Bra recycling banks launched in Birmingham

Aug 20 2010 by Stacey Barnfield, Birmingham Mail

A CITY-wide network of bra recycling banks is set to initially be rolled out at 11 sites across Birmingham.

The banks – similar in concept to ones for paper, clothing or bottles – were showcased at the council’s Climate Change Festival earlier this year.

While supporting the environmentally-friendly action of recycling, all bras that are collected will go to good use through the efforts of Breast Friends – a local charity supporting women with breast cancer.

Those that are collected are sold by recycling firm BCR Global Textiles to traders in developing countries, helping support small scale market traders and giving women access to garments they may not otherwise be able to afford. The benefits are then felt closer to home as the proceeds of the sales go to good causes in the UK such as the Breast Friends charity.

For every kilo of bras recycled £1 will be donated to the charity, and in the last 12 months 500,000 bras have been collected by BCR – raising £29,000 for several charities.

The banks are at: Sainsbury’s, Castle Vale Retail Park; Sainsbury’s, Maypole; Sainsbury’s, Northfield; Tesco, Quinton; Sainsbury’s, Selly Oak; Lidl, Sutton Coldfield; Silver Street car park, Kings Heath; Tesco, Witton.