One man’s waste is another man’s treasure

A ground-breaking initiative at the University of St Andrews has been shortlisted for a Scottish Waste and Resources Award.

The St AndRe-Use initiative, set up last year by a group of students, aims to help reduce waste by finding new homes for unwanted belongings.

The scheme is run on Facebook, with students and staff invited to advertise items they no longer need, or to appeal for items they need. Members can swap, share and recycle anything from clothing, games, crockery and stationery to electronic items and small items of furniture.

Hanna Plant, one of the initiative’s founders said:

“Having been part of St AndRe-Use since it was nothing more than a whimsical idea, it is such a pleasure to have it recognised by the Scottish Waste and Resources Awards. My three fellow graduates whom established St AndRe-Use are also thrilled and we have very high hopes for the future of St AndRe-Use with the new co-ordinators this academic year.

“The project is important not just in what it achieves, but the message it communicates. Challenging conceptions and understandings of waste and resources is just what St AndRe-Use aims to do. We hope, that with its ever growing success, this will continue to happen for many years to come.”

The St AndRe-use team is also celebrating a second success this month – having successfully re-homed two-tonnes on unwanted belonging donated by students at the end of last semester into the grateful possession of new and returning students. The goods, which would otherwise have gone to landfill, included duvets, clothes, books, TVs and even a designer wedding dress.

Barbara Aitken, Environment Officer commented;

“The University of St Andrews is committed to sustainability. Our environmental vision is to be recognised as a world-class institution that leads by example, fully integrating environmental responsibilities with all that we do. So when St AndRe-Use approached the Environment team for help we immediately recognised the opportunities of working together.”

Notes to News Editors

Now in their 9th year the Scottish Waste and Resources Awards recognise outstanding achievement in the waste and resource management sector. The St AndRe-use initiative has been shortlisted for best Non-waste management Sector Initiative, along with two other organisations.

Winners will be announced at the Scottish Waste and Resources Conference in Glasgow on 6 October, 2010.

More information can be found at www.scotwaste.org

Issued by the University of St Andrews

Contact: Emma Shea, Communications Manager on 01334 462 109 or email [email protected]