REHOME YOUR LEFTOVERS

We know you sometimes have leftovers, but it’s nice to do something good with them if you can – and if they were headed for landfill, rehoming them could save you money in waste costs. Try to identify what you might have at the end early in pre-production, that way you have more chance of finding them a home than at 4pm on the final shoot day! If you have any suggestions to add to our lists, let us know.

To list your items for rehoming (if there isn’t a specific place you could send them from the list below), you can also email The Callsheet with your items and have them listed on their Recycle, Sell and Reuse page (scroll to the bottom for guidance) – and on their Facebook page.

Please note that the majority of the listings are London based.

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FOOD

City Harvest London: Collects edible prop or food styling leftovers from set/studio and delivers to organisations that provide meals to groups such as homeless shelters, soup kitchens, centres for veterans, and organisations that assist people with alcohol or drug addictions. All food must have been stored properly and be of a reasonable quantity for it to be of use to their groups. Uncooked burgers, chicken and other meat products are good chilled or frozen but must have been stored carefully. They can also take household cleaning products, tinned food and personal care items such as shampoo, soaps and toothpaste as many community organisations offer shower and laundry facilities. They can also pass on clothes, shoes and towels. Must be arranged in advance – they’ve worked with many AdGreen advocates before and are used to picking up from London studios. To arrange, email food@cityharvest.org.uk or give them a call on 020 7041 8491 (or call Paula on 07720 265899 if it’s out of office hours). Give as much notice as you can, but they’ll do their best to accommodate any donations you have. If it’s last minute and they’re not able to collect, they might be able to arrange for you to drop off at one of their regular shelters on your way home or for you to send via courier to their warehouse in Acton.

People’s Fridge @ Pop Brixton: Drop your leftovers to the community fridge if you’re passing through Brixton on route home: SW9 8PQ

Olio: An app which connects food donations with those who would need them. Simply list what you have to offer and then arrange a pick up when someone gets in touch

Trussell Trust: They have around 20 food banks around London and accept donations of non-perishable, in date food.

American Church Soup Kitchen: We’re more used to going to the American Church for rehearsals and fittings, but they have a great soup kitchen that is in need of donations of non-perishable items. Here is their (oldish) wish list, and you can get in touch to organise regular donations if you have leftovers in your office.

FareShare: Organise food collections to their 20 centres across the UK. The London depot is in Deptford. Must be organised in advance.

Bio Collectors: If you’re not able to re-home the food, then a food waste collection is the next best thing. A company like Bio Collectors would do just the job. The food waste is turned into a product which can be used for horticultural purposes on farms as a highly valuable addition to fertiliser. Must be organised in advance.

Donating to City Harvest – get in touch with them as soon as you know you’re going to have food leftovers, be they from art dept or food styling.

COSTUME

As well as local charity shops for worn but clean garments, here are a few more specific charities and organisations that will are able to take costumes and other items:

Suited & Booted: One of several charities taking donations of smart work-wear for men and women, who then dress clients referred by various organisations, including Crisis, the NHS and London Probation. Free collection from central London locations.

Smart Works: Similar to Suited & Booted, Smart Works take donations of women’s workwear and have donation centres in London, Manchester and Edinburgh.

Smalls for All: If you’ve needed to buy any bras for your job, and they are leftover at the end, consider posting them to Livingstone in Scotland, to be donated to those in need in Africa.

Dress for Success: Again just taking women’s wear, but with donation centres in Bristol, Leeds, Manchester, Bellshill near Glasgow, and London.

Traid Textile Recycling: Great for soiled or aged items that can’t be worn again, they have over 700 recycling points in London alone, and you can also book a free collection for large quantities.

GREENER SUPPLIERS
Offset Warehouse: Company specialising in eco textiles

GREEN COSTUME GUIDE
And not so much a rehoming opportunity but an incredible resource, the Sustainable Costume Guide written by Sinéad O’Sullivan and Ilishio Lovejoy, and produced with support from We Are Albert and Eco Age. This extensive guide has all the info you could ever need, from a sustainable brand directly, to sourcing fabrics, haberdashery, leather and even dry cleaners.

PROPS & SETS

As with costume, charity shops are great, but schools and community organisations can also benefit from props, depending on what they are. Here are a few more specific charities and organisations that will be able to take props and also larger items, and put them to good use:

SMALLS
Library of Things: Doing exactly what it says on the tin, Library of Things is providing short-term hire on items that you might need every once in a while, but might not want to own, as well as training on how to use them. Lawnmower anyone? Based Dalston, Crystal Palace and Brixton, give them a call if you’ve got any good quality electricals needing a home.

Ready Set Recycle: A new organisation which already has a strong following across the pond, use the site to list items you have going spare, along with details of where they are and if you’d like any money for them. They’re also on Facebook.

Art Dept Prop Houses Noticeboard group on Facebook: Request to join the group to list your items for rehoming as well as being able to post your questions.

Set Exchange: Online bulletin board for advertising items to be rehomed.

BABY ITEMS
Little Village: This London based charity take donations of baby equipment, clothing, toys, bedding and pass along directly to parents that are in need. Like a food bank, but for baby stuff! You can drop off to 3 locations: Camden, Wandsworth and Southwark. Each centre has a wishlist of items which you can check online, but generally speaking they can take anything baby related: towels, 0-5 years clothing, pushchairs, toys, books, slings, muslins, sterilisers, breast pumps, nursing pads, buggies etc. Keep them in mind next time you’re dressing a kids bedroom or bathroom set!

