Green Gown Awards 2015 – Facilities and Services - University of Reading - Finalist

CleanConscience

In November 2013, the University identified its next big project. It was getting more and more waste toiletries from the guest bedrooms with no way of being able to recycle or give them away and this was known to be a nationwide problem.

Following its successful collaboration since 2011 with Gwen Powell, director of Kompost Ltd, the University asked Gwen if they could get involved.

A solution was found and Gwen started up the charity CleanConscience after discovering that every year, 1.7 million children die from disease and infection. Half a million of these children could still be alive if they had soap to wash their hands. 

CleanConscience is able to re-process and recycle the soap bars that are now passed on to needy causes e.g. helping with the Ebola crisis etc.

The recycled liquid toiletries must stay in the UK and are therefore donated to people at risk.

Top 3 learnings

1  Identify a worthwhile project

2  Find the right person / people to help take the project forward (sometimes, as in this case, requiring internal and external people)

3  Support that person/s in order to make the project a reality.

Videos

• CleanConscience (click to hide)