Kit Link Wirral – an opportunity to share
Welcome to Kit Link, our new and exciting sports based recycling scheme. Kit Link offers Wirral residents the opportunity to recycle and reuse new and used sports equipment and clothing.
The aim of the scheme is to provide much needed equipment to adults and children across Wirral who are prevented from accessing sports and physical activity due to the cost of clothing and equipment whilst increasing the lifespan of the goods and ultimately reducing carbon emissions and waste.
How does it work?
- Donate: Collection points are created in key locations across Wirral for residents to donate Sports kit and equipment
- Reuse: The Kit is checked for viability and allocated for distribution to groups or individuals who require the goods
- Be Active: The user can then engage in the physical activity that they previously couldn’t access and the Kit is reused.
Your help and generosity during these tough times will help:
- Tackle the cost barrier preventing people from accessing sport and physical activity.
- Increase the lifespan of sports clothing and equipment and thus reduce the need to purchase brand new goods.
- Reduce the need to manufacture new goods, meaning fewer carbon emissions and waste ending up in landfill.
We know that your donations will benefit our communities and help to make a difference to the lives of inactive children and adults across Wirral. Please bear in mind that there may be some items we cannot accept for safety, legality and hygienic reasons. Please view our list of acceptable and non acceptable items before donating.
Kit Link – what items are accepted:
Ball sports
- Footballs, rugby balls,
- Shin pads
- Goalkeeper gloves
- Boots
- Clothing: shorts, t-shirts, team kits
Cricket
- Cricket balls
- Bats
- Bags
- Stumps, guards
- Gloves, pads
Martial Arts
- Gloves, pads
- Martial arts robes
- Shin guards
Racket Sports
- Rackets (tennis, badminton, table tennis, squash etc.)
- Balls
- Trainers, bags
Golf
- Clubs
- Balls
- Bags
Water sports
- Wetsuits
- Swimming caps, goggles,
- Pool floats, diving toys
Athletics
- Running shoes
- Shorts, t-shirts
Misc
- Skipping ropes (untangled)
- Fitness DVDs (checked in working order)
- Hula hoops
- Roller blades, roller skates, skateboards
- Bike pumps/other air pumps
This list is non-exhaustive. Additional items may be accepted providing they are sports/fitness related and are safe, hygienic, useable and of appropriate quality.
Items that we do not accept include:
Hygiene
- Gum shields
- Swimwear
- Trainer socks
- Sweatbands
- Towels
- Items with visible sweat stains
Legal
- Sports nutrition (protein, consumable supplements, drinks) (not suitable for under 18s)
- Martial arts, or other sports equipment deemed dangerous (nun chucks, fencing swords,
- shooting equipment, including bows)
Undesirable
- Clothing in very worn condition or with visible stains
- Chalk of any kind
- Footballs, rugby balls etc. with any excessive wear and tear
- Clothing or kit with specific club logos
- ‘As seen on TV’ items
- Any rusted items (scooter, pogo sticks etc)
Safety
- Electronics/media of any kind
- Heavy weights (over 3kg)
- Items requiring 2 or more people to lift
- Armbands or any inflatables
- Ice skates
- Safety pads, helmets
This list is non-exhaustive. Please do not donate anything you consider to be unsafe, unusable, undesirable or unhygienic.
We aim to contact organisations, sports clubs and individuals with the objective to collect sports kit donations, then distribute it to clubs/areas/people that need it. This will hopefully make sports accessible to all by making kit more readily available, especially during the current economic climate.
In turn, this will make us healthier as a borough while helping to combat the climate crisis by recycling.
So if you’re an organisation needing kit, or you know of someone who needs kit or you have kit to donate then please email Kirsten Hicks – kirsten@wirral.gov.uk
