Insight

Donald Fitzgerald with the shredded paper collection for the Holloway Hens

What a load of rubbish!

Donald Fitzgerald, a funeral service arranger in the North London Region has been a very busy man. It all started whilst relaxing at home flicking through the TV channels when he came across a documentary about Holloway Women’s Prison.

The prison governor, Neil Thomas, had ’rescued’ some chickens which had been mistreated. As part of a rehabilitation process he had nominated 20 inmates to look after and care for the hens.

Mr Fitzgerald said, "It was very uplifting to see hardened criminals showing care and love for these ailing animals’", said Donald.

The ladies are given the task of keeping the hens well fed and their bedding clean - bedding which is made up of shredded paper – and there was not always enough paper to go around.

Donald did a quick calculation that in the North West London area there are over 30 Dignity funeral homes plus an administration centre that have lots of waste paper; this equalled a lot of shredded paper.

A few phone calls later to both the Chaplin and the governor of Holloway Prison and a deal was struck, Dignity Funerals would deliver this paper to the prison on a regular basis. Donald has extended the collections of paper to not only funeral homes but local offices and crematoriums and will be expanding to approach larger companies.

He said: "It is great that paper is put to such a good use rather than just land filled – this will be an ongoing project as Mr Thomas has just informed me that they are taking a delivery of another 30 hens – the Holloway Hen family is growing!"