Community groups were recognised for their recycling efforts yesterday as a conference heard how such voluntary organisations will play an even greater role in dealing with the global energy crisis.
Community groups were recognised for their recycling efforts yesterday as a conference heard how such voluntary organisations will play an even greater role in dealing with the global energy crisis.
The conference in Perth, hosted by the Community Recycling Network for Scotland (CRNS), was combined with the prestigious awards ceremony for Scotland's best community recycling projects and brought together experts from across the UK.
The network, which helps community-based groups involved in recycling, reuse, composting and waste prevention activity, is already diverting more than 73,000 tonnes of material from landfill each year.
Such recycling projects deliver a range of other environmental, social and economic benefits to local communities, and, with an annual turnover of £26m in the sector, they are seen as increasingly key to reducing waste.
A £7.5m fund to help support community recycling projects opened for applications yesterday, with the Scottish Government contributing £2.5m a year over the next three years to the scheme.
Environment Secretary Richard Lochhead said: "We are now seeking innovative applications from not-for-profit projects which work to reduce, reuse and recycle waste."
The overall CRNS Member of the Year award went to Moray Recycling Action Group for its furniture reuse project The Green Home, which collects all types of unwanted household items and reallocates it to others through their Buckie-based retail outlets.
The Green Home's chief executive, Heath Gardner, said: "In the last year, we have helped 2753 individuals in our community through our furniture collection and reuse schemes and have increased our turnover by 75%."
Also nominated was Glasgow-based Spruce Carpets, which uses waste "as a valuable community resource through the refurbishment and re-use of old carpets".
Izzie Johnston, of Spruce Carpets, said the project was set up in 2003 and principally offers recycled, deep-cleaned carpets to people recovering from addiction or those with mental health issues or learning difficulties.
Fife-based Furniture Plus, a furniture reuse scheme, and Mull and Iona Community Trust's Mess Project, bio-diesel manufacturers who also run business recycling services and charity shops, were also recognised.
The Innovation Award was won by Shetland Amenity Trust's Enviroglass, a project which has virtually eliminated Shetland's waste-glass problem by using all the glass waste in paving slabs.
Highland Council won the Local Authority Partnership Award for its continued support for the community recycling sector through Waste Diversion agreements, which is diverting 4000 tonnes of waste from landfill disposal this year.
