MEMBERS NEWS

CSV Environment – Run a Muck Project
CSV Run a Muck introduced a groundbreaking new recycling service in Birmingham in September, their waste cooking oil doorstep collection scheme.  This unique service offers householders in east Birmingham the chance to turn their waste cooking oil into useful biodiesel, and at the same time reduce pollution in local streams and rivers.

CSV Run a Muck is now running fortnightly collections for six months in the Bordesley Green and Saltley areas.  Residents in the collection area can register to get involved, and receive a free collection vessel, funnel and information card. 

Julian Stanton, Run a Muck Project Manager, said at the launch “We are really looking forward to getting started on this project, which we believe to be one of the first of its kind nationwide.  While there are quite a lot of organisations collecting waste cooking oil from restaurants and takeaways, no-one has really tried to tap the potential resource from domestic sources.  We are proud of the fact that Birmingham is again leading the way nationally with innovation in recycling.”

Run a Muck Community Recycling has been operating in the east Birmingham area since 2002, with an initial focus on collecting and composting green garden waste.  Having inspired the establishment of city-wide garden waste composting, the programme has moved on to provide a range of recycling services, including recycling bulky waste and smaller items that are usually overlooked, such as jewellery, stamps and birthday cards. Funding for this project has been supplied by Birmingham Environment Partnership, and CSV Environment also acknowledges the support of Birmingham City Council and the Big Lottery Fund’s CRED programme.

Contact: Julian Stanton 0121 328 5330, or julian@csvenvironment.org.uk

ECT
The signing of a new contact between the Somerset Waste Partnership and ECT Recycling recently took place and paved the way for Somerset to reach record recycling rates.

From the 15 October, the collection of recycling and refuse has been carried out by recycling and waste management company ECT, and whilst the message to the public is to carry on as normal, the new contract opens up the potential for cardboard and plastic bottles to be added to the kerbside in the near future.

The news follows on from the recent announcement of the formation of the new Somerset Waste Partnership, which will take over the management of waste and recycling services from the six councils in Somerset.

Steve Read, Managing Director of the Somerset Waste Partnership said: 

“This is an important step towards our aim of recycling over 50 per cent of our household waste, and we are all delighted to be working with ECT, who have an excellent track record on recycling and waste management.  The new contract provides excellent value for money, with a projected saving of £1.7 million, and includes running trials next spring to add cardboard and plastic bottles to the kerbside, which will be another great boost to recycling in Somerset”.

Speaking at the signing of the new contract, Andy Bond, Managing Director of ECT Recycling said: “The ‘SORT IT!’ model at the heart of the partnership contract is the best approach to waste management in the UK.  Somerset has one of the highest recycling rates in the UK but more importantly one of the lowest amounts of residual waste.  By collecting food waste separately, people become more aware of the amount they are throwing out and start to minimise their waste themselves.  We’re delighted to be part of this partnership”.

As well as investigating options to add more materials to the kerbside, the new contract will look at harmonising recycling and waste collections throughout Somerset in order to provide a better service to the public.  The contract runs for seven years, with the option of two further extensions of up to seven years.

Info: http://www.ectgroup.co.uk/ info@ect.group.co.uk

Family First
Nottingham people looking for homes for affordable rent will be able to move in quicker thanks to recycling and housing charity Family First.

Family First will now collect unwanted furniture and electrical items that has been left in socially rented homes when tenants have moved out. This means the homes can be re-let quicker, less furniture is taken to landfill when the homes are being prepared to be re-let and those items can then be donated to those in need . Any furniture that is not suitable for re-distributing will be sold in Family First’s charity shops at Kilbourn Street, in Nottingham, and Low Street, in Sutton-In-Ashfield.

Family First, which is part of the LHA-ASRA group, is going to operate the new system in its own 400 homes in Nottinghamshire. Should the scheme be successful it may be rolled out to sister organisation LHA or other registered social landlords in the area.

Patrick Taylor Managing Director of Family First said, “The great thing about this new system is that it’s so simple and everyone will benefit. New tenants can move into their homes quicker, we’re helping the environment by recycling unwanted furniture and people who are in need are given a helping hand by Family First.”

