Furniture project named Scottish CRN member of the year

The awards aimed to recognise projects that made a significant impact on Scottish community recycling in 2007, and saw 45 organisations competing for the three prizes on offer.

The innovation category was topped by Enviroglass, operated by the Shetland Amenity Trust, for its efforts in attempting to eliminate problems relating to waste glass on the islands by using the material in paving slabs.

Accolade

Meanwhile, the accolade for Local Authority Partnership Award went to Highland Council in recognition of its support for Waste Diversion agreements, leading to an estimated 4,000 tonnes of waste being diverted from landfill in 2007-08.

The final prize, for CRNS Member of the Year, was awarded to the Moray Recycling Action Group's furniture reuse project the Green Home, which collects unwanted household items and reallocates them via local retail outlets.

After receiving the award, the Green Home's chief executive, Heath Gardner, said: “We were delighted to be named CRNS Member of the Year as the award really reflects the hard work and dedication which has gone into making the Green Home the success it is today.

“We will continue to encourage people to think about waste as a resource which may be reused to reap social and economic benefits for the community,” he added.

Strength

The CRNS network director, Iain Gulland, claimed that the third annual staging of its conference and awards both served to illustrate the strength of the community recycling sector in Scotland and would also encourage it to expand.

He said: “As a sector which is about providing social and economic benefits for communities, as well as environmentally-minded solutions to waste management, community recycling is truly about more than recycling.

“The award winners really exemplify the best in Scotland,” he added. “We hope by showcasing their success, we can encourage more people to become involved with community recycling initiatives and generate more support for the sector.”