ActionAid Recycling
ActionAid Recycling launch Greensource Imaging brand toner cartridges and pledge to give £2 to help fund ActionAid's educational work overseas for each one sold. ActionAid Recycling have already contributed over £225,000 to ActionAid's work since 2003 and the launch of the Greensource Imaging brand will help to significantly increase this amount.
ActionAid Recycling has closed the loop on its operations - empty cartridges that are collected from donors go straight to the onsite production facility and are reprocessed into compatible cartridges ready for sale again.
This new cartridge brand has significant benefits:
The money raised will enable ActionAid to work with children and adults who have never had the chance to go to school, to help them secure their right to education.  
Reconditioning empty cartridges significantly reduces the amount going to landfill.   The cartridges are reprocessed in Bristol.   This dramatically cuts the environmental damage caused by importing cartridges which are usually made in the Far East.
Brand launch contact: Vaughn Atkinson or Patrick Sheridan 0117 304 2390
Sales contact: 0117 304 2396, sales@aarecycling.org.uk

Bridport TLC  
Bridport TLC's Biodiesel Project received runner-up prize at the Observer Ecover Ethical Awards for Best DIY Project. The project collects and processes waste oil locally and it is used in local delivery, passenger and business vehicles.

Bristol TLC have been very busy over recent months promoting the 3Rs in partnership with West Dorset District Council, and the Waste Action Programme. During Recycle Week Sherborne Shoppers were information trained by 'Gurt Green Elvis' and his recycled wife 'Primella'. West Dorset DC Recycling Officers Ian Poyser & Leah Wistrand were on hand to help residents with advice and information, and Wessex's Compost Queen Kate Bagshaw dispensed composting advice to many residents keen to do more.

There is busy summer is ahead - following a successful training day with Professor Adam Read of Hyder Consulting, Bridport TLC's team of doorsteppers are already working their way around West Dorset. Beaminster, Bridport, South and West Dorchester have already been visited; the whole programme will be completed with 2 days at Dorset County Show in September where the team will be joined by 'Musical Ruth' - the singing nun!

Contact: Leon Edwards 01308 425916 leon@bridport-tlc.org.uk http://www.bridport-tlc.org.uk/Joomla/index.php

CRNS  
Community Recycling Network Scotland (CRNS) has taken on the co-ordination of the Real Nappy Campaign and networking activities in Scotland.
 
Previously the role was delivered by Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP) but following a review of this arrangement the Scottish Executive decided to form a partnership with the CRNS in an attempt to put community based promotional programmes at the heart of the Campaign.
   
Helen Brown, the Real Nappy Co-ordinator, who has transferred from WRAP to the CRNS, said of the new arrangement, "I am very much looking forward to working as part of the CRNS team and to further develop the Campaign in Scotland. A number of community groups are already running very good promotional schemes which engage with a whole number of local stakeholders as well as members of the public directly. There is a real opportunity for more of this type of approach."
 
Iain Gulland, the CRNS Network Director, said, "The CRNS welcomes the support of the Scottish Executive for this new partnership. There is growing recognition that waste prevention work can be best delivered through locally based community organisations and Real Nappy programmes such as those delivered by Changeworks in Edinburgh and Aberdeen Forward in the North East, are demonstrating this."
 
Contact: Helen Brown 01506 840665 helen@crns.org.uk http://www.realnappycampaign.com

FRN

The Furniture Re-use Network (FRN) has launched the Starter Packs Association to support the development of starter packs schemes across the country.

Starter Packs typically provide people moving into their first home with household items such as bedding, crockery, cutlery, curtains and other things needed to turn a property into a home.

Sarah Findlay, coordinator of Starter Packs Glasgow, said: "Starter Packs projects are a great way to allow the community to access a re-use facility for their unwanted and un-needed household goods - diversion from landfill with fantastic social benefits. Every city, town or rural community should have a Starter Packs project."

Paul Smith, chief executive of the FRN, said: "Our members provide people on low incomes with affordable furniture and domestic appliances. Some already run starter packs schemes as a natural extension to their work. A cooker is not much use without pots, pans, crockery and cutlery and a bed needs bedding. The FRN will act as a focus for the new association to link existing re-use organisations with communities and congregations wishing to provide this service."

Contact: Paul Smith   0117 9543 571 pauls@frn.org.uk   http://www.frn.org.uk/

Family First
Re-use charity Family First is celebrating collecting 8,500 items in 2006-07, benefiting 1,100 tenants.
Managing Director of Family First Patrick Taylor said: "It's a fantastic achievement and one we hope we can beat this year."
Family First helps people who are setting up home for the first time, for whom essential furniture and white goods can be prohibitively expensive, especially for those on low incomes. With the help of the Nottingham charity, part of the LHA-ASRA group, individuals and families are given such items to help them create a home.
Six vans collect donations from the general public and businesses across Greater Nottingham and Mansfield.   The items are checked, cleaned, reconditioned and distributed where they are needed most by a team of 65 volunteers. Non-essential and surplus items are sold at low cost through the Family First charity shops, and income is reinvested in the service. As well as furniture, Family First collects children's clothing, buggies, cots, highchairs and toys through their Kidstuff project, and distributes them to people on low incomes.
Contact: Patrick Taylor 0115 9111473 patricktaylor@familyfirst.org.uk

