Recycled goods
Support East Anglian Air Ambulance and do your bit for the environment!
Clothing recycling
Clear the clutter, make space in your wardrobe and raise money for East Anglian Air Ambulance!
Each year in the UK, it is estimated that 350,000 tonnes of used, but wearable, clothing is sent to landfill. That’s the equivalent weight of almost 98,000 of our helicopters.
Working with Recycling Solutions, our textile recycling partner, you can help reduce the amount being sent to landfill and raise money for East Anglian Air Ambulance by recycling your unwanted clothes at one of our clothing banks (see map below).
Accepted items: Good quality clothing, shoes, handbags and belts.
Unaccepted items: Work uniforms, hi-visibility items, pillows, duvets, damaged/wet/contaminated clothing.
Host a clothing bank
Ideal clothing bank locations are those will have a lot of high, regular passing footfall and include:
- Supermarkets and shops
- Community centres and village halls
- Leisure centres and gyms
- Pubs
- Garden centres
- Business parks
Organise a one-off clothing collection
Clothing collections are ideal for businesses, community groups and schools who would like to recycle for East Anglian Air Ambulance but don’t have room to host a bank. Clothing should be stored undercover until this date and collected in bin bags. A minimum of ten bin bags are required to book a collection. Recycling Solutions will arrange a mutually convenient time to collect from you.
Please note that at this time we are unable to arrange collections from residential addresses.
Frequently asked questions
When full, clothing banks will be emptied by the Recycling Solutions collection team, returned to the local hub and baled into large hessian sacks. The clothing is then sold to trading partners both in the UK and abroad to be sorted. The best quality items are sent to second-hand shops or markets in Europe, Africa or India. Items that cannot be re-worn are shredded and recycled into other materials, such as mattress stuffing.
For each tonne of clothing sold, East Anglian Air Ambulance will receive at least £200 to help save lives across the region. The maintenance and collection costs of the clothing banks are paid for by Recycling Solutions.
Clothing banks are 5 feet wide, 3 feet deep and 6 feet tall.
Recycling Solutions are our only clothing recycling partner. We have previously worked with The Salvation Army, but this partnership has come to an end and our joint-branding on these banks is in the process of being removed. World UK Trading Ltd have previously supported us with the collection of clothing bags. While they may still operate in your areas, we no longer work with them. Please double check the charity on the front of the bag and if it has our name on it, it is an old bag – please do not use it.
Accepted items: Good quality clothing, shoes, handbags and belts. Unaccepted items: Work uniforms, hi-visibility items, pillows, duvets, damaged/wet/contaminated clothing.
Other ways to recycle
Please note, we do not recycle stamps, ink cartridges, mobile phones or bottle tops. If you have seen a recycling initiative that you’d like to get involved with and isn’t listed on this page, please contact our Supporter Engagement Team on 03450 669 999 or info@eaaa.org.uk.
Coins:
We have a number of ‘Any Currency Any Age’ boxes located around East Anglia that do exactly what they say on the tin – accept coins no matter how old they are or where they’re from. Our partner, Cash4Coins, converts what has been collected to Stirling and makes donations directly to us. Contact our Supporter Engagement Team on 03450 669 999 or info@eaaa.org.uk to find your nearest box.
Charity Shops:
East Anglian Air Ambulance do not operate any of its own charity shops.
If you would like East Anglian Air Ambulance to benefit from larger items you might have, The Bullock Fair Charity Shop in Harleston, Norfolk may be able to accept them. The shop supports a number of local charities and since 2004, they have raised an astonishing £1 million for East Anglian Air Ambulance! Please visit their website for opening hours.
Please note that The Bullock Fair Charity Shop is the only one we are associated with. If you see similar shops stating they are supporting East Anglian Air Ambulance, please contact our Supporter Engagement Team on 03450 669 999 or info@eaaa.org.uk to provide details.