Bra bank gets 400 donations in less than two weeks

A new bra bank in Peterborough city centre has been hailed a success after more than 400 bras were donated in less than two weeks.

The recycling point, installed at the Town Hall on 30 April, is part of a wider initiative supporting environmental sustainability and breast cancer research, the city council said.

The scheme is run in partnership with the charity Against Breast Cancer and The Recycling Clothes Company Ltd (RCC).

A Peterborough City Council spokesperson said: "We've had positive feedback and would like to thank everyone who has donated so far. Every donation helps fund research to improve the prevention and treatment of secondary breast cancer."

Once collected, the bras are transported to RCC's warehouse, where they are sorted and repacked before being shipped overseas.

They are then sold to small-scale traders, who either resell them or repurpose the material into other textile products, helping to reduce waste while supporting communities abroad.

For every tonne of bras collected, Against Breast Cancer receives £700 to support research into secondary breast cancer.

Last year, the charity said the initiative recycled 40 tonnes, or about 360,000 bras, across the UK.

Peterborough currently has four active bra banks, three of which are open to public donations.

An Against Breast Cancer spokesperson said its recycling team would welcome discussions with more potential bra bank hosts in Peterborough.

"Future sites would be considered outside the city centre to avoid oversaturating a single area and to ensure wider community participation," they added.

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