Bradford Environmental Action Trust (BEAT)
BEAT in Bradford are now running a free waste exchange throughout Yorkshire & the Humber called Why Waste. It enables business waste to be reused and recycled by community organisations. A team of experts identify availability and demand for materials and match willing traders.
Why Waste is funded by Yorkshire Forward (the Regional development Agency) and ERDF. A second year of Business Reuse Funding has also enabled Why Waste to build its links with the Community Waste Network, providing more support to community organisations such as scrapstores, re-paint schemes, wood recyclers and furniture stores. The enhanced service has already seen about 50 tonnes of university furniture passed on to communities in the region, including those hit by recent floods.
Why Waste offers a great opportunity for CRN UK members in Yorkshire and the Humber to access resources for their projects.
To find out more about the service, register your organisation and list your requirements visit http://www.whywaste.org.uk/   or tel: 01274 718420

Dawn Environmental

Doncaster kerbside recyclers Dawn Environmental have won the Best Social Enterprise in Yorkshire's first awards for businesses presented by The Business Enterprise Fund.

Tony Clabby, Dawn Environmental's Chief Executive Officer said "As a social enterprise it's great to be recognised for our business success as well as the achievement of our social and environmental aims. I hope that our success will encourage people to set up social enterprises and run them like a business."

Contact: info@dawnenvironmental.co.uk   www .dawnenvironmental.co.uk

BTCV Scotland Action Recycle

BTCV Scotland Action Recycle has been awarded ISO 14001 certification, an internationally accepted standard on environmental management. Sandra Garner, Development Manager, said: "We have always been proud of the service we offer our clients and the way we conduct our business with regard to environmental matters Now with the award of ISO 14001 certification, this has been confirmed by outside experts, who are used to judging standards on a daily basis in a wide variety of trades and industries."
Contact: Sandra Garner 01324 826 826

Hastings Furniture Project

The Hastings Furniture project was awarded both Community Business of the Year and the Overall Business of the Year Award in the recent Hastings Business Awards. The Judges were particularly impressed with HFS commitment to training, the huge dedication of the staff team and the development of the business after over 18 years of operation.

HFS Manager Naomi Ridley said "I am very pleased to accept this Award on behalf of everyone who works at HFS. It's great to receive this recognition of the work we are doing and I hope our success will encourage the whole social enterprise sector in Hastings."

The charity collects reusable unwanted furniture and electrical appliances from residents in Hastings and Rother free of charge, preventing over 100 tonnes of unwanted items entering local landfill every year. It also provides a full house clearance service at affordable rates. Items are then displayed in the project's shop and provided at low rates to people in receipt of benefits.

A small core staff support over 40 volunteers and work experience placements are involved in the work each year. Training is a central part of the work and several workers are undertaking NVQs with in-house Assessors. The experience helps many to move on into paid work.

Contact: Naomi Ridley 01424 441112 www.hfs.org.uk

Otter Rotters

Devon based organic recycling company Otter Rotters has recently launched a new range of recycled timber products. This project (funded by DEFRA's Business Re-use Fund), recycles discarded industrial timber that would otherwise have been sent to landfill sites or burnt.

The project works with construction companies and other large wood users in Exeter and East Devon and collects their unwanted, leftover timber for a small fee.   The salvaged wood is sorted according to quality and size and then transformed into a range of recycled wooden products for the garden and home - anything from kindling wood to quality kitchen tables and cabinets.   Woodworking skills are being passed onto local people, with a particular focus on those with learning disabilities and mental health issues, groups often excluded from meaningful work opportunities in our community.  

The new products include garden planters, bird boxes, picture frames, shelving, tables, kitchen cabinets and lots more; bespoke wood work orders are also undertaken.

Contact: Bridget Moss or Phil Foggitt 01404 549055 http://home.btconnect.com/otterrotters/

Owton Fens Community Association

Owton Fens Community Association has launched its Sustainable Hartlepool End of Life Vehicle Enterprise (SHELVE) Project with an opening ceremony performed by Ed Milliband MP.   The project has been assisted by CRED funding.

Owton Fens Community Association was established in 1985 to provide, promote and develop opportunities for individuals and groups from disadvantaged wards in Hartlepool. Its SHELVE Project is a sustainable community enterprise that aims to recover and recycle 85 - 95 per cent of end of life vehicles in order to reduce landfill waste in the area.   The funding from the CRED Programme has been used towards premises, equipment and staff costs.

Kevin Cranney, SHELVE Project Manager, said " We have spent a lot of time and effort developing our SHELVE project and are pleased that we have now officially launched it to offer the residents of Hartlepool a valuable service whilst also helping the local environment".

**Job vacancies on the CRN UK website**

Don't forget that the CRN UK website has job pages showing current community waste sector vacancies

www.crn.org.uk/about/jobs/main.shtml it is free for all CRN UK members to advertise their jobs here! Visit the site and enter your job details or email them to info@crn.org.uk