UNWANTED baggage discarded by passengers at Birmingham Airport is to be given a new lease of life.
Fourteen suitcases have been collected from the airport this week as part of its new partnership with Newlife – the Charity for Disabled Children.
This was the first collection to be resold and reused by the charity in one of its six stores across the country – in Shropshire, Staffordshire, Derbyshire and Wirral. A new store is soon set to open in Yardley, Birmingham.
Kirstin McCarthy, head of sustainability at Birmingham Airport, said: “This partnership is a key part of our on-going commitment to reduce the amount of waste we produce, along with the disposal of resources in the most responsible way.
“The profits of each suitcase sold will go direct to Newlife, aiding the life changing support they provide every day for disabled and terminally ill children across the UK.”
The scheme has the potential to divert two tonnes of general waste from incineration in one year.
Empty suitcases would usually be sent off to the airport’s general waste streams.
Newlife provides essential equipment and support for disabled and terminally ill children across the UK.