Readers praised for ‘support’

Our magnificent MyWelshpool readers have been praised by the town’s Rotary Club for supporting a bra appeal launched last week.

Due to the response, a collection has already taken place as readers responded in droves to the appeal to drop off their old bras at Morrisons, no matter what their condition.

“The Welshpool Rotary has collected its first unloved, ill-fitting or unwanted bras from the Morrisons supermarket, so thank you ladies!” a spokesperson said.

“Inside the supermarket entrance you will find the pink Against Breast Cancer Bra Bank bin where bras can be deposited. It does not matter what condition the bra is in - we still want it but laundered is good please.

“This initiative keeps these valuable textiles out of land fill, helps support the Against Breast Cancer charity in the UK and helps families in Africa.”

The collected bra will go to a recycling company in the UK to get sorted and baled to start a new life in African countries such as Togo, Ghana and Kenya.

Here the bales are bought by the African women to support small businesses for them to support their families by selling the bras in the markets in places.

New bras are impossibly expensive to make and buy in places like Africa. One of the unexpected gains of the initiative, now that these bras are affordable in town markets, more women are now wearing bras and sexual assault has gone down.

Many of the bras are resalable as they are. Some are taken apart by the African women and remade as cottage industries. The ones that are not reusable in the sorting process in the UK are broken down and recycled as cotton waste and metal. Everyone is a winner.

Against Breast Cancer have teamed up with a UK recycling company who help small businesses in Africa. The recycling company are donating £700 to cancer research for every ton of bras collected, that’s only 9,000 bras.

For more information on what Rotary has to offer contact Mike Lade on 07803 038858, welshpoolrotary@gmail.com or see www.welshpoolrotary.com. Also on Facebook @rotaryinwelshpool.

PICTURE: The bin has been flowing over following support from readers.