Charity provides reasons not to be grumpy

To some, an old CD is an old CD. But to children's charity Grumpy, the possibilities are endless.

The charity has taken unsold discs from the Vinyl Exchange music store on Bridge Street in the city centre and recycled them as arts and crafts products, which youngsters now turn into everything from mobiles to model animals.

Richard Farnell of the store said: "For us, these CDs were a waste product, and rather than put them on a tip, Grumpy was able to take them away and do something really positive with them."

Vinyl Exchange is just one local business to have benefited from having its waste products taken by the charity and transformed into materials which can be now used by Manchester youngsters.

Grumpy's centre in Vaughan Street, Gorton, contains a warehouse full of waste materials, which can then be used as play resources by organisations ranging from after school clubs and scout groups to colleges running costume design courses.

In most cases, the charity even collects these materials from the businesses, saving them the effort of having to arrange for the waste to be taken away.

For example, Unilever's tea packaging plant in Trafford Park donates cardboard rolls on which their tea bag paper is delivered from a paper mill. The rolls, and the small pieces of unused filter paper attached to them, are then used as materials for model making.

Food companies often donate cardboard and plastic items of packaging, which have become redundant after the firms changed their branding.

A company which makes airline meals has donated plastic trays, which children could use to mix paint in.

And Kellogg's in Trafford Park has donated boxes of unused plastic toys, which can now be used by younger children.

Maren Cervantes, of the Birch Community Centre in Rusholme, which uses materials from Grumpy in its after-school and holiday care clubs, said: "A lot of things they collect would be classed as rubbish by big companies, but they're really useful for us.

"If something like Grumpy didn't exist, we wouldn't have the time to phone companies and try to get these materials ourselves. It just proves the old saying that one man's rubbish is another man's treasure."

Manchester City Council, which is now holding a consultation to ask residents how they think recycling services can be improved, is pointing to the charity as an example of how organisations can use their waste in positive ways.

Councillor Neil Swannick, Executive Member for the Environment, said: "The City Council is keen to make sure businesses across the city get rid of their waste in responsible ways and Grumpy is an excellent example of how this can be done."

Any local businesses who think Grumpy could use their waste should contact via their website http://www.grumpy.org.uk/

Media contact:

Conrad Astley, tel 0161 234 4027

Manchester City Council launched Challenge Manchester - 100 Days to a cleaner, greener city 2008 on February 14 at Manchester Town Hall.

The campaign will run until 24 May 2008, featuring 100 days of intense activity all over Manchester with the first 50 days focussing on green issues - primarily waste minimisation, recycling and climate change - and the next 50 days focussing on community clean-ups, local environmental improvements and planting schemes.

The council will also be asking residents and businesses about what they want the council to do to help them minimise waste and recycle more.

Challenge Manchester began in 2004 with "Challenge Manchester: 100 Days to a Clean City", and in its fifth successful year the campaign returns to its core aim to "clean up" the city.

More information about Challenge Manchester and how you can participate appears on our website http://www.challengemanchester.co.uk/

You can also e-mail campaigns.team@notes.manchester.gov.uk

or telephone 0161 954 9000.