Cry for help for community involvement in recycling

And, community recyclers in the capital called on local authorities to open up services to community involvement through smaller contracts.

Speaking at a meeting in Westminster last night, Newport's head of public protection and environmental services, Stephen Davison, said that the government needed to take financial risks with the sector to achieve “major pay-backs.”

Mr Davison championed the work of his city's waste contractor and charity, Newport Wastesavers, which recycles 10,500 tonnes of material a year for the council.

He said the charity could not have becomes so successful if it had not received landfill tax grants from Newport council in 1991- a scheme which no longer supports the community sector.

Addressing delegates at the meeting of the Parliamentary Sustainable Waste Group on waste, recycling and the third sector last night, he said: “We need to take some risks – maybe it is too risky at a local level but at a national level there would be some major pay-backs. Otherwise we will never see that investment.”

London CRN
Mr Davison's view was supported by Matthew Thomson, chief executive of the London Community Recycling Network, who said that the government needed to underwrite financial risks.

However, Mr Thomson suggested that it was also the responsibility of local government to give community groups a helping hand.

The LCRN chief executive said: “A simple way to help the community sector is for councils to stop integrating collection and disposal contracts – making them too large for the third sector to bid for.”

Councils providing waste services through arm's length management organisations could also make them third sector organisations, he added.

Level
Rob Mynard, policy adviser for Defra's waste strategy division, acknowledged that historical grant funding was declining the government needed to address the “obstacles” to the community sector.

He said that the government would look at the availability of generic support mechanisms and high quality standards for compost that excluded smaller producers in its waste strategy review.

He said that there would be a spending review during the next two months, adding: “Our role is to make it a level playing field.”