Friday, 17 December 2021
Students in Nottingham have stepped up to support a national initiative that has seen them turn trash into treasure – and raise thousands of pounds for life-saving research into heart disease.
Nottingham Trent University has been supporting the British Heart Foundation’s Pack for Good Campaign since 2012, which helps people to recycle instead of bin their unwanted items. The goods are sold in the charity’s shops to raise vital funds to support scientists conducting important studies.
The partnership in Nottingham went from strength to strength when The University of Nottingham and Nottingham City Council joined, ensuring that citizens across Nottingham could also do their bit for the charity.
Student Ambassadors go door to door for the Pack for Good campaign
Despite the challenges posed by the pandemic, 2021 has seen a remarkable effort from students at the city’s two universities – both those living on campus and out in the community.
Together this year they have saved 2,819 bags with a combined total of more than 22,000 tonnes of waste from being sent to landfill – the equivalent of 229,462 kg CO2 emissions – and have raised £39,466 for the charity.
This contribution is in addition to the 9,280 bags collected by Nottingham City Council, representing 74.2 tonnes of waste – the equivalent of 755,540 kg CO2 emissions – which has raised £129,920.
Since first becoming involved in the initiative, goods donated by Nottingham students have raised a staggering £1,257,193 for the charity and have saved the equivalent weight of 119 African elephants in waste being sent to landfill.
Building on a difficult few years, it is great to see the Pack For Good campaign coming back strong. We have worked closely with Nottingham City Council to locate more temporary donation banks into the local community than ever before. Our staff and Student Ambassadors work hard to promote the scheme to our students and local residents, encouraging them to donate and not waste their unwanted items.
He added: “As many students move out towards the end of the academic year we hope that we can reduce the amount of surplus waste away from the usual environmentally damaging waste streams and into these donations banks. The British Heart Foundation is an amazing charity doing great things and we are proud to support their efforts and we hope to raise even more in 2022.”
In addition to money raised for charity, the initiative helps to underpin the universities’ sustainability agenda and their support to help the City of Nottingham to reach its goal of becoming a net zero carbon city by 2028.
Charmaine Morrell, Head of Sustainability at Nottingham Trent University said: “We are proud of the ongoing results achieved for the great work that British Heart Foundation does. When Nottingham Trent University set this partnership up back in 2012 and brought in the University of Nottingham and Nottingham City Council to work collaboratively with us, we couldn’t have imagined it making such an impact. We even won a BHF Heart Hero award in 2019 for the huge contribution we have made over the years. So it continues to be fantastic to see students from both universities create such an impact this year by giving generously, especially following such a challenging period.
“We continue promoting the scheme in conjunction with our community liaison teams and our Students’ Union to ensure our students are able to follow the waste hierarchy and reduce their waste for a good cause. We also endeavour to support the great work of the British Heart Foundation by utilising the scheme to raise donations for life saving skills and equipment.”
A British Heart Foundation collection point on Jubilee Campus
Sally Longford, Deputy Leader of Nottingham City Council said “Throughout this last year we have worked closely with both the University of Nottingham and Nottingham Trent University to push the Pack For Good campaign. We have increased the number of clothing and shoe banks across the city and we have promoted them alongside the universities to encourage residents to donate their unwanted items and save them from their rubbish bins. Creating a more circular economy with easily recyclable and reusable items is key to reaching our 2028 goal of becoming the first carbon neutral city. “
“We are also encouraging our residents to donate reusable electrical and furniture items through the British Heart Foundation’s free collections which has proven popular this year as an alternative to the councils Bulky Waste collection providing another option for reuse of items rather than them ending up being wasted.”
Chris Denning, Professor of Stem Cell Biology at the University of Nottingham and British Heart Foundation-funded scientist said: “It’s rare to find an event that’s a triple-whammy – Nottingham collaboration, reducing landfill and raising cash. Amazing - it gives me great joy to see how a partnership between several Nottingham-based organisations can spare 100 tonnes of material from landfill. This means a million less kilograms of greenhouse gas, whilst raising £170,000 for charity."
As a researcher into heart disease, I rely heavily on BHF as a funder of my work and team. Only through donations is this possible and so I thank every single person who made this fantastic initiative possible.
Notes to editors:
About the University of Nottingham
Ranked 32 in Europe and 16th in the UK by the QS World University Rankings: Europe 2024, the University of Nottingham is a founding member of the Russell Group of research-intensive universities. Studying at the University of Nottingham is a life-changing experience, and we pride ourselves on unlocking the potential of our students. We have a pioneering spirit, expressed in the vision of our founder Sir Jesse Boot, which has seen us lead the way in establishing campuses in China and Malaysia - part of a globally connected network of education, research and industrial engagement.
Nottingham was crowned Sports University of the Year by The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2024 – the third time it has been given the honour since 2018 – and by the Daily Mail University Guide 2024.
The university is among the best universities in the UK for the strength of our research, positioned seventh for research power in the UK according to REF 2021. The birthplace of discoveries such as MRI and ibuprofen, our innovations transform lives and tackle global problems such as sustainable food supplies, ending modern slavery, developing greener transport, and reducing reliance on fossil fuels.
The university is a major employer and industry partner - locally and globally - and our graduates are the second most targeted by the UK's top employers, according to The Graduate Market in 2022 report by High Fliers Research.
We lead the Universities for Nottingham initiative, in partnership with Nottingham Trent University, a pioneering collaboration between the city’s two world-class institutions to improve levels of prosperity, opportunity, sustainability, health and wellbeing for residents in the city and region we are proud to call home.
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