This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Funding for community recycling
04/12/2003
New funding to put community recycling initiatives on a
more sustainable footing was announced today.
Environment Minister Ross Finnie awarded £40,000 to the
Community Recycling Network for Scotland (CRNS) to provide
support for Scotland's community waste sector.
In addition, the Scottish Executive will make available
a further £300,000 to CRNS in each of financial years
2004/05 and 2005/06 once a viable business plan is approved
by the Executive.
This funding will support the appointment of development
officers to advise the community waste sector on issues
such as business planning and running sustainable
projects.
Speaking as CRNS held a conference and seminar in Perth,
Mr Finnie said:
"The community sector has been at the forefront of
the drive to use resources more sustainably. It is right
that they should continue to identify new opportunities to
deliver sustainable recycling initiatives.
"More must be done to reduce and reuse waste, new
initiatives are needed to make recycling facilities more
readily available in rural Scotland, we need to identify
new markets for recycled materials and more must be done to
engage communities in this vital work.
"This funding is an investment in the future of the
community waste sector in Scotland. It will help CRNS to
play a full part in driving the kind of change we want to
see."
Iain Gulland of CRNS said:
"We welcome the support from the Scottish Executive for
the CRNS. This money will allow the organisation to further
develop the role of community recyclers across Scotland,
consistent with the implementation of the local area waste
plans. This is about moving the sector forward, supporting
projects at the grass roots and maximising opportunities.
The support for the CRNS coupled with the new £5 million
fund for community recycling wil allow the sector to play
an active part in the shift from our throw away culture to
one which values our resources, our environment and our
communities."
Graeme Cunningham, the Chair of the Recycling Advisory
Group for Scotland said:
"RAGS members are delighted to have been the catalyst
that set up the CRNS. From its concept as a RAGS project,
the CRNS has grown rapidly due to hard work by dedicated
RAGS staff and the enthusiasm of its Community Sector
representatives. RAGS looks forward to working closely
with the CRNS to reach Scottish communities with innovative
recycling and waste minimisation projects".
The National Waste Plan, published in February 2003,
lays down a number of targets to improve Scotland's record
on sustainable waste management. The most pressing short
term target is to recycle or compost 25% of Municipal Solid
Waste by 2006.
The Scottish Executive already provides the Recycling
Advisory Group for Scotland (RAGS) with £40,000 a year to
help establish the CRNS. The funding being announced
today, which will be provided through consequentials
awarded to the Scottish Ministers after changes to the
Landfill Tax Credit Scheme, is additional to this
expenditure. CRNS will continue to work closely with RAGS
sharing, for example, office space and staff, when
appropriate.
Mr Finnie announced on 8 October that £5 million would
be available over two years (2004/05 and 2005/06) to
support community initiatives to reduce, reuse and recycle
waste. The funding being announced today is additional to
this expenditure.