PRESS RELEASE
February 26, 2003 CRN/AN/PR38 To be released immediately
Green groups from all over the North East and the Midlands are rising to the challenge to encourage more of us to recycle our household waste. The government has set tough targets, and a small army of committed community groups all over the country is hard at work coming up with sustainable solutions to the waste problem.
Only 12 per cent of municipal waste is recycled in England and Wales, making us one of the worst recyclers in Western Europe. Other countries are achieving far higher rates - Switzerland reaches 52 per cent, Austria 50 per cent, Germany 48 per cent and the Netherlands 46 per cent.
Local community recycling groups will get the chance to quiz experts from the Community Recycling Network (CRN), the UK's leading sustainable waste management organisation, when they visit Newcastle/York on Tuesday March 11/Wednesday March 12.
The day of seminars and workshops will focus on finding solutions to the funding and legislative challenges facing community groups involved in composting, waste education, recycling household waste and furniture re-use.
"With a new fund launched in January 2003 giving over £35 million to community and not-for-profit recycling organisations these events are timely in encouraging groups to develop or expand their projects," says Naomi Johnson, CRN Projects Manager, who will be talking about the funding opportunities available from the National Lottery's New Opportunities Fund.
The events are being held in a week when MPs will debate the introduction of a bill calling for every local authority to provide a quality doorstep recycling collection to every household by 2010.
ENDS
Notes for editors: The Community Recycling Network is a national umbrella organisation for more than 300 community groups, co-operatives and not-for-profit businesses in the community waste sector. Its aim is to promote community-based recycling as the most effective way of tackling the UK's growing waste problem. Its members have achieved some of the highest recycling rates in the UK and offer separated kerbside recycling collections to 1.6 million households - seven per cent of the UK population.
The Community Recycling Network is based at Trelawny House, Surrey Street, Bristol, BS2 8PS, tel: (0117) 942 0142. The CRN website is www.crn.org.uk.
For more information about the Community Recycling Network please contact: Andy Nelmes, CRN Press Officer, (0117) 908 0415 or 07949 626119, andyn@crn.org.uk
For more information about the doorstep kerbside recycling bill please contact: Camilla Freeman, (0207) 5661724, www.foe.co.uk
For more information about the New Opportunities Fund Transforming Waste Programme please contact: (0845) 00 00 121, www.nof.org.uk