The organisation helps people who are setting up home for the first time, for whom essential furniture and white goods, such as washing machines and fridges, can be prohibitively expensive. As well as furniture, Family First collects children’s clothing, buggies, cots, highchairs and toys through their Kidstuff project, and distribute to people on low incomes. During 2006-07 they collected 8,500 items, benefiting 1,100 tenants. Six vans collect donations from the general public and businesses across Nottinghamshire.  The items are checked, cleaned, reconditioned and distributed where they are needed most by a team of volunteers.

Contact: Patrick Taylor 0800 013 0497 www.familyfirst.org.uk

EMERGE
EMERGE Recycling receives nearly half a million to fund the ‘REAL Skills Programme’. The organisation has received a £460,550 cash injection to continue and expand an innovative schools, volunteer and community education programme, that will teach people across Greater Manchester valuable lessons on sustainable living. The project, aptly named 3Rs (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) Enterprise and Leadership (REAL) Skills Programme, will also work to increase regional volunteers to get actively involved in the environmental sector, and High School Students to get involved in local Social Enterprises.

Jo-Anne Witcombe, Education and Community Liaison Team Leader said: “EMERGE Recycling is absolutely delighted to receive the Reaching Communities grant from the Big Lottery Fund to deliver the 'REAL skills programme' in Greater Manchester. The grant will be a huge boost to our organisation and to the communities we serve, and we feel very privileged to receive it.”

The programme will start in April 2008 and will run for 3 years.

Also EMERGE Recycling has implemented a new style of battery recycling, specifically for businesses, which will comply with the up and coming Batteries Directive, due to become law September 2008. The service is easy to use and complies with the 2005 Hazardous waste regulations. Fun and informative boxes are used to collect AAA to laptop batteries.

Contact: http://www.emergemanchester.co.uk/  0161 2238200

Monmouthshire Community Recycling Scheme
Monmouthshire Community Recycling (MCR) were delighted to find that they topped a recent Welsh Assembly survey, which identified their recycling operation as being one of the most cost effective recycling services in Wales. The Survey of Funding of Municipal Waste Management Kerbside Collection in Wales, published on 13 September 2007 examined collection costs for recycling and rubbish services in Wales.

MCR were shown to have the second lowest collection costs out of the 22 local authorities surveyed at 24p per household per week and £89.50 per tonne, and the lowest cost for collections in rural areas. 

The survey showed that source separated collections were much cheaper than co-mingled collections. Monmouthshire Community Recycling (MCR) a social enterprise run by the ECT Group in partnership with Monmouthshire Environment Trust provides a weekly black box for paper, cans, glass, textiles and foil to 28,000 households in Monmouthshire. It is also piloting a ‘Zero Waste Village’, offering comprehensive recycling services, and forming partnerships to compost and reduce what is left.

The Zero Waste Village Project in St Arvans is proving very successful in recycling nearly everything the village throws out, involving most of the residents, and changing attitudes. This wide partnership including CRN UK member MCR (Monmouthshire Community Recycling), Monmouthshire County Council and a number of local groups, was officially launched in St Arvans in June this year.  Residents are offered weekly kerbside collections of paper, glass, cans, foil, textiles, plastics, tetrapak cartons, green waste and food waste, and a local site to take any surplus recycling during the week.  In the most recent measurement 95% of the village were using these services. The residents of St Arvans have been surveyed, consulted at meetings, and given feedback on the project.  Several have signed Zero Waste pledges, and taken information back to friends and neighbours.  On one week, nearly half the village avoided putting out any rubbish at all, and in an average week as much as 80% is going to recycling or composting.

Contact: David Roman 01291 430550 admin@monrecycling.co.uk

Mid Devon Community Recycling Ltd & ECT
Congratulations to Ken Orchard of Mid Devon Community Recycling & Steve Sears of ECT who have both been selected as Social Enterprise Ambassadors as part of the Social Enterprise Ambassadors programme funded by the Cabinet Office and led by the Social Enterprise Coalition.

In November 2006, the Social Enterprise Action Plan was launched by the Chancellor to help foster a culture of social enterprise in Britain. The Social Enterprise Ambassadors Programme is a key part of this drive.
Twenty five Ambassadors were selected after a thorough recruitment process, involving a variety of stake-holders and interviews across the country.

Through the stories and experiences of some of the most inspirational social entrepreneurs in the country, the programme will help the movement to achieve more by raising awareness among key groups and attracting new entrants.  The ambassadors are passionate about their work and they want to share that passion to inspire others to use business to tackle social and environmental needs.

