Left to right: Chantele Cooper, Operations Administrator, Ubico; Pete Tennant Waste Operations Supervisor, Ubico; Steve Daffern, Operations and Transport Manager, Ubico; and Kate Cole, Waste Services Officer, Tewkesbury Borough Council. Seated – Vicki Oliver, founder of Brockworth Hedgehog Rescue (Photo: Brockworth Hedgehog Rescue Centre)
When some hedgehog bedding in the form of newspapers was inadvertently recycled by Tewkesbury Borough Council’s waste team, officers decided to make amends for the array of poorly hedgehogs at Brockworth Hedgehog Rescue Centre.
Hedgehogs can nest in recycled newspaper and Vicki Oliver had left some outside the centre, which was destined to be used as bedding for the poorly hogs. She contacted Tewkesbury’s waste and recycling team to let them know they had mistakenly taken one of her drop-off collection point bins meant for the hedgehogs, and not her own domestic recycling bin, and the team decided to take a visit to Brockworth Hedgehog Rescue Centre with some replacement newspapers and treats.
Operations and Transport Manager for Ubico’s Tewkesbury contract, Steve Daffern said: “We were very sorry to hear we’d accidentally recycled the newspapers that were earmarked for reuse as bedding. To make amends we gathered up another bin full of paper and donated this, plus cat food, dog biscuits and cleaning products to the charity. It was incredible to take a peek at the 30 hospital units and to hear about the amount of work that goes into rehabilitating each hedgehog.”
Tewkesbury Borough Council’s Waste Services Officer, Kate Cole said: “We are delighted that we could make amends to this wonderful animal charity, and the Waste Services Team have also donated a free Garden Waste subscription as one of the prizes for the charity’s open day which takes place on 24 September.”
Donations to the charity go a long way in helping Brockworth Hedgehog Rescue Centre to exist. It costs the small charity over £30,000 per year to tend for the 500 or so hedgehogs that annually pass through its shed doors.
Vicki Oliver, who set the charity up in 2015, said: “While I was initially disappointed to find that the newspaper had been recycled, I’m grateful to Ubico and Tewkesbury Borough Council for the support they’ve offered. Hedgehogs are in dramatic decline and they urgently need as much support as possible. This donation of food and bedding will be used by the volunteers and will help keep our 30 hedgehogs going for a few days.”
To donate
To find out how to donate to the charity, and learn what to do should if you find an abandoned or injured hedgehog visit www.brockworthhedgehogrescue.co.uk