GREAT North Air Ambulance Service has gone ‘green’, thanks to a pioneering and potentially lucrative recycling service.

To keep the fleet of life-saving helicopters airborne, the organisation has set up a door-to-door service for businesses in the North-East and North Yorkshire.

It picks up and recycles all kind of waste including paper, cardboard, plastic, cans, shrink wrap, printer cartridges and even mobile phones.

Run under the banner of the Great North Air Ambulance Trading Company Ltd, the recycling operation will donate all its proceeds to the charity.

The company’s general manager, Steve Walton, said the new eco-friendly sideline would fill a gap in the market.

“People like using us because it makes them feel good for two reasons – they are helping the environment and a really important charity,” he said.

“At the moment, councils will come and collect recycling from people’s homes but not from commercial businesses.

“Traders find themselves throwing out tonnes of rubbish, even though they want to do their bit to recycle.

“Some businesses offer a recycling service for trade, but a lot of them are very expensive compared with us.”

Serving shops, bars, restaurants and offices across the region, collectors from the charity offer a pick-up service for waste that can be recycled for £10 a time.

In contrast to other commercial processors, the trading company helps smallscale independent businesses, and is willing to collect as few or as many items as necessary for the same price.

“The trading company raised £340,000 for the charity last year and is the largest donator to the air a m b u l a n c e , ”

said Mr Walton, who runs the company from a Newton Aycliffe trading estate.

“We would like to think people support us because of who we are.

“They can see they are getting something for their money because the helicopter is still flying and lives are being saved.

“Their money doesn’t just disappear in some huge conglomerate.”

Chief executive of GNAAS, Grahame Pickering, said: “This is an innovative and eco-friendly way of boosting the income of our organisation.

“We would urge any businesses in the region to consider using this service, which benefits the environment as well as the Great North Air Ambulance.”

For more information, call 01325 307753.