With Recycle Week starting on Monday, homelessness charity Emmaus Gloucestershire is celebrating saving thousands of pieces of furniture from going to landfill.

In 2019, Emmaus Gloucestershire saved 566 tonnes of items from the waste chain - the weight equivalent of approximately 44 double decker buses. Instead of going to the tip, these second-hand items were sold in five Emmaus charity shops across the county.

Donated items sold in the charity's Cheltenham, Gloucester, Nailsworth and Stroud shops generate the income needed to provide a home, meaningful work, daily support and funded training for people who have experienced homelessness and social exclusion.

The theme for this year's Recycle Week is Together - We Recycle. The combined efforts of the Emmaus Gloucestershire team, together with donors, shoppers and supporters, is helping to ensure that thousands of items every week are given a longer life.

Chris, who has lived at Emmaus Gloucestershire since September 2018 following 18 months rough sleeping in Dorset and Devon, said: "I help to collect furniture and other household items from people's homes so we can sell them in our shops. I enjoy getting up every day knowing that the work I'm doing is not only helping to raise money for Emmaus, so it can support people like me, but it is also saving so much from going to landfill.

"We have lots of items at bargain prices and I think it's great when customers who enjoy upcycling bring before and after photos in to show us what they have created from other people's unwanted items. The saying that one man's trash is another man's treasure has helped us save more than 500 tonnes from going to waste."

The charity, which has been shortlisted in BUILD's Recycling and Waste Management Awards 2020, is keen to take this year's Recycle Week as an opportunity to also thank all the people who donate items to Emmaus.

Joe Feeley, chief executive at Emmaus Gloucestershire, said: "We are delighted to have saved so much from landfill and this is thanks to the generous people who donate their unwanted items and to our dedicated team who work extremely hard collecting and sorting donations.

"We're proud that our services mean that we're doing our bit to help reduce waste in Gloucestershire, but also giving the public the opportunity to reduce the amount they throw away too. We couldn't do our work without the public and we hope going forward that our local community continues to pull together and help us make a difference to the environment and the lives of the people we support."

Emmaus Gloucestershire is running a limited collection service of large items from outside customers' homes. To book a collection, call 01452 Visit www.emmaus.org.uk/gloucestershire  for more information on the charity and donation drop off days at each shop.