The penultimate week of November is European Week for Waste Reduction. Among other environmentally friendly activities, this week in Tallinn you can recycle your unwanted but well-kept items.

For convenient recycling, the Uuskasutuskeskus (Recycling Centre) van will be making collection rounds around the city from 22 to 27 November, stopping in Kristine, Kesklinn, Pelgulinn, Haabersti, Lasnamäe and Nõmme. The collection rounds are organised in cooperation with the Tallinn Strategic Management Office.

"Considering people's consumption habits, the circular economy is one of the important aspects of preserving a liveable environment. After all, we can't live indefinitely at the expense of nature without it eventually boomeranging back to us," said Mart Luik, Tallinn Business Director. "I invite all citizens to take advantage of the opportunity created by the Recycling Centre to prevent waste and give decent household items a new life."

Clothes, shoes, toys, dishes, kitchen utensils, sports and hobbies equipment, knick-knacks, household textiles, furnishings, small household appliances which are clean and in good condition, can be brought to the Recycling Centre van. Out-of-season items, such as summer clothes and hobby equipment in winter and winter clothes in summer, are also welcome. In early winter, donations of men's warm clothing and footwear are very welcome to support people without shelter through the Tallinn Social Work Centre.

For safety reasons, the Recycling Centre does not accept car seats, CRT TVs and gas stoves. It also does not accept broken items.

The Recycling Centre van stops as follows:

• On 22 November from 12 noon to 1 pm at Räägu Park in Kristiine (Nõmme tee 52) and from 1.30 pm to 2.30 pm at the Uus Maailm café Kohalik (Koidu 82).
• On 23 November from 12 noon to 2 pm at Kakumäe Selver car park (Rannamõisa tee 6).
• On 24 November from 4 pm to 6 pm in front of Nõmme Health Centre (Jaama 11).
• On 25 November from 12 noon to 2 pm at the Pelgulinna Selver car park (Sõle 51).
• On 27 November from 11 am to 12 noon in front of Maxima XX in Lasnamäe (J. Smuuli tee 9) and from 12.30 pm to 1.30 pm in the parking lot of Läänemere Selver (Läänemere tee 28).

Please do not bring any furniture to the collection round - you can arrange for a free van to pick up well-kept furniture and larger household appliances in and around Tallinn by writing to [email protected] or calling 5553 3001.

Items that have become obsolete but are in good condition can also be taken to any of the Uuskasutuskeskus shops. In addition, there are reuse lockers in Tallinn's biggest shopping centres (Ülemiste, Rocca al Mare and Kristiine) and a 24/7 self-service collection house in the Baltic Station (for more information: www.uuskasutus.ee).

The Recycling Centre will recycle all good quality items. Some of the items will be sold, some will be donated to those in need through partners. The Recycling Centre uses the proceeds from sales to cover the running costs of its shops, which total in 16 shops across Estonia, as well as an e-shop. The Recycling Centre supports large families, women's shelters, homeless people and animal shelters, and works closely with student companies, art students and craftspeople to find ways to reuse different materials.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of the Environment is running a campaign to collect scrap vehicles from 22 November to 5 December. For two weeks, you can have your old car taken away free of charge. To do this, call the Vehicle Recyclers Association on 57877233 or Kuusakoski's toll-free number 13660.