Landlords and student groups have teamed up to tidy Leeds’s streets during student changeover week.
The city hosts about 37,000 students, the vast majority of whom will move house each year at the same time, leaving behind large amounts of rubbish, overflowing bins, furniture and personal items, initiating a huge clear up operation.
The Leeds Property Association (LPA), along with the University of Leeds, Leeds Beckett University, Leeds City Council and student housing charity Unipol aim to reduce the impact of this year’s changeover on local residents by promoting recycling and waste disposal options.
Landlords will take part in the Blue Bag Collection Scheme, providing thousands of blue bags for students to donate clothing, bedding, books and electrical items that they don’t need.
Bags are being delivered through students’ letterboxes and given out by student letting agents DEU Estates, Pickard Properties and Sugarhouse Properties.
Vulnerable
Donations will be distributed to the British Heart Foundation or given directly to vulnerable community members through other local charities.
LPA chairman Andrew Parascandolo (pictured) says it’s important that responsible landlords and letting agents in Headingley and Hyde Park recognise their responsibilities to the community by helping the council keep the streets clean and tidy.
“To assist the council workers, the Leeds Property Association has once again sponsored two caged wagons to collect some of the waste,” he explains. “Last year over 7,000kg of waste was removed from the streets.”
Richard Napier from Sugarhouse Properties adds “We already run a pop-up foodbank in our office so it’s great to be part of a wider coordinated initiative to promote re-using and responsible recycling.”
Landlords that want to take part can find more information at https://lpa.org.uk/
