Exeter students raise £45k for charity from items donated when moving out of halls

Uni of Exeter students have raised over £45,000 to charity by donating unwanted items when moving out of halls.

The donations are made as part of the British Heart Foundation’s Moving On scheme, which runs annually from May to September.

The average student apparently generates between 10-20kg of reusable items every year, from clothes to kitchen appliances to books and stationary, which are often just thrown away at the end of term.

But Exeter students can instead donate these, using collection points within halls and on campus. British Heart Foundation then uses these donations to sell in its shops, raising money for the charity.

Students living in halls have donated over 2,200 bags of unwanted items which went on to raise over £30,000. Students living in private rented accommodation have donated 1,100 bags of items, which brings the total raised through donations to £46,648.

Over 26 tonnes of unwanted items were donated and diverted from landfill, equivalent to 156,997kg of CO2 emissions.

Exeter’s partnership with the British Heart Foundation has been running for almost 10 years. Tim Reeves, University Account Executive at British Heart Foundation said: “We are really grateful for the continuing support at Exeter University and the number of bags donated last year exceeded all our expectations.

“Each year, using these donations, BHF shops and stores raise millions to help the BHF fund lifesaving research into heart and circulatory diseases, and we couldn’t do this without the continued support of students, like those in Exeter.”

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Nigel Morris, Strategic Waste & Resources Manager at the University of Exeter said: “We’re delighted to be able to support the British Heart Foundation once again through our Moving On project and I want to thank our students for their many donations. This project is vital in helping us to support those in need, contributing to the funding of vital research and is aligned to the principals of the circular economy, reducing waste and working towards our journey to environmental net gain and net zero.”

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