Puppy power thanks to recycling
Recycling thousands of mobile phones and printer cartridges has enabled Warwickshire County Council to work with the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association to sponsor the training of a Guide Dog puppy.
The county council is working in partnership with the association to make use of redundant mobile phones and printer cartridges by recycling them.
The Guide Dogs receive £3.50 for every mobile phone recycled, with the county council offering collection facilities for at all its Household Waste Recycling Centres and through a free post envelope scheme available at local libraries.
Each year more than 60 million inkjet printer cartridges are thrown away and over 15 million mobile phones are left unwanted in drawers and cupboards - this represents millions of pounds of possible funds for Guide Dogs.
Just ten donated inkjet cartridges could pay for a guide dog for a day and 10,000 mobile phones would pay for a guide dog for life.
Thanks to residents efforts in Warwickshire it has been possible to sponsor ‘Warwick’ a Labrador/Golden Retriever cross born on the 5 November 2005 to his Sire (father) Morley and Dam (mother) Becky.
At just 24 months old he will become one of the most responsible dogs in the country.
Angela Shear, of Guide Dogs for the Blind Association, said: “We have developed a great working partnership with Warwickshire County Council and are very grateful to all the residents who have recycled their mobile phones and made it possible to sponsor another Guide Dog puppy.”
Warwick, named after a poll on Warwickshire County Council’s web site, will become a fully qualified working guide dog – the eyes of a vision-impaired person.
By co-sponsoring a puppy for the first 18 months of its life, Warwickshire’s residents have helped it learn all the skills it needs to be a second pair of eyes for a visually-impaired person.
Portfolio Holder for the Environment, Cllr Martin Heatley, said: “Guide Dogs for the Blind are a very worthwhile charity helping to improve the quality of life of people who are partially sighted or blind.
“The charity is not centrally funded and therefore needs to raise funds to keep up their work. Anyone who has an old mobile phone or used printer cartridge can help Guide Dogs of the Blind continue to make a difference.”