Barter it, Bank it, Bin it: Reflecting on our 2024 Moving Out Campaign
This year’s Moving Out campaign set out to help students navigate the one of the most stressful periods of the year – tenancy changeovers!
The Moving Out campaign is an annual collaborative initiative aimed at aiding both students and the local community during the summer period when many Leeds tenants change houses. It involves the University of Leeds, Leeds Beckett University, Unipol, and Leeds City Council, with additional support this year from new partners including Revive Leeds.
The campaign’s goals include reducing waste, redistributing unwanted items, and providing guidance on tenants how to change homes responsibly.
Throughout the campaign, teams of student Moving Out Ambassadors played a crucial role. They distributed 7,000 leaflets and knocked on 2,500 doors in inner North West Leeds, providing information on how to 'Barter it, Bank it, Bin it’ to reduce waste at changeover. The campaign advised on how to make moving easier by selling / swapping unwanted items, using donation banks, and making proper use of bin collections, waste and recycling centres.
A media campaign including social media, emails, posters and adverts at Hyde Park Picture House targeted students across Leeds, directing them to a dedicated Moving Out website filled with useful information to help make moving out more straightforward.
Barter it: Swap and Sell Initiatives
This year, the campaign introduced swap and sell shops at locations including Leeds University Union, Left Bank, and Cardigan Road Community Centre. Open to both students and community members, the events were incredibly popular both with sellers and buyers. Our digital media campaign also included advice on how to sell unwanted items online via sites like Depop, Vinted, Ebay and Facebook Marketplace.
Following the main changeover period, a community free shop was held at Rainbow Junktion, designed to pass on items from student donations to the local community. 225 people attended and benefitted from the free shop.
Bank it: New Donation Banks installed
Following the success of pop up donation points during last year’s moving period, additional donation banks were installed for this year. The banks encouraged students to start sorting and donating items as early as Easter, helping to alleviate the end-of-year rush.
A total of 14 donation banks were available across the area with new locations installed from the British Heart Foundation and Revive, who added four clothing banks to direct unwanted items to their reuse stores.
The donation banks once again proved very popular and convenient for students and the wider community, and partners were on hand to regularly empty them throughout the campaign period. Items donated by students raised money for charities including SLATE, St Vincent De Paul, and the British Heart Foundation.
During the main changeover period, food donation points were also promoted to students. As well as sharing existing donation points, a pop up food collection point at Hyde Park Picture House saw substantial donations which were able to be distributed via Rainbow Junktion and LUU’s Essentials, which supports students facing hardship by providing food assistance.
Bin it: Cleaning and collecting Initiatives
The Moving Out campaign provided advice to students on how best to dispose of waste items through correct use of bins, waste and recycling centres. It also advised students of the risk of being fined for improper bin use.
The communications were bolstered by supporting activities including increased bin collections, efforts by the Cleaner Neighbourhoods team, and direct engagement with landlords and letting agents.
Ongoing Support and Community Feedback
We understand that the tenancy changeover period can be challenging for both students and the wider community. We are immensely grateful to everyone who supported, contributed to, and promoted the Moving Out campaign and other waste reduction initiatives during this time.
A detailed report on the Moving Out campaign is being finalised. Once complete, it will be shared with the community, along with an invitation to provide feedback on the changeover period as a whole.
Our commitment to community support continues throughout the summer, as we share further information and advice with students through our Halls to Homes and Welcome to Leeds programmes.
Together, we can continue to make a positive impact on our community, demonstrating the strength and unity of the University of Leeds and its residents.
United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
We use the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a framework to guide our activity. Our work on Moving Out contributes to a number of SDGs, including:
- Goal 11: Sustainable cities and communities
- Goal 12: Responsible consumption and production
- Goal 17: Partnerships for the goals
Find out more about our impact on the SDGs.
