When students go home for Easter, often they leave lots of food behind. In order to combat the problem of waste, the community group at Leeds University Union are running a collection point in order to encourage students to leave Leeds tidy. They are collecting any unwanted glass, clothes and non-perishable food.

They state that “We exist to inspire students to get involved and feel proud of their local community. We’re all about promoting a safer, cleaner and more cohesive community, as well as empowering students to make meaningful changes where they live.”

The group works closely with other organisations in Leeds. The donated leftover food will be distributed to food banks and homeless charities, such as the North West food bank. They also have paired up with The Real Junk Food Project, an organisation that is based in Armley and has received a large amount of media attention for its pay-as-you-feel cafes and supermarket.

Glass cannot be recycled in the bins that are collected in Leeds, which can make it quite hard to do. However, bottles and other glass items can be handed in at the collection point and then will go to Leeds City Council to be recycled.

The collection point will be outside Hyde Park Picture House and will be operating on Monday the 20th March from 3pm to 7pm, Wednesday the 22nd March from 3pm to 7pm and Friday 24th March from 12pm to 3pm.

If you want to find out more, get in contact with the team by email: luu.community@leeds.ac.uk

 

Polly Hatcher

 

(Image: Leave Leeds Tidy)