By Leicester Mercury | Posted: 26 March, 2015
People will be able to enjoy a spot of charity shopping on their trip to the tip when a new recycling centre opens in Leicester next month.
Leicester City Council has teamed up with LOROS to launch a 'Reuse shop' within its new household waste recycling centre at Gypsum Close, off Barkby Road.
The new centre is due to open on Wednesday, April 15 and LOROS will have its newest charity shop open and ready for business on site.
People using the new centre will also be able to donate any reusable items to the charity or shop for a second-hand bargain, with profits going to the charity.
LOROS Chief Executive John Knight said: "This exciting partnership with Leicester City Council is a great opportunity for both of our organisations.
"We will be helping to reduce landfill, allowing people to buy bargains and most importantly raising funds to help the 2,500 patients we care for each year."
Councillor Sarah Russell, assistant city Mayor for neighbourhoods, said: "Reusing items is the simplest way of reducing waste. We want to make it as easy as possible for people to donate any reusable items to LOROS on their trip to the tip.
"It will be great for anyone having a clear out, fantastic for people hunting for second-hand bargains, and hopefully a big help for this fantastic charity."
Gypsum Close recycling centre has been built to replace the facility currently running at Bridge Road, which is too small to meet growing demand.
The new £3.5milllion facility has been paid for with Government cash following the city council's successful bid to Weekly Collection Support Scheme.
Built on the site of a former brick factory on 1.3 hectares of unused council land, the new facility is five times the size of Bridge Road.
Almost 19,000 tonnes of waste was collected at the city's two recycling centres last year. Over 60 per cent of this was sorted and sent for recycling or composting.
On average, there are around 200 to 300 visitors to the city council's household waste recycling centres per day.