Recycle your walking aids to help patients and the environment

Return your unwanted walking aids this Recycle Week

The Mid Yorkshire Teaching NHS Trust is asking the public to return walking aids they no longer need so that they can be used by others who need them.

As part of national Recycle Week , which runs from 16-22 October, the Trust’s Therapy team are requesting people to collect up unused crutches, walking sticks, walking frames and kitchen trolleys, and bring them to one of four drop-off locations across the community.

Julie Herrick, the Trust’s MY Therapy Service Lead, said: “Once walking aids are no longer needed, they often end up in the garage gathering dust, under the stairs or even have plants hanging from them in the garden. This is your chance to have a declutter and put your old walking aids back into use for the NHS.

“This Recycle Week we’re asking people to return unwanted equipment to one of our collection points. They can then be cleaned, refurbished and used to help new patients struggling with their mobility.”

Aside from helping new patients, the returns will reduce costs incurred by unnecessarily replacing equipment. They will also prevent unused items from ending up in landfill sites or being reclaimed for scrap metal. Reuse of items that still have useful life left in them is the most sustainable option and such approaches avoid CO₂ emissions that go into the manufacture of new products.

Peter Leighton-Jones, the Trust’s Head of Sustainability, said: “If just two out of every five walking aids were returned, the average hospital could save up to £50k per year. Reusing a refurbished walking aid also reduces carbon emissions by some 98% compared with using a new walking aid.

“Looking across the entire health system, increasing the return rate over the next three years could reduce NHS carbon emissions by 7,400 tonnes of carbon emissions, equivalent to 173,000 car trips from Wakefield to London, which shows what a positive impact taking action can have.”

Please help us to do more to avoid waste and respond to climate change and the net zero challenge by giving back the walking aids you no longer need.

When and where to recycle your walking aids

To help you get involved with this initiative, collection points for walking aids have been arranged during Recycle Week at the following locations from Monday 16 October to Friday 22 October, between 8am and 3pm: