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CRN/AN/PR29                                                           

Minister backs community sector at CRN conference

The Rt Hon Margaret Beckett MP, minister of state for the environment, gave her full backing for the work of the community sector at this year’s annual Community Recycling Network conference.Mrs Beckett said that waste management is central to sustainable development and that the relationship between the community sector and central government is crucial in achieving these aims. The CRN’s 13^th annual conference was being held in Birmingham this year and attracted speakers from Cairo, Italy and California as well as representatives from some of the UK’s best performing local authorities and community sector recycling organisations.“I want to express my appreciation of the role CRN is playing in the review of the Waste Strategy 2000 being undertaken by the Performance and Innovation Unit,” she said to 170 conference delegates. “Partnership is one of the main themes of the conference. Government sets the framework. Within this framework every local authority has a role to play and community recyclers need to engage with this.”Andy Moore, CRN coordinator, says: “We are delighted to receive accolades from the minister and hear of her enthusiasm for our sector. It’s good to know that our work is valued at cabinet level. We look forward to building on this partnership with government

.”The conference was launched with an historic agreement by the CRN and the Local Authority Recycling Advisory Committee (LARAC) when both organisations signed a memorandum of understanding. It was signed by Janet Westmoreland, chair of LARAC, and Andy Cunningham, chair of the CRN.

The conference also included presentations from the London Borough of Barnet and ECT Recycling on the importance of partnerships between local authorities and the community sector as well as updates on WRAP and the commitment of the Local Government Association to sustainable waste management.“The range of experience of the different speakers will surely stimulate and empower many who have been in the audience to adapt solutions implemented elsewhere in their local community contexts,” said one of the conference speakers Dominic Hogg, director of Eunomia Research and Consulting.

ENDS

Notes for editors: The Community Recycling Network is the 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 1.5 million households – six per cent of the UK population.

For further information: Andy Nelmes, CRN press officer, (0117) 908 2405, andyn@crn.org.uk Community Recycling Network, Trelawny House, Surrey Street, Bristol, BS2 8PS, tel: (0117) 942 0142. www.crn.org.uk.