TEXTILES
Traid Textile Recycling: With over 700 recycling points in London alone, you can also book a collection for large quantities.

Carpet Recycling UK: Suggestions for what to do with carpet that is no longer needed.

SETS & BUILDING MATERIALS
Set Surfaces: Reduce waste before you even start by checking out the pre-dressed panels that Set Surfaces hire out. Full inventory online, with everything from concrete to wood effect backdrops.

Scenary Salvage: Specialise in repurposing set pieces, transport costs charged but often comparable to skip charges

Stockyard North: Also work in a similar way to Scenary Salvage, collecting your set pieces and breaking them down to be reused and recycled, transport costs charged. Based in Manchester.

Recycle Waste Wood: Offering a cost-effective and efficient collection service for all wood waste – nationwide.

Perspex: If you have clear perspex, email us and we can put you in touch with an artist who is always looking for more supplies. If it’s coloured, you can donate it to The Children’s Scrap Project (see also below).

ARTS & CRAFTS SUPPLIES
ActionSpace: This charity supports the development of artists with learning disabilities and creates innovative projects for people with learning disabilities to engage with the visual arts. They would appreciate any leftover art department materials and craft supplies, as well as props and textiles.

The Children’s Scrap Project: Collect waste materials (including arts and crafts supplies, perspex and leftover paint) from businesses throughout London, free of charge. The charity’s main objective is to advance education and play by the distribution of donated materials to schools, colleges, playgroups, nurseries, community groups and other charitable organisations established for educational purposes. They provide access to these resources to over 500 community organisations for a small membership fee.

SCARF: Based in Wolverhampton, this is essentially the Midlands version of The Children’s Scrap Project, collecting arts and crafts supplies for their creative community workshops. Their Facebook page is a mine of amazing cheap craft ideas!

PAINT
Community RePaint: Collects reusable, leftover paint and re-distributes it to individuals, families, communities and charities in need, improving the wellbeing of people and the appearance of places across the UK. Use the website to find a collection point near you.

FURNITURE
Epping Reuse: Specialising in furniture and white goods, you can both donate and purchase from the warehouse showroom in Epping

HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
If you need to dispose of any hazardous materials, including solvents or paint, you must do this legally and safely. Hazgreen can help with this – don’t just leave it to production or locations to chuck it out on wrap. More info about hazardous waste (including how to tell if it’s hazardous or not!) on our Waste Management On Set page.

GREENER SUPPLIERS
Offset Warehouse: Company specialising in eco textiles

FSC: Search the FSC UK Product and Suppliers database to find sustainably managed timber

OTHER BITS N BOBS

ALL KINDS OF ITEMS
Use the Drop Point app to search for the item(s) you have, and it will connect you to local charities and community groups who can take the item – either drop it off, have it collected, or post it to them by generating a label.

NESPRESSO PODS
Either take them back to your ‘Nespresso Boutique’ or order a collection bag here and send back via Collect+ or Yodel. Note you can only order free bags online if you are purchasing something else, but you can order by phone on 0800 442 442 without another purchase. You can also pick them up in a boutique. Definitely worth having a stash of them in the production bag. You can also print our signs to help with an on set or office Nespresso pod collection.

CROC CLIPS
These can be sent back to the lighting company for re-bagging. Why not set up a small bucket on set for any used ones to be returned too? You can also print our sign to help with an on set collection.

GELS
Any large offcuts can be sent back to the lighting company for use by students.

POLYSTYRENE
Any good pieces can be returned for re-use, however broken pieces, cannot be reused and will go to landfill – it cannot be recycled as it is painted on one side. Alternatives to poly are detailed on the Low Energy Lighting page.

HARD DRIVES & OTHER SMALL ELECTRICALS
Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Regulation is a directive in the European Union that designates safe and responsible collection, recycling and recovery procedures for all types of electronic waste. Use Recycle Now to locate your nearest drop off point for your WEEE items including Hard Drives that are no longer working.

FILM STOCK
If you have old stock which you will not be using, first consider donating it to a film school for students to use, otherwise, contact a silver recovery facility such as Betts Environmental about whether they can take your film stock and extract the silver compound from it.

BATTERIES
Find out where your nearest battery bin is on the Battery Back website, or request a free bin for your organisation. Supermarkets are required to have a battery bin, but it might not be immediately visible! You can also print our signs to help with an on set or office battery collection.

PRINTER CARTRIDGES
If you have domestic printer cartridges, perhaps from your shoot printer, or at home, send them to Tesco and earn clubcard points. Simply print the form on this link, and post off for free. You can also drop them off at Staples branches – there’s a handy one right near Black Island if you’re in that neighbourhood!

LIGHT BULBS
Set up by the lighting industry in 2005 to take on their Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulation (WEEE) responsibility for recycling, Recolight organise collections across the UK for used bulbs and lamps of all kinds (see infographic to the below).

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Recolight’s bulb recycling guide

CORREX
This cannot be recycled, and you would be better off using a reusable floor covering like Locamats or a recyclable alternative Ram Board. More about Locamats and Ram Board in our FAQ section here.

ANYTHING ELSE?
Use the Recycle Now website to identify the closest drop off point for almost anything!

AND LASTLY, YOU CAN ALWAYS FIX THINGS!
Got electronics that need fixing? The Restart Project teaches us lazy folk how to repair rather than repurchase… And there’s always YouTube too!