North West Leicestershire District Council has been named as a finalist in the 2024 Awards for Excellence in Recycling and Waste Management.

The council is being recognised for its School Uniform Swap Shop, which has been shortlisted in the Reuse Initiative of the Year category.

It will form part of the Awards for Excellence in Recycling and Waste Management ceremony which will is taking place at The Grosvenor, London, on May 16.

The event is a unique opportunity to gain industry recognition for such achievements and promote recycling, reuse and waste reduction.

North West Leicestershire District Council's school uniform swap shop was created to encourage the reuse of school uniforms, while reducing waste, increasing recycling and reducing costs for families across the district.

The council says that, in the current cost-of-living crisis, this campaign was crucial in supporting families who may otherwise have to choose between food or school uniform.

Swap shops were held during school holidays which is when many parents are looking for replacement school uniforms.

The council's food poverty officer worked with community groups and Co-operatives throughout the district to set up 19 swap shop locations, resulting in what has been described as 'an incredibly successful initiative'.

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Working with these groups and shops not only ensured the project was targeted at families but raised awareness to everybody using these venues at Coalville and Ashby.

The council said it initially intended to run the school uniform swap shop from the last day of the school summer term until the end of the summer holidays, but it was continued in many venues due to its popularity and success.

 Not only did it save families money, it also significantly reduced the amount of clothing going to waste.

In other districts, families would have no choice but to throw away uniforms that no longer fitted their school-age children.

However, the school uniform swap shop meant that clothes could be reused and gave families across the district the opportunity to give the clothes another life. 

The council adds that it continues even now in various places around the district, some venues not only have a school uniform rack but a warm coat and nursery rack.

As a council, North West Leicestershire says it has a strong net zero ambition, so it was important it also found suitable reuse and recycling routes for any leftover uniforms.

Dirty uniform that were not picked up were donated to the Air Ambulance to be made into rags for industry purposes.

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The council also partnered up with a charity group in Nottinghamshire where 90.7kg worth of plain school uniforms were given to them and diverted away from landfill and incineration.

Not only did the campaign give school uniforms another life, the coat hangers and coat racks were donated from people and reused as well as the boxes below the racks.

The council says no other local authority ran a campaign to this scale. 

Overall, the project saved around three tonnes of school uniforms that would have been thrown away.