CREATE UK has been awarded the funding – totalling £25,000 – from the WEEE Local Project Fund, a part of the Distributor Takeback Scheme which allows electronics retailers to meet their obligations to fund the collection of old items.
The charity was supported by the Merseyside Recycling and Waste Authority (MRWA) in preparing its bid.
The Speke-based charity has an agreement with the Producer Compliance Scheme Repic which will allow it access to fridges and freezers at Merseyside and Halton’s Household Waste Recycling Centres and Waste Transfer Stations, which receive most of the region’s household waste.
White goods which are deemed re-usable will be taken to CREATE’s workshop in Speke where they will be repaired and refurbished to be sold with a warranty at the CREATE charity shop in Old Swan, or through other charities. Any money made will be invested back into the charity.
Reuse
Greg Walker, operations sirector CREATE UK Ltd, said: “This grant will help us to clear all the refrigerators from Merseyside’s Household Waste Recycling Centres and re-use as much of them as possible, rather than sending it all for recycling which has been the practice up to now. The scheme is a great example of joint working between the public sector, the private sector and the charity sector. The people of Merseyside will directly benefit in terms of jobs and appliances as a result of this contract.”
CREATE is aiming to refurbish over 100 tonnes of appliances for re-use, with a further 2,000 tonnes being recycled and stripped for parts. At least three full time jobs will be created for long term unemployed adults, as well as three training volunteer places created.
Councillor Graham Morgan, chair of Merseyside Recycling and Waste Authority, said: “It is environmentally more beneficial to re-use appliances rather than to simply recycle them. This contract provides CREATE with much needed additional stock while providing affordable refurbished white goods to low income households on Merseyside.”
WEEE Conference
6 June 2018, Cavendish Conference Centre
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