News Release for Immediate Use 25th May 2007

Community at the heart of the Waste Strategy

Charities willing partners in Defra’s recycling challenge

The community recycling, reuse and composting networks welcome the government’s commitment to their sector in the new waste strategy.  The strategy acknowledges the community sector’s strengths and promises a programme of work to increase its capacity. The government makes an important pledge to increase the share of local authority contract work won by the third sector, promises to apply social benefit clauses to waste management contracts and to work in local partnerships with the third sector within a Zero Waste Places initiative.

Speaking on behalf of the networks, Matthew Thomson said “From food waste to re-use, from energy-from-waste to public engagement, and from compost to source-separated collection, the community sector is at the heart of Government plans to prevent waste and increase recycling.  We welcome the promises and look forward to working with local authorities, WRAP and other partners to make this vision a reality.”

ENDS

 

For further information contact:
Matthew Thomson matthew@lcrn.org.uk 020 7324 4690 / 077404 22679

Notes to Editors

1. The Department for Food and Rural Affairs released the new waste strategy for England on the 24th May 2007 - http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/waste/index.htm
2. The community recycling, reuse and composting networks comprise: Community Recycling Network UK, Furniture Reuse Network, Community Composting Network and London CRN.  The networks support and represent over 1000 charitable organisations and social enterprises delivering wide ranging resource management services across the UK.
3. Members of the networks divert over 800,000 tonnes of resource from landfill every year, at the same time training over 10,000 people and involving over 12,000 volunteers.  Across Europe the community resource sector employs over 45,000 people.