Ernie cleans up
July 2 2009
Mountains of students cast-offs have been scooped off Southampton’s streets and bagged up for charity, thanks to Solent University’s brand new eco float and a fleet of volunteers.
Ernie – a re-vamped milk float – was put into action in the highly-student populated Polygon to combat the annual mounds of household items left on pavements during the yearly move out.
Students, members of the City Council's waste and recycling department and residents, picked up more than 400 bags bursting with stuff ranging from files to flippers and pans to plimsolls.
The bags – along with dozens of old televisions, irons and music centres – were taken to the Central Baptist Church in Devonshire Road where volunteers sorted them out for charity.
The hauls included:
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Bag it up (Hampshire and Isle of Wight air ambulance) –217 textile bags and 35 bags of shoes (just over a tonne in weight)
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Society of St James – dozens of bags of crockery and cutlery
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Oxfam – hundreds of books
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SCRATCH – dozens of bags of pots and pans and duvets
D anielle Mugridge, from Bag It Up, said:
“It’s fantastic. The stuff we collected from Solent students will go a long way to the £5,000 a week we raise to keep the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance flying.
“I’ve been really impressed with the way the community has got on board to make sure nothing gets wasted.”
One student, Nathan Taylor, left more than 20 bags of clothes for Ernie. He explained:
“I was a fashion student weighing 27 stone but I lost the weight – and this is the result. I’m glad my clothes are going to a good cause.”
Solent’s eco float project manager, Melissa Reddington Cartmell said:
“I’m delighted with how it’s all gone. Students and residents have worked together to turn things around here.”
Southampton City Council Head of Waste and Recycling, Andrew Trayer, added:
“This is a great recycling scheme, which has made a big difference. Ernie is great fun, and that’s really helped motivate the students to recycle materials that can't go in their blue lidded bins.”
Polygon resident Pat Middlewick, said:
“Solent’s eco float collection and sort-out has been a real success. Student changeover time used to be a misery for residents – but this year it has been a joy. It’s something other universities should do.”
Ernie will be back on the streets in the autumn as he gears up for regular recycling collections for Polygon residents and students in the autumn.
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Photographs courtesy of the Southern Daily Echo