Gift it, Reuse it

About

Gift it Reuse it (GiRi) is a flagship initiative that allows students leaving halls of
residence to donate unwanted household items to incoming students. Run by the University’s Sustainability and Commercial, Residential & Campus Services teams, GiRi operates every summer and in pop-up free shops throughout the academic year. Launched in the summer of 2024 on Streatham campus, it forms part of the University’s Circular Economy strategy, and we calculate it saves around 18 tonnes of CO2 emissions and an average of £20,000 in student expenditure p.a. At designated collection points within halls of residence, students are encouraged to drop off items such as kitchenware, small appliances and other household essentials that they no longer wanted. These are sorted, cleaned and PAT-tested (where necessary) before being offered to incoming students in ‘Free Shops’ at the start of the new academic year. The scheme’s main aims are to encourage reuse and reduce the likelihood that
good quality household items end up in waste streams, and to support students in need by providing them with essential items for free. The scheme has received much positive feedback, particularly from international students and their families.

Top 3 learnings

Through delivering Gift it Reuse it, we’ve learnt a huge amount about collaboration, what students need and the logistics of running a circular economy initiative in a university setting (with minimal manpower and funding!). Our top 3 learnings can be summarised as: - Student demand was far higher than we anticipated (so we need to make sure we plan for scale going forward and have enough people to assist with sorting and shop set-up). - Clear signage, simple drop-off points and accessible locations are essential (we’ve made sure that donating and collecting items is as easy as possible this year (with increased pavement signage in particular). ⁃ Students wanted to get involved in the process (going forward, we want to give them more ownership so that they can help drive the initiative forward).

What is means to win

Winning a Green Gown Award would be an incredible honour for our institution and a powerful affirmation of the impact that can be achieved through small teams and resourceful thinking. Gift it Reuse it was created and delivered with minimal resources, but its reach and influence have been significant -supporting students, reducing waste and embedding circular economy principles into university life. Recognition from such a respected and credible platform would not only celebrate the dedication of the students and staff involved, but also help raise the profile of sustainability across the university community. We hope it would inspire further innovation, strengthen engagement and demonstrate to senior leaders the value of low-cost, high-impact initiatives like ours. We’d be proud to share our journey with the Green Gown community - and even prouder if it could inspire others to adopt similar approaches!

Sustainable Development Goals