Dumped sledges at park being upcycled
FROM the joy of the snow to the disgusting detritus dumped by sledges – Queen’s Park was recently turned from a winter wonderland into a waste ground.
But a local charity has stepped in to try to make the best of the careless way the South Side park was treated by people who had come out to enjoy sledging.
Govanhill Baths Community Trust is planning to recycle all the sledges dumped after the recent cold spell.
And with more snow expected this week, the initiative couldn’t come at a better time.
Blanche Blu, who manages the project, said: “After the first big snowfall a couple of weeks ago I was walking through the park and could see piles and piles of rubbish and broken sledges.
“It was disgusting.
“I’ve lived in the area a long time and this was the worst I’d ever seen this kind of thing.
“So we decided to do something about it.
“We now have a sledge drop-off point at The Deep End where we have plastic processing machines as part of our UpHub project.
“The role of the UpHub is to recycle textiles, plastic and wood.
“There, they have machines that can crush, melt and shape the sledges.
“They can then be made into new products like craft packs which we give out to lots of community organisations, or as part of our Rags To Riches upcycled product range.”
Throughout the rest of January, South Side sledgers will have the opportunity to drop off their plastic sleds at The Deep End at 21 Nithsdale Street, where there is a full plastic recycling operation in place.
Run by the Govanhill Baths
Community Trust, Rags To Riches is an award-winning upcycling social enterprise that – since 2011– has been using waste to promote environmental sustainability, community engagement and education.
The UpHub project was awarded with a Climate Challenge Fund grant last year to help provide the Govanhill community with education around climate change, upcycling and cutting waste.
The team there grind down and repurpose the old sledges, and items will be fully disinfected.
It was the worst I’d seen it