The Pack for Good campaign sees students donate their unwanted items to the British Heart Foundation when they move out of halls at the end of the term. This year, nearly 10,000 individual bags of donations were collected from University sites – over half of the total 16,738 bags collected across the whole of Nottingham city.

The number of donations increased by 12% compared to 2018, and have contributed to a total of £921,900 raised since the scheme’s inception in 2012. In 2020, the British Heart Foundation (BHF) are expecting to see this total hit one million pounds. This will help fund research into all heart and circulatory diseases and their risk factors, some of which takes place here at the University of Nottingham.

As well as raising funds for the BHF, the scheme ensures that resources are reused, rather than thrown away. City wide, the equivalent weight of 22 elephants was diverted from waste through BHF donations, and over 1,300 tonnes of indirect carbon emissions were avoided.

This year, on-campus halls provided donation points in each hall reception, with halls donating over 1,100 bags alone. Melton, Sherwood and Ancaster all donated over 200 bags each, and Broadgate Park donated almost 800.

Off-campus donation points were available tostudents in Lenton and Dunkirk, with student ambassadors – led by the Off Campus Affairs team – handing out donation bags to raise awareness.

If you want to get involved, look out for more information (and the red donation points!) later this year.