Choose2Reuse in Crawley - Donate it, Don't dump it

Fact: The average householder in West Sussex produces over one tonne of rubbish in 12 months and this amount is increasing every year. With nearly 80% of this rubbish going into landfill, there is less than 6 years of landfill space with planning permission left in the County.

What can I do?
As well as recycling and minimising the amount of waste your produce, another option is to reuse.

Why REUSE?
In day-to-day life there is constant opportunity for you to reuse. Instead of throwing items away to be land filled, consider how you could use your item either for the same purpose, or something different.

If the item is still in good condition then a charity shop or community project is likely to be interested in selling it and using the proceeds to further support the aims of the charity, or passing it at low cost to someone in need.

Even if an item requires a small amount of repair / restoration, some community groups will readily receive them, as they offer excellent training opportunities for people and then the repaired / restored product can be sold/passed on to someone in need.

So, the benefits of reuse are far reaching and reusing waste is preferable even to recycling!

Benefits of Reuse

Saves landfill space
Doesn't use up energy or raw materials as new products are not being made
Reduces waste handling and disposal costs
Generates an income for charities and other social groups
Helps those that need reused items like schools, community organisations and members of the public
Creates opportunities for jobs and training

Crawley Borough Council

1. Furniture Projects
2. Charity Shops
3. Computer equipment
4. Clothes / Shoes / Books

5. Mobile phones / Ink + Toner cartridges
6. Scrap store
7. Reuse at Home
8. Reuse in the Garden

19. Reuse when shopping
10. Reuse at work
11. Reuse at your local 'tip'
12. Reuse and babies

1. Furniture Projects - donate you unwanted furniture to organisations who can give it to people in need.

2. Charity Shops - a comprehensive list of charity shops in Crawley. You can donate clothes, books, ornaments, toys and many other things.

3. Computer equipment - PCs, monitors, printers and may be even that old fax machine. Everything can either be reused or recycled.

4. Clothes / Shoes / Books - In the UK, we dispose of 650, 000 tonnes of textiles each year. Currently only 21% - 35% is reused or recycled.

5. Mobile phones / Ink + Toner cartridges - In the UK, the average consumer replaces his/her mobile phone every 18 months and it is estimated that some 15 million mobile phones are replaced each year in the UK alone.

6. Scrap store - If you have items that you think could be useful for children's groups, drama groups and church groups for activities then why not donate these materials to the Bewbush Scrap Store.

7. Reuse at Home - Don't throw anything away! Give it to an organisation who can reuse or recycle it or sell it and make yourself some money.

8. Reuse in the Garden - Compost - Make your own compost using your garden waste and left over food waste. This saves on material going to landfill and makes compost which is goog for your garden.

9. Reuse when shopping - Take your own shopping bags, either reuse plastic bags or cotton bag or support 'bag for life' schemes many of which are replaced free of charge if they break.

10. Reuse at work - There are lots of ways you can help when at work. Like buying recycled paper.

11. Reuse at your local Civic Amenity site - the 'tip' has come a long way. Materials are now seperated and recycled where ever possible.

12. Reuse and babies - A child will use on average 5,000 nappies until it is potty trained. Each nappy sent to a landfill site can take up to 50 years to decompose.