Bag it and Bank it Recycling Champions 2023

Who knew unwanted clothing could make a difference to people’s lives? Well thanks to you, it’s doing just that – and you’ve hit another record this year in our annual Bag it and Bank it Recycling Championship.

Every January we ask our wonderful supporters to drop any unwanted clothing off in our recycling banks across the UK, whether outside a fire station or in their community. And this year you’ve once again soared past last year’s total with another record-breaking amount raised.

We’ve seen more than 400 tonnes of unwanted clothing dropped off at our clothing banks outside 966 fire stations, not only helping to divert it away from landfill, but also helping us to continue to be there for our fire services community, throughout their lives.

Just one of many examples of communities going above and beyond was Norfolk Hunstanton Fire Cadet Unit (pictured), which managed 80 bags of clothing supported by collections at Tesco and Co-op. The cadets even delivered presentations about the charity collection to their high schools.

Norfolk Hunstanton Fire Cadet Unit

January 2023 grand total

You’ve donated 405 tonnes of unwanted clothes in January, raising a record-breaking £89,162 from fire stations alone. Meanwhile, when looking at all UK recycling points, including other community sites, the total stands at 457 tonnes overall – bringing in a grand total of £96,394.

Bag it and Bank it Recycling Champions 2023:

England

Chatteris Fire Station in Cambridgeshire took first place for the second year in a row – both in England and UK-wide. The team there donated 4.68 tonnes of unwanted clothing, with an impressive £1,030 raised.

Looking across the UK as a whole, they were followed by Egremont in Cumbria in second place and then Cwmbran in South Wales in third.

Wales

Cwmbran Fire Station took the top spot for Wales this year. Having come 14^th last year, they nearly doubled their collection this time round to win the Welsh title – a fantastic achievement.

Altogether they collected 2.95 tonnes of clothing, raising £649.

Scotland

Kilsyth Fire Station came 3^rd last year in Scotland and are now Scottish champions for the first time, having collected 1.75 tonnes – which raised £384.

Each of the winning stations will receive the coveted ‘Rag’ Trophy and hamper full of tasty treats. Congratulations to all the winners, and thank you to everyone who generously donated their clothes alongside them!

Top 20 fire stations:

Here we’ve listed the top 20 fire stations from across the UK:

Every pound you raised through our January Bag it and Bank it Recycling Championship will help us continue to be there for our entire fire services community, throughout their lives, so thank you so much for your generosity.