Have you walked off with your walking stick?
Zoomed away with your zimmer?
Or could you be handing back your bath aid?
Then Fife’s Health and Social Care Partnership wants to hear from you.
There are nearly 200,000 pieces of equipment, which help people live independent lives, lying in homes across the kingdom.
The organisation is holding an independent living equipment amnesty where people can hand back the likes of zimmers they no longer need.
The partnership is calling on Fifers to help others by taking them along to one of Fife Council’s participating recycling centres so the equipment can be reused or recycled.
The move comes following a successful pilot in Glenrothes last year, which saw an 8% increase in the overall volume of equipment being returned and returned more quickly.
That equates to around 6,000 pieces of equipment.
The service is available in the many Fife Council recycling centres including Glenrothes, Kirkcaldy, St Andrews, Pittenweem, Lochgelly, Dunfermline, Dalgety Bay and Methil.
Councillor Andrew Rodger, who chairs the health and social care partnership, underlined the financial and health impact which returning equipment can have for those who need support.
“Staying safe and independent for as long as possible as we get older is the wish of many,” he said.
“Equipment such as bath lifts, height adjustable seating, zimmer frames, shower chairs and kitchen trolleys can make a real difference to people’s lives.”
Each year more than 78,000 pieces of equipment are delivered to people’s homes but over the years there has been a build of equipment which has never been returned.
“At the moment we know there is over 160,000 pieces of assistive equipment sitting in homes across Fife.
“We want to encourage as many people as possible to take items, which are no longer needed, to their nearest participating recycling centre or make an appointment for collection so it can be reused, recycled or turned into cash for reinvestment.”
To make an appointment for collection call 01592 583252 or email Fces.orders@fife.gov.uk.
