GET IT OUT FOR CARDIFF IS BACK!

The award-winning recycle and re-use scheme, Get It Out for Cardiff (GIOFC) is back for its 8th year.

Get it Out for Cardiff is the Cardiff Council initiative in association with Cardiff University, Cardiff Metropolitan and Glamorgan University which helps students to clear out their rubbish at the end of the academic year. The aim is to re-use and recycle as much of it as possible!

The scheme includes extra recycling and waste collections in Cathays, Roath and Gabalfa over 3 weekends in June. You can put out extra recycling and waste on 3 Saturdays in June - the 16th, 23rd and 30th, applying the normal routine of presenting your waste no later than 6am on the day and no earlier than 4.30pm the previous day.

21 Green Zones have been set up across the city university sites where you can donate clothing, food (tins, packets, jars etc), small electrical items, books, CD’s, DVD’s and kitchen items (plates, mugs, utensils, pans etc) Any food collected will be re-distributed by Fareshare Cymru to relieve food poverty in our communities.
Kitchen items collected will be stored over the summer by our partners Cardiff Self Storage and sold at the start of term at heavily discounted prices with all proceeds going to charity.

In an exciting new partnership, GIOFC has teamed up with the YMCA who will provide re-use banks across Cardiff to collect clothes, shoes, bags, textiles, small electrical items, books, CD’s/DVD’s at the end of term and all year round, a first for GIOFC. The items collected will be used by the YMCA to directly reinvest in projects and services for homeless people at the Cardiff YMCA Housing Association.

Last year, 11 tonnes of re-usable items were collected and all the stops will be pulled out to beat that total in 2012.

Cabinet Member for Environment, Cllr Ashley Govier said, “GIOFC is a fantastic and innovative campaign run by a highly committed partnership team. Through this scheme, we work closely with Cardiff’s universities to give students a great opportunity to recycle, reuse and dispose of their waste in a responsible manner while making a valuable contribution to their communities and charities through our partners, Fareshare Cymru and the YMCA. The student community is an important and vibrant part of the Cardiff social landscape and I urge all students in the area to make use of the additional service and this fantastic reuse and recycling campaign to play an important part in making Cardiff a cleaner, greener and more sustainable city. I will follow the team’s progress closely and look forward to the results later in the summer.”

Student Liaison Officer and GIOFC organiser, Kieran McCann said, “I’m so excited by the potential of this years re-use. Our re-use and charity side of the campaign has gone from strength to strength. This year we have developed new partnerships with YMCA FareShare and Cardiff Self Storage to increase the availability of re-use donations with increased green zones and YMCA charity banks across the city. With the new partnerships in place, we are very confident we can beat last year’s excellent totals.”

The details of where the green zones and YMCA banks can be found on the GIOFC page on http://www.cardiffdigs.co.uk/getitout.htm

Unity news issue 9 now online

Issue 9 now online: http://www.cardiffdigs.co.uk/unity.htm

UNITY news is your opportunity to find out about how the universities and student unions of Cardiff engage the community.


The latest edition, and last one of this academic term of Unity news is now online. This includes a lovely piece on our Student and Community Volunteer Awards, an update and thank you from Environmental Champions, our very exciting new community postcard initiative plus updates from all sabbatical officers.


Have a look and please distribute and link around your networks: http://www.cardiffdigs.co.uk/unity.htm

We have installed a shiny new reader which should make it easier to read; click over the issue to view in full screen and flick through the pages.

We have also launched a new enews subscription service so that you can keep updated on news, issues and campaigns. Sign up to receive enews on the link right off the homepage:

http://www.cardiffdigs.co.uk/

Also you can now follow us on twitter @cardiffdigs

Environmental Champions have a wheelie good weekend

Environmental Champions were out over the weekend promoting the Get It Out For Cardiff scheme and Charity collections.

Wheelie good volunteers

20 Environmental Champions volunteers working with Raise And Give, volunteers from the community, all four Cathays councillors, the chair of the landlords forum, waste management and Cardiff Student Union were out Saturday and Sunday. They gave up their time to door knock around the community promoting the charity element to the Get It Out For Cardiff scheme and using wheelbarrows to collect any donations http://www.cardiffdigs.co.uk/getitout.htm


Volunteers specifically drew people’s attention to the Green Zone located in the main reception of Cardiff Students Union and the YMCA re-use bank next to the Union by the Cathays railway footbridge whilst also making everyone aware of the extra waste and recycling collections happening in the main student areas over the next three Saturdays

With wheelbarrows provided by Cardiff Parks Service, delivered by Cardiff Rivers Group/Keep Wales Tidy, volunteers had a wheelie great time collecting items that people had to donate. Barrows full of clothing, kitchen equipment, food and electrical items could be seen rolled down the street. Some of the more unusual donations included Roller skates, a Chocolate fountain, Popcorn maker, electrical salad spinner, and items of fancy dress. The items were taken to the Green Zone and YMCA bank. These Green Zones will be open for the next few months for donations, so the message is when you clear out at the end of term donate items of re-use that you don’t want to struggle home with.

Get It Out For Cardiff
21 Green Zones are set up in halls of residences and Student Unions across the city to accept donations of clothing, food (tins, packets, jars etc), small electrical items, books, CD’s, DVD’s and kitchen items (plates, mugs, utensils, pans etc)

14 YMCA re-use banks are also in place to work alongside the Green Zones to collect clothes, shoes, bags, textiles, small electrical items, books, CD’s/DVD’s at the end of term and year round.

A number of charities are set to benefit from the scheme. Food is being collected for FareShare Cymru - supporting communities to relieve food poverty.

