Welcome to The Network

Welcome to the latest edition of Network News. This edition focuses on the community sector and the role it plays here in Scotland and includes the valuable contribution it makes to a range of social, environmental and economic policies and strategies, including the National Waste Strategy.

So what does the community recycling sector do? During 2004/05 the community recycling sector, in accordance to research undertaken last year by the Community Recycling Network Scotland (CRNS) diverted 65,000 tonnes of waste from landfill, helped numerous families and households.  They have employed full time staff and offered a large number of volunteering opportunities through out the local community.

Many community recycling organisations have been developed by ordinary people who have seen a plethora of useful and valuable resources pass through their communities and they have thought – someone else must be able to use this? These resources, from furniture and clothing to nik naks are in high demand  and are often donated to underprivileged families and individuals in local communities. Community recycling demonstrates a further use than just diverting waste from landfill, it also demonstrates social and environmental benefits to communities, sometimes with little thought to the economic aspects.

It has to be said that much of this has been achieved through effective partnerships, both within the community sector and with the public sector. For this to happen it is very important that there are dedicated staff within local authorities who can liaise with the community sector to help maximise the opportunities, In addition the CRNS is currently involved in a ground breaking project looking at developing Public Social Partnerships as part of the EQUAL Programme.

The community sector is constantly evolving. Funding programmes are now changing their emphasis and looking more at the medium to long term economic viability of projects – what are they getting for their investment. And a new breed of social entrepreneur is emerging across Scotland – bringing with them new innovative project ideas.  In this edition Iain Gulland, the CRNS Network Director, offers his personal viewpoint of what funding has done for the sector and how it is changing.

Increasing numbers of CRNS members are providing services to business. More and more community recycling organisations are adapting to meet the need of local businesses while still delivering benefits to the local society, environment and economy.

In this edition, we look at the wide variety of community sector projects taking place across Scotland and get views from the sector in the Focus On section.  You can also find out what is happening locally in Your Network  It is important organisations comply with regulations.  You can keep up to date with changing legislation through NetRegs which features in the Policy and Legislation section.

As Susan Love from Federation of Small Businesses in Scotland in the November edition said, “No one person or agency holds the key to solving ‘the waste problem’, so business, including community recyclers and government (at all levels) must keep up the current dialogue if Scotland is to rise to the waste challenge.”

Some food for thought...

And finally, on a personal note, it has been rewarding to have worked with various partners to help promote Compost Awareness Week here in Scotland so don’t forget you can do your bit too – Add power to your flowers...compost!