Cocktail Fountain and Rabbit Hutch Among Amnesty Haul

 A COCKTAIL fountain and a rabbit hutch were among the items handed in by students during a Council recycling amnesty.

  The amnesty, organised by Charnwood Borough Council’s Environmental Services team and Serco, the Council’s waste management partner, targeted 1,800 student properties in Loughborough.

 The amnesty coincided with the end of the academic year for many students and the Council team collected nearly eight tons (7.86 tons) of recyclable items with more than 30 per cent of the waste collected able to be used again.

 Textiles, bric-a-brac and furniture have now been donated to mental health charity Mind and Sofa, a registered charity based in Clarence Street, Loughborough, which re-uses furniture and other goods.

 The amnesty is now in its third year and Councillor Hilary Fryer, Cabinet Member for Cleansing and Open Spaces, made a couple of visits during the amnesty, assisting with the sorting of items at St Peter’s Community Centre.

 “Students have again helped to make the amnesty a success and we have produced some very good recycling figures,” said Cllr Fryer.

 “It is all part of our commitment to keeping the Borough clean, tidy and healthy for everyone and another example of the strong working relationship between the council and its waste management partner.”

 Sofa chief executive Jane Hammond said: “We had a long list of donated items including a cocktail fountain and more than half of what we received will be re-usable and the items we cannot use will be recycled.

“Other items we will re-use include lawn-mowers, mops and buckets, televisions and even a rabbit hutch. We were very pleased with the response.”

 The early-morning operation last Saturday (June 23) involved the Environmental Services team and a convoy of vehicles from Serco, with Ruth Grainger, community warden of Loughborough University, ringing a bell in advance of the convoy as it progressed through the student property areas.

 For further information, call 01509 634563, visit www.charnwood.gov.uk/pages/recycling or e-mail cleaner.greener@charnwood.gov.uk