Run by community group The Network (Worcestershire), the centre received a 295,820 grant from the Community Recycling and Economic Development (CRED) Programme.
The Electrical Appliance Reuse Centre will collect old items from households across Worcestershire and take them to their depot for refurbishment and resale to people in need.
Ellen Green, chief executive of The Network, said: “We are delighted to be able to provide a service that is not only good for our local communities, but also for our environment. The specialist recycling centre means that we can provide good quality low cost items to people in need as well as reducing the amount of items needlessly going into landfill.”
The scheme ran on a pilot basis for six months last year using a grant from DEFRA, but the CRED grant will now cover its running costs until December 2006. Managed by the Royal Society for Nature Conservation, the CRED programme has received 35.2 million from the Lottery's New Opportunities Fund for community waste projects.
John Taylor, West Midlands regional manager for the New Opportunities Fund which runs CRED, said: “The centre is an excellent use of Lottery money – helping to promote recycling, reduce waste and develop sustainable communities.”
The Centre has been working with the Furniture Recycling Network in order to prepare for the Waste and Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive.
Ms Green said: “We are linking up with the FRN nationally and we are part of the overall scheme they are looking at. We were one of the first projects to use their 'F;it for Re-use' manual and get it up and running, working from scratch.”
The centre employs six staff in the workshop with an administration support team from a wider community group. Ms Green said the group is in talks with a local college about providing training courses and support if funding becomes available.
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