can try to buy only what we need, and choose products that can be recycled or will biodegrade. Reusing and repairing our possessions helps to recycle valuable materials and keeps them out of landfill sites.
Cambridgeshire has good recycling facilities – here’s where to find them.
Reduce, re-use, recycle and repair
Cambridge City Council provides three main ways to recycle and compost rubbish: kerbside collection, citywide recycling points and out-of-town recycling centres. They provide a good website outlining all these provisions, including an excellent A-Z directory explaining where to recycle numerous household items.
RECAP is an accessible site offering information about recycling, reducing and reusing waste both for householders and businesses in Cambridge and Peterborough. There is also a good news page, highlighting relevant local events.
There are also helpful guidelines, statistics and recipes to help minimise food waste at
http://www.lovefoodhatewaste.com.
Charity shops
British Heart Foundation: 10 Burleigh Street, CB1 1DG. Tel: 01223 368865
British Red Cross Society: 26 Burleigh Street, CB1 1DG. Tel: 01223 301426
Cancer Research: 42 Regent Street, CB2 1DP. Tel: 01223 367045
Cats Protection League: 172 Mill Road, CB1 3LP. Tel: 01223 566997
East Anglia Childrens Hospice: 174 Mill Road, CB1 3LP. Tel: 01223 243800
Emmaus Cambridge Community Shop & Cafe: Green End, Landbeach, Cambridge CB25 9FD. Tel: 01223 863657 www.emmauscambridge.org
Macmillan Cancer Relief: 32 St Andrews Street, CB2 3AR. Tel: 01223 577020
Marie Curie Cancer Care: 347 Cherry Hinton Road, CB1 8DH. Tel: 01223 416405.
Mind: 38 Burleigh Street, CB1 1DG. Tel: 01223 302926.
National Trust: 9 Kings Parade, CB2 1SJ. Tel: 01223 311894.
NCH Action For Children: 228 Mill Road, CB1 3NF. Tel: 01223 244964.
Nearly New Agency: 16 Burleigh Street, CB1 1DG. Tel: 01223 316618.
Oxfam:
- 46 St Andrews Street CB2 3AH. Tel: 01223 313373.
- 28 Sidney Street, CB2 3HW
- 110 Regent Street, CB2 1DP. Tel: 01223 830208.
- 4 Morleys Place, High Street, Sawston, CB22 3TG
Romsey Mill Charity Shop: 2, Thoday Street, CB1 3AS. Tel: 01223 506443.
Romsey Mill Community Chest: 2 The Broadway, CB1 3AH. Tel: 01223 519287.
RSPCA Charity Shop: 188 Mill Road, CB1 3LP. Tel: 01223 212644.
Sally Anns: 44a Mill Road, CB1 2AS. Tel: 01223 316161.
Save The Children: 21 Magdalene Street, CB3 0AF. Tel: 01223 313900.
Scope: 33 Burleigh Street, CB1 1DG. Tel: 01223 360205.
Sue Ryder Care: 5 Rectory Terrace, High Street, Cherry Hinton, CB1 9HU. Tel: 01223 505423.
Sue Ryder Foundation: 16a Mill Road, CB1 2AD. Tel: 01223 353948.
Sue Ryder Shop:
- 9, Barnwell Road, CB5 8RG. Tel: 01223 242288.
- Rectory Terrace, High Street, CB1 9HU. Tel: 01223 505423.
The Charity Shop In Aid Of Romsey Mill: 193 Mill Road, CB1 3AN. Tel:
01223 506443.
The Hospice Shop: 30 Regent Street, CB2 1DB. Tel: 01223 462452.
The Salvation Army: 104 Mill Road, CB1 2BD. Tel: 01223 316161.
The following places take unwanted furniture as well as clothes and household goods:
Oxfam Shop: Burleigh St. Tel: 01223 329841
SOFA: Unit H, The Paddocks, 347 Cherry
Hinton Rd. Tel: 01223 576535. http://www.cambridgesofa.org.uk/index.html
Salvation Army Shop:
44a Mill Rd, Cambridge. Tel: 01223 316161.
Cambridge FreeCycle: The Cambridge Freecycle
Network is open to all who want to “recycle” useful items by giving
them to others. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/cambridgefreecycle/
Eastex: Cambridgeshire Materials Exchange is a free online information service where organisations and individuals view and place information about redundant stock and surplus raw materials.
The Swap Pit: DVD Exchange Club: For a monthly fee, swap your DVDs. 95 Mill Road, Cambridge CB1 2AW; Tel: 01223 500247.
LetAllShare: A free site that helps you rent, borrow, lend or give away things amongst friends, neighbours, colleagues and people you trust. You control what you share, with whom and how.
Camlets: CamLETS enables members to exchange skills by means of a sophisticated barter system. Cambridge (UK) has had a thriving LETS scheme since 1993.
Freedom Club Timebank: Freedom Club TimeBank is a community exchange scheme for the residents of Cambridge. Members give and receive time from other members to get things done and perhaps Recycling
Click here to return to the top of the page
Computer recycling
ITgreen: Computer recycling for Cambridge ‘Provides a full end-to-end service for businesses covering the collection and in-house recycling of all obsolete, faulty and surplus computer equipment.’
Reboot is a charity which provides training and employment to people needing support to get into work. Learners refurbish and recycle PCs for local socially minded organisations and for re-sale to the public and businesses. Tel: 01223 365917.
Click here to return to the top of the page
