Reduce, Reuse and Recycle across our Sydney Hostels!

Closing a hostel is always a sad event, but it provides the opportunity to give items used in the hostel a new life and connect with local communities in need as we donate goods and more. Sustainability superstars at Sydney Harbour YHA wasted no time in doing exactly that after the closure of Glebe Point YHA, and we spoke with Deputy Manager Gemma to learn more about how we reduce, use and recycle whenever we can!

Following the closure of Glebe Point YHA, there were lots of items that needed rehoming around Sydney and the network.

Sydney Harbour had all their linen delivered for sorting through with the aim of re-using and recycling as much as we could. Much of it is being spread between the remaining Sydney properties but there are some items that we have no use for, and we had a call around of local homeless shelters to see who would like to take it.

Foster House, a Salvation Army accommodation in Sydney’s Surry Hills, were glad for the donation (a whole car worth of linen!) and accepted it on Friday morning. They let us know that they would either use the items themselves or distribute them further to places in need.

Another quandary Sydney Harbour had been facing was what to do with their worn-out linen, those pieces that had been well-loved or had developed holes. A solution came in the shape of H&M’s cloth recycling program! They guarantee that no donated items end up in landfill and even the very worst pieces will be used for things like car insulation. They let us know that we could donate up to 3 garbage bags worth at a time and the staff didn’t bat an eyelid when we brought in so much to their store without warning! You can check out the program here and see there is a store near you that you can donate to.

Together, we can reduce our waste, recycle what we can - and re-use wherever available! Check out all the details about how your stay with YHA helps fund sustainability efforts and more!