Charity celebrates reuse award win
The Benjamin Foundation has won a Reuse Network award, which recognises the charity’s work to promote reuse, in partnership with FCC Environment.
The award, titled the Reuse Network’s Innovative Project of the Year award, recognised the success of the Norwich ‘reuse drop off centre’ which opened in June 2022.
The charity said it has transformed the former local authority operated household waste recycling centre (HWRC) on to a reuse drive through and drop off centre.
The preloved items are sorted, with good quality furniture and household items being sold in the charity’s furniture stores to raise money for the charity’s work with young people across Norfolk and Suffolk.
Since opening, over 500 people have visited the drop off reuse centre to donate pre-loved items, resulting in over 60 tonnes of items finding a new home.
Paul Sinclair, operations manager at The Benjamin Foundation, commented: “The Norwich reuse drop off centre is a champion for a change of thinking – not just encouraging people to donate their pre-loved goods, but the drive-through facility makes it easier than ever for them to do so.”
MRWA funds community garden restoration
The Merseyside Recycling and Waste Authority (MRWA) has given funding to a project to transform overgrown church grounds into an eco-garden.
MRWA said that it awarded St Mary’s Church in Liscard £8,000 from the 2022/23 MRWA and Veolia Community Fund. The space is said to host fruit and vegetable growing, wildflower planting, composting and a kids’ gardening club.
The Church is working with Liscard Primary School, Wirral Environmental Network and Faiths4Change to deliver the project.
Project coordinator, Ruth Williams, said: “The church is in a deprived area where green spaces are a precious commodity and few people have a garden, and we felt it was a much-needed resource for the community to be able to use. Our volunteers – who range from young children to our over-55s gardening group – have helped to develop the one-acre site, two thirds of which was overgrown with brambles and nettles and totally unusable.”
Suez receives award for the Armed Forces Community support
Suez has been recognised with a gold award in the Ministry of Defence’s Employer Recognition Scheme.
Suez added that this comes a year after the company received the silver award.
It explained that the scheme recognises employers who actively support reservists, veterans, cadet force volunteers, spouses or partners and the wider armed forces community.
To be considered, organisations must provide additional leave for reservists and supportive HR policies for employees who are veterans, reservists and cadet force adult volunteers, as well as spouses and partners of those serving in the armed forces, Suez continued. They must also support related causes.
Dr Tracey Leghorn, SUEZ’s chief business services officer, collected the award on behalf of the company at a ceremony in Portsmouth.
John Scanlon, chief executive officer for SUEZ UK said: “Our veterans and reservists at SUEZ offer a wealth of transferable skills, including many skills in high demand in the UK’s growing green economy. We recognise and value their expertise and are committed to supporting our armed forces community to develop fulfilling career paths with the company.”
Powerday hosts ‘ice challenge’ at Willesden MRF
Powerday hosted a charity day earlier this month at its materials recycling facility (MRF) in Willesden, to raise awareness of suicide rates in the construction sector.
The ‘Enter The Ice Challenge’ took place on 5 November and involved members of staff submerging themselves in a skip filled with ice and freezing cold water.
Powerday highlighted that in the UK, construction worker suicide rates are three times higher than the national average, with two people working in construction taking their lives every day. Therefore, the companies aim to spread awareness of techniques that can be used to develop emotional wellbeing, such as cold-water therapy.
Speaking after the challenge, Tara Crossan, head of marketing and communications at Powerday, added: “Taking part in the Ice challenge took me way outside of my comfort zone, but I wanted to do this to prove to myself that the techniques work, and help spread awareness of the importance of mental and emotional wellbeing in the construction industry.”
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