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Government provides funds for Community SupportDefra today announced a
cash boost to enable the voluntary and community sector to continue its vital
work in reusing, recycling and composting waste. Community organisations
operating in England will benefit from £4m of funding and support to help
them develop partnerships with local authorities and share their expertise. The community waste sector
has pioneered many of the services that are widespread today, including
kerbside collection of recyclables. Other activities cover the collection of
unwanted furniture for distribution to families on low incomes and community
composting activities which both help to reduce the amount of municipal waste
going to landfill. Environment Minister,
Elliot Morley, said the funding was vital, not least because the community
waste sector has been a 'major player' in the municipal waste
scene."Community waste projects now provide kerbside recycling services
to more than two million homes, and have created thousands of jobs over the
past 10 years, as well as many training and volunteering opportunities for
people who find it difficult to find work," he explained. "The
majority of organisations in the sector are small, localised voluntary groups
relying heavily on grant funding or charitable donations. This funding is
therefore a real opportunity for them to think about their future and what
they need to do to sustain their activities." The funding will be divided
into three strands: 1. A task force will be set
up to champion the sector in the long-term and identify the key barriers
preventing its development. 2. A pilot scheme to fund
regional co-ordinators in four regions (Yorkshire and Humberside, the South
West, the North West and Eastern England) to raise awareness of community
sector activities with local and regional government and spread best practice. 3. However, the majority of
the funding (£3m) will be targeted funding including help for the sector to
develop meaningful partnerships with local government. This money will be
available through a bidding process which is due to be launched in December. The UK community waste and recycling sector comprises between 850 and 1,000 organisations. Most are linked by three main umbrella groups - the Community Composting Network (CCN), the Community Recycling Network (CRN) and the Furniture Reuse Network (FRN) - each of which has given its support to this 'exciting new opportunity'. The Networks said the money will help see new projects get off the ground, as well as many current projects go from strength to strength. The sector is renowned for the innovative services it delivers. |
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