Growing Green for Operation Orphan

In November 2020, the end of a quickly changing year, Brad and the team found a new way to support the orphans and children in our care while helping save the environment too!

Waste Nott Want Nott is a waste removal service which ensures items such as mattresses, bed bases and sofas, don’t end up in a landfill. The items are collected from the customer’s home and taken to a shredding machine. There is a small profit from this service, all of which is given to Operation Orphan to use as is needed for the ongoing global projects.

The waste removal service started as one Friday evening collection a week. Brad and Reuben piloted the service with myself as the main admin coordinator. We are now fully booked for two collections a week and are looking at opening up a third evening.

Have a look at how much we’ve been able to donate since we started!

££ donated to

Operation Orphan

The money is donated as unrestricted funds and distributed to the projects which need it the most.

You see the dip in April? We didn’t get as many orders that month because we weren’t actively advertising WNWN on social media.
This is why it is so important to share stories of what we do. And having other people liking and interacting with us on social media, REALLY DOES MAKE A DIFFERENCE!

Why recycle?

Nearly 6 million mattresses are being sent to landfill or incinerated every year.

Mattresses take up 10 times more landfill space compared to other wastes.

(Source: End of Life Mattress Report 2019, Oakdene Hollins and Bed Advice UK)

Through our partners 4YourWaste, the items are shredded and the flock is used to make electricity. Any metal is recycled. Occasionally an item may be re-used to fulfil a referral from social services for a vulnerable family.

The shredding machine can shred 1 million mattresses a year! Unfortunately it is still cheaper to send a mattress to landfill so companies and councils are not redirecting their waste. This technology now exists and it is wrong that landfills are still the preferred option.

Our aim is to help change this behaviour, and in doing so make a significant impact on the environment and secure the long term future of orphans and the most vulnerable children around the world.

We are now able to provide this service for commercial companies such as Vale Clearances. Chris and Craig from VC are happy they can recycle some items from house clearances, and occasionally donate them to Forget-Me-Notts to be reused if the item is in good enough condition.

This is how Waste Nott Want Nott and other businesses can work together to help support the community and environment.

It is so special to watch a business grow from the beginning. I’m sure some of our first clients will agree we’ve come a far way since November last year! We couldn’t have done it without them and their feedback, as well as the wonderful people in our community who like & share all our posts and talk about us to friends and family.

So watch this space: Nottingham….. we’re going green

- Kelly 💚