Community Recycling in Wales

Community recycling means…

Recycling locally
Collecting materials and sorting, re-selling, composting or reprocessing them within the local area. Community recycling organisations typically provide social benefits too, such as jobs, training or providing items directly to those who need them.

Treating waste materials as a valuable resource
That pile of waste paper, those not-so-appealing leftovers, that old sofa in the skip – your ‘rubbish’ can be re-used, composted or reprocessed within your area to generate wealth and combat the effects of poverty.

Empowering local people to take ownership of the waste issue
Back to that old sofa again: This is your stuff. You can send it to landfill or pass it on to someone who needs it. Community recyclers give you that choice.
Click here to locate projects who will breathe new life into your old stuff

Measuring wealth not only in financial terms
…but also in terms of the positive impact on the quality of life of local people and their environment. We measure social and environmental benefits the way most businesses measure profits.

Keeping resources within the local area, reducing waste transport miles.

Providing employment and training for all
…including the long-term unemployed and people with special needs. Jobs are created at a local level, keeping wealth where it is most effective – within the community.

What can Cylch members offer?
Cylch Members offer a range of services, including:

• Household and commercial collections of furniture for reuse and refurbishment
• Household collections and clothing banks for textile reuse
• Household and commercial recycling collections
• Civic amenity and bring site management
• Green and food waste composting collections
• Recycling cooking oil into biodiesel
• A wide range of education and awareness raising initiatives
• Wood recycling
• Bulky waste services
• Waste prevention and minimisation

Let’s Prove It!

Cylch undertakes an annual collection of data from all Full Members
in order to quantify the contribution of the community sector towards waste and resource management in Wales.  This project is called ‘Let’s Prove It!’ and plays a key role in our representation and advocacy on behalf of community recyclers.

Our data highlights the fact that although tonnage diversion from landfill is an important factor in the success of the community recycling sector, the social benefits delivered by Cylch Members play an equally important role.

Data 2008-09
In 2008-09 Cylch Members diverted 31,857.15 tonnes of material from landfill.
This included:

• Re-use of 4,142.46 tonnes of material
• Recycling of 20,232.75 tonnes, and
• Composting of 7,481.94 tonnes.

As well as the following:

• Cylch Members operate in 20 local authority areas in Wales.
• The sector employs 809 part and full time staff
• The sector also offers a variety of work based placements for 1,999 people including social services clients, current offenders and intermediate labour market (ILM) workers.
• Cylch Members provide volunteering opportunities for 1,660 individuals.
• A total of 9% of the Cylch Member workforce (including volunteers) are disabled.
• The annual turnover of the sector in 08-09 was £21m, 66.48% of which was earned income.

To view the Let’s Prove It! Report 08-09, click here
 

Page updated: 11th January 2010