Their aim, as ambassadors, is to show Britain that companies with social good at their core can be successful and financially secure. They can help society flourish, offer extremely practical solutions to a wide range of social and environmental problems – as well as presenting a viable and fulfilling career choice.

Visit: http://socialenterpriseambassadors.org/index.html

Changeworks
Changeworks’ charity shop initiative ‘Generous City’ was recently extended and has now become ‘Generous Scotland’.
“Charity shops provide all of us with one of the best opportunities to reduce, re-use and recycle. By buying second-hand we reduce the need for new products. By donating we stimulate re-use and we recycle items that would otherwise end up in landfill.” says Programme Co-ordinator Jess Gildener

According to Changeworks’ latest figures, Scotland’s charity shops raise at least £9 million a year for a variety of good causes. They process around 45,000 tonnes of donations and recycle at least 14,000 tonnes of textiles through rag merchants. In addition, Scotland’s 600+ charity shops develop and support over 11,000 volunteers within the community.

By working together with charities, local authorities, SEPA and SWAG, Changeworks will help charities across Scotland to attract more quality donations and prevent waste from unsuitable donations going to landfill. Initiatives that worked in Edinburgh and may now provide inspiration for projects in other areas include the Edinburgh Charity Map (a huge hit with tourists last summer), the Community Service Book Recycling Scheme and a Waste Aware Scotland training session for charity shop staff and volunteers.

The Generous Scotland team is currently producing a comprehensive resource to help a range of stakeholders implement waste prevention activities through charity shops.

Contact: Jess Gildener 0131 538 7943
or email:jgildener@changeworks.org.uk
web:www.changeworks.org.uk

Chelmsford Environment Partnership
Chelmsford Environment Partnership have been running Junk Swaps for a number of years around the Chelmsford Borough with ever growing success. They are now looking to spread this community event across the county so that more people can enjoy the benefits of REUSE.

Unlike online swaps, the Junk Swap provides a time and place to bring all unwanted items and to take anything for free.

Items are weighed as they come in (necessary if reuse credits are to be paid) and divided into categories (kitchen, toys, books etc). People are free to take whatever they want. At the end ‘leftovers’ are divided into items suitable for charity shops or recycling the remaining items which go to landfill are then weighed (this is usually around 5% of all items) in order to calculate how much has actually been diverted from landfill.

These events also provide a platform for education on environmental issues and help promote other local environmental organisations.

Chelmsford Environment Partnership is offering junk swap packages. They will organise an event for your Borough, including all promotion. On the day they can also teach ‘the ropes’ to anyone from your Council or community who might want to run an event in the future

Contact: Helena Byles 01245 265787
Email:helena@chelmsfordenvironment.com

ECCO
Due to the huge success of its battery recycling scheme, Harlow Council and not for profit organisation ECCO have announced that the initiative will be extended throughout the town. In addition to the 6,000 households currently taking part in the scheme, 24,000 further households will now be able to recycle their batteries, bringing the total number of households participating to 30,000.

The scheme, which is being run by Harlow Council and ECCO in partnership with Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP) was originally launched in April 2006. Since then, more than 40,400 batteries have been collected – the equivalent of over one tonne of waste being diverted from landfill to be recycled.

Contact: 01279 444 244

WISH
CRN UK Member Wessex Independent Self Help (WISH) have been working in partnership with charity Your Choice Furniture Recycling in North Dorset to assist people who have lost their possessions in Britain's worst flooding disaster for years. Your Choice, based in Sturminster Newton have been appealing to everyone in Dorset and the Wiltshire and Somerset borders to donate unwanted furniture and white goods to send to Gloucestershire for the many flood victims whose losses are not covered by insurance. Three piece suites, sofas, dining tables, chairs and white goods will be transported from its warehouse to the flood zone through the Furniture Re-use Network.
A new partnership has evolved with E On, WISH and Your Choice. E On donated 1,000 Eco kettles which are now being used by the disadvantaged, uninsured, and those on benefits. Collectively the 1,000 households which use them will be saving a massive £50,000 per annum in electricity bills! WISH have also distributed energy saving light bulbs to the value of £86,000 and are in the process of providing free ‘Power Down’ devices which send a home computer to sleep when it is not being used, resulting in dramatic energy reduction.

Email:info@wish-charity.co.uk or info@yourchoiceplus.co.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

**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