Two Leicester-based companies, B-Sure Recycling and Lurex®, have teamed up with national charity Headway to find a crafty way to both remove waste from landfill and boost funds to support people affected by brain injuries.
Lurex, a world-renowned yarn company, has been creating threads for the most prestigious names in fashion since 1946, and has recently been searching for a way to recycle its trim waste from its metallic threads. Working with B-Sure Recycling – which is based at Manor Business Park in Enderby Road - the waste from Lurex’s® UK yarn factory in Whetstone, Leicester, is bagged, collected and delivered to Headway’s 27 charity shops in the Midlands and the North. Once the bags of trim waste from Lurex are delivered to a Headway charity shop, volunteers separate the trims into colours, bag them into small packets and sell them in stores’ craft areas.
Every 90 seconds, someone in the UK is admitted to hospital with a brain injury which can have a devastating life-long impact on lives. This could be due to a fall, stroke, road traffic collision, an assault, tumour, or brain haemorrhage. Headway - the brain injury association, raises awareness of and supports people affected. It can happen to anyone, at any time, and the effects can be devastating and permanent.
David Byrne, Head of Retail at Headway says, “Reducing any waste is always positive, and here is an example of businesses working together to find a clever and productive way to reuse waste and support services and survivors of brain injury. The packets of thread trim waste are sold in the arts and crafts sections of Headway stores, plus we are getting them instore just in time for our Second Hand September campaign.”
Second Hand September is a campaign to encourage people to buy only second-hand items for 30 days during the whole of September. Second Hand September has been inspiring people since 2019, to shop in a way that is kinder to people and planet. To donate or volunteer find your nearest Headway shop at https://www.headway.org.uk/supporting-you/in-your-area/charity-shops/.
Aaron Cooke, production manager for Lurex® explains, “As a company we have been looking to find a way to repurpose or reuse our trim waste for a long time with no avail, until B-Sure recycling came to our aid. Initially our goal was to try and reduce our landfill deposits but knowing it is being used to help people is a more than we could have hoped for. Thank you to everyone for their effort and help in making this happen.”
B-Sure Recycling was set up by Leicester-based Ross Chambers, Managing Director of B-Sure Installations in 2023 following a £70k investment. Family owned and run, B-Sure set up the new waste management company to help customers reach waste management targets by providing a complete collection and recycling service, or reuse solution. Ross Chambers found this crafty solution, he adds, “Previously this waste was sent to landfill but we saw an opportunity for this high quality thread to be reused. Craft hobbies are very popular and Headway features second hand craft items in its stores. Working with Lurex and the Headway team, the idea was born and the collection and delivery service was set up across the charities stores.”
In total approximately 2.5 tonnes of waste is saved from landfill per year – which equates to 4,572 kgs of waste.