A Steeple Morden woman has raised £2,300 for charity by collecting and recycling more than 2,000kg of 'unrecyclable' items.

Louise Crankshaw collects items that are not included in South Cambs or North Herts Council's kerbside recycling collections, and sends them to TerraCycle, which specialises in keeping difficult-to-recycle items out of landfill.

Louise signed up to several free recycling programmes, enabling her to set up a drop-off point where residents can bring their items.

While they are not typically included in council collections, items including toothbrushes, toothpaste tubes, crisp packets, biscuit wrappers and personal care and beauty products can all be taken to Louise's drop-off point.

Every item Louise takes to TerraCycle earns 'TerraCycle points', which are redeemed as monetary donations to Brain Tumour Research - Louise's chosen charity.

Louise said: "So far, we’ve raised £2,300 for Sandon JMI School by sending this waste to TerraCycle.

"We’re hoping to raise a similar amount for Brain Tumour Research who use the much-needed donations to fund research into the biggest cancer killer of children and adults under 40."

The drop-off point can be found at 29 Cheyney Street, and is open to the community 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Once the collected items are sent to TerraCycle, they are recycled by shredding, cleaning and turning them into plastic pellets, which can then be used by manufacturers to create new generic plastic products such as outdoor equipment - reducing the need to extract new resources from the planet.

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Louise said: "We encourage everyone in the area to get involved and sort, save and bring the items we can recycle to our drop-off location.

"It’s a great way to reduce the amount of waste you send to landfill, and I know from experience that the funds we raise will go towards a fantastic cause."

Louise has signed up to free recycling programmes by Colgate Oral Care, Pringles, KP Snacks, Marigold Gloves, Cathedral City, Carex, Pilgrims Choice and more.

For a full list of what Louise can accept, and to find out more, go to Facebook and search 'Charity Recycling North Herts and South Cambs'.