Refill & Save a Stray

** Local Business Helps HSDIN**

An animal-loving Accrington business owner has launched a scheme to support a local charity that re-homes and fosters previously injured and stray dogs rescued around the Hyndburn area.

The ‘Refill and Save a Stray’ campaign enables customers of Cartridge World Accrington to collect a stamp on a loyalty card every time they refill an empty printer cartridge at the store. For every four stamps collected, Cartridge World Accrington will donate £1 to the Hyndburn Stray Dogs charity and give the customer £1 off a refilled printer cartridge. The donations will help improve the quality of life for the rescued dogs. Darren Turner, owner of Cartridge World, located on Whalley Road, Accrington, hopes that customers will help raise in excess of £500 through the loyalty card scheme.

The Hyndburn Stray Dogs charity was started up in May 2001 by Hyndburn Borough's Dog Warden, Steve Wood, who became aware that injured dogs were being put down by vets due to a lack of funding for appropriate medical treatment. The first dog to be rescued was Dougal, who suffered serious injuries when he ran into the path of oncoming traffic. Instead of having the dog put to sleep, Steve went about raising the money to fund Dougal's treatment. In spite of having to have a leg amputated, Dougal made a good recovery and lives a happy life. Steve, Chairman and Welfare Officer at Hyndburn Stray Dogs, said: “What is so great about the Refill and Save a Stray campaign is that it shows what can be achieved when local businesses and communities work together, and we are delighted that the team at Cartridge World has chosen to support our work.” Darren says: “The Cartridge World scheme is rooted in a genuine desire to raise awareness of the Hyndburn Stray Dogs charity throughout the local area. As an animal-lover myself, I am proud to be supporting this project.”

Darren is also keen to raise awareness of recycling through the Refill and Save a Stray campaign: “The sad fact is that each year 47 million printer cartridges go to landfill in the UK — and each one takes 450 years to decompose. It’s a crazy situation when the dumped cartridges could be reused. Our customers will not only be supporting the environment through our loyalty card scheme, they will also be helping out a local charity.”

Cartridge World Accrington was last year shortlisted at the Lancashire Evening Telegraph Business Awards in the East Lancashire Environmental Award category, in recognition of its ‘Sow a Seed for a School’ campaign. The campaign ran in conjunction with Hyndburn-based environmental charity The Prospects Foundation, and resulted in £500 being donated across five projects carried out by several primary schools, including buying the seeds and plants for an organic courtyard garden and supplying the materials for making a disabled access point to an outdoor classroom area.