Lakeside Village goes green with wealth of recycling options

Asking customers to "think before you throw", the centre's commitment to reducing waste means Lakeside Village offers collections for everything from bras and batteries to bedding and bric-a-brac.

Books, clothing, jewellery and small items of furniture in good condition will be collected by the RSPCA to sell in their charity shops. Goods should be dropped off at the RSPCA collection van, in M&S layby from 10am to 2pm on the last Saturday of each month.

DVDs and CDs and general household bric-a-brac in good condition can also be donated for resale.

You can "shwop" at M&S Outlet, where clean, pre-loved clothing can be dropped off (even if it's not from M&S). M&S will also collect household batteries to recycle.

At the Next Outlet, you can replace a new electrical, electronic or batter-operated item with a new one from Next. Simply bring the old item into store within 28 days, show the receipt for its replacement, and Next will take care of recycling it.

Any used bedding, sheets, towels and knitted blankets can be dropped off with Guest Services, to be given to the RSPCA to keep four-legged friends nice and cosy.

Customers can deposit unwanted wearable bras at the BRA BANK at Guest Services, where they will be whisked away to women in Africa, where affordable bras are in short supply.

Guest Services will also happily take household batteries and printer cartridges, as well as PPE, including disposal face masks and plastic gloves, which can be shredded and turned into boards for furniture.

Hard to recycle plastics, like clean packaging pouches and make-up packaging, pumps and droppers, can be dropped off at The Body Shop to be repurposed for another life.

Even your favourite reads can be given a new life, at the Reading Corner book library.

Customers who love books and love reading are invited to take up to three books home to read. They can then return them or replace them with three more books so every visitor to Reading Corner has a chance to read something new.

Lakeside Village's focus on sustainability has seen the centre pledge to achieve an overall recycling rate of 80%.

On Monday, March 28, the management team at Lakeside Village and Doncaster Chamber members will take part in the Lakeside Litter Pick, collecting rubbish from the local area.

It is one of a number of initiatives the centre has introduced to reduce its impact on the environment.

Di Mellis, centre manager at Lakeside Village, said: "Recycling is a fantastic way to reduce waste and at the same time give another life to unwanted goods.

"We take our responsibility to reduce waste seriously and are committed to providing opportunities for our customers to minimise their own carbon footprints.

"We are really proud of our achievements so far but well aware we can all do more to reduce our environmental impact. We are always open to suggestions and ideas from customers and neighbouring businesses on how to keep improving, so we can all protect our environment."

To find out what happens to your donation, visit www.lakeside-village.co.uk

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