Encouraging re-use

Help us be more green and support sustainability

Everybody knows that charity shops encourage re-use and prevent thousands of tonnes going to landfill every year, and we have the data to prove it.  The introduction of new “smart tills” in ten of our eleven shops in Northamptonshire means that since July we have been able to see a running total of sales in kilograms each week.

Each item sold is categorised and then the tills perform the calculation. The system also comes up with a figure for how much CO2 has been saved by avoiding waste.

From July to December 2025 the tills show that the ten shops have prevented a grand total of 31,770 kilograms from going to landfill by giving unwanted items such as plastic toys, books and men’s trousers a new lease of life.  We need donations of good quality clothes, bric-a-brac and books that are in a saleable condition in order to achieve this, but we can also generate a small amount of revenue from donations that could not be sold.

We have even partnered with Cash4Coins to turn foreign, out-of-date and damaged currency into donations.

Age UK Northamptonshire is in the business of improving life for older people in the county, not building a retail empire, but the income from our shops is vital to our survival, representing roughly 17% of our annual turnover.

Increases in national insurance contributions and the National Minimum Wage introduced in the Chancellor’s Autumn budget have meant that 2025 was a difficult year for Age UK Northamptonshire.  Everybody who shops in a charity shop or donates their unwanted items is helping to make the world a better place.

A big thank you to all our donors and shoppers!