Clothing, electrical items, media and bric-a-brac is being collected for the YMCA to directly reinvest in projects and services for homeless people at the Cardiff YMCA Housing Association whilst kitchen items will be stored over the summer by Cardiff Self Storage and sold at the start of term at heavily discounted prices with all proceeds going to charity.

The Get It Out For Cardiff scheme includes extra waste collections in Cathays, Roath and Gabalfa over 3 weekends in June. Students can put out extra recycling and waste on 3 Saturdays in June; 16th, 23rd and 30th – for an early Saturday morning collection.

Campaign information including pin point google maps of the locations of the Green Zones and YMCA banks can be founds via the website: http://www.cardiffdigs.co.uk/getitout.htm

New and improved 'You’re In Now What?'

Last year around 12,000 social marketing posters were distributed providing social responsibility advice.

'You're In. Now What?' provides advice and assistance on the four main issues that concern students: Neighbour Relations, Waste and Recycling Responsibilities, Security and Health and Safety moving into the private rented accommodation sector.  

Thanks to ongoing support we are able to offer this poster free to our partners. We have already had orders of nearly 5,000 copies being delivered to letting agents this week and posted to individual landlords.  

This vital information can be given out during key exchange dates, displayed and distributed to help facilitate an easier, safer, greener transition for students into the private rented sector and into the community with heightened awareness of social responsibilities.

This updated poster is available to any landlords, letting agents, community members, students or tenants who would like to receive the poster to display in their property or to give out at the start of term. Please let me know: cardiffdigs@gmail.com the numbers you need and a postal address to send them too.

New look 'You're In. Now What?'

Get It Out For Cardiff partnership helping additional charities

The Get It Out For Cardiff partnership are pleased to announce that they have helped a number of additional charities through their end of term charity collections.

During the charity collections http://www.cardiffdigs.co.uk/getitout.htm items of kitchen equipment are collected and stored with Cardiff Self Storage over the summer then re-sold at cut prices at the start of term in a number of re-sales. This completes the recycling and re-use cycle as the donations we receive are exactly what people require at the start of term; this prevents items going to landfill, helps students with savings as apposed to buying brand new sets and stops them raiding their parents kitchens for necessities. All proceeds from the sales go to charity and last year the Lord Mayors charity received a cheque for £736.30 after three re-sales.

Now the campaign has helped a number of additional charities thanks to a bit of spring cleaning. The Get It Out For Cardiff team have been clearing out their Cardiff Self Storage container and were able to donate last year’s remaining left over kitchen equipment so that the unit is clear for this year’s campaign and influx of donations.

Cardiff Self Storage unit

Last Friday Sue Glendinning representing the South Wales region – Cross Councils Cardiff Consortium of Charities came to the unit and gratefully received lots of remaining kitchen items and equipment.

The charities that will benefit from the donations include:

Rainbow of Hope - Feeds the homeless every day, twice a day

Homeless Outreach - enables homeless people to sleep indoors during winter months

The Refugee Council, Cardiff section - offers support to Refugees and people from ethnic minorities

Women's Aid help with re-housing projects.

The Get It Out For Cardiff scheme is in full flow already, the plan is to host re-sales at the start of term, in a similar vein to last year, to sell kitchen items and donate the proceeds to charity. At the end of the re-sales charities will be invited in to collect any remaining items that they can use for their local projects.

Sue Glendinning said, "The charities that we represent are really excited that they have been included in Get it out for Cardiff's recycling of products. These local charities work tirelessly on the streets of Cardiff and are overjoyed to receive useful items to pass on to those in need - and help the local environment as well."


Kieran McCann, Student Liaison Officer who set up the charity scheme said:

“This is another great example of the widespread benefits of the end of term collections, I am truly grateful to the students who donate items for re-use. Green zones and re-use banks have again been set up this year so please donated items that can be re-used rather than struggle taking them home”

Campaign information including pin point google maps of the locations of the Green Zones and YMCA banks can be founds via the website: http://www.cardiffdigs.co.uk/getitout.htm

Get It Out Charity walkabouts

- Join us on our Get It Out For Cardiff charity walkabout this Saturday and Sunday the 9th and 10th June starting 10.30am back of Cardiff Student Union Senghennydd Road (outside magic wrap).

We will be wheeling wheelbarrows (what a mouth full!!) with Raise And Give volunteers around Cathays asking for charity donations to stop end of term re-use going into landfill and door knocking around the community to promote the http://www.cardiffdigs.co.uk/getitout.htm scheme.

- The scheme includes extra waste collections in Cathays, Roath and Gabalfa over 3 weekends in June; 16th, 23rd and 30th for an early Saturday morning collection

20 green zones are set up across the city including 14 YMCA re-use banks – pin point locations here: http://www.cardiffdigs.co.uk/getitout.htm including ones at all student halls, the Student Union, next to Cathays railway station, along Cryws road outside Roy Jenkins hall. Please spread the word

- Please could you also spend a few minutes completing this survey about cardiffdigs.co.uk with a chance to win an ipad, we need as many partner responses as possible so that we can develop the site: http://www.surveys.cardiff.gov.uk/cardiffdigs/

Bank Holiday recycling changes (4th - 9th June)

Whether you choose to toast the Queen with a glass of champagne or a mug of Britain's finest brew, Cardiff Council is reminding residents once your celebrations are over to recycle your left over food and packaging and help us Keep Cardiff Tidy!

Please note that your household waste and recycling collection service will be running one day late over the Bank Holiday week, the 4th - 9th June:

Normal Collection                                    Jubilee Collection


Monday 4th June                                        Tuesday 5th June

Tuesday 5th June                                        Wednesday 6th June

Wednesday 6th June                                   Thursday 7th June

Thursday 7th June                                       Friday 8th June

Friday 8th June                                           Saturday 9th June


For more information, see here for the leaflet