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Working in partnership for the people of Herefordshire
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The Bremen Partnership Award 2004, under the patronage of Klaus Töpfer, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Federal State of Bremen, Germany, annually awards a prize of 35,500 € for the best public–private partnership solutions worldwide in the environmental sector.
The Re-Box initiative developed in Ross-on-Wye was submitted as a good example of partnership working. It has since passed through the necessary stages to be considered by an international panel of experts. Much to their delight Re-Box have been informed that they are one of the 27 worldwide projects still in the running.
The key components that are being judged are: -
· The character of the project
· Sectors in which project has gained results
· The environmental benefits judged by performance indicators
· The period in which the project will have effects
· Project related cost reductions achieved
· The innovative character of the project
The Re-Box partnership consists of Herefordshire Council, both the Environment and Social Services departments, Worcestershire Community Recycling (WCR) - a commercial recycling company and the Ross-on-Wye based charity, EnviroAbility.
It all started with a group of people with learning disabilities looking to work in/with their local community.
They started by involving the elderly living in sheltered housing by collecting paper and giving it to the Samaritans to help to raise funds.
It grew to the point where a local charitable company was formed to enable the project to expand further. The fact that people with disabilities were involved with the work seemed to encourage higher participation from householders.
The project grew until kerbside collections covered the whole of Ross-on-Wye (4,500 houses). At this point the project needed to move into the commercial world, whilst retaining the ingredients that kept the participation levels high in the first place. W.C.R. were called in to look at the possibilities. With their technical expertise and the involvement of the other partners they designed a vehicle, collection and back-up systems that met all the requirements.
Indeed it has grown! The town rounds are operated by paid staff (two-thirds of which used to be EnviroAbility volunteers)
The partnership is about to embark on a rural initiative that offers more services than even the most optimistic of the group could have imagined. Whilst the new rounds will not produce enough revenue to pay salaries to the people involved, it does provide them with a variety of opportunities.
The new vehicle has a seven-person cab to enable increased participation:
· It will provide the obvious recycling service.
· It will provide valuable training for people that learn more slowly and hopefully prepare the workers to be employed on the more viable rounds.
· It will provide an opportunity for people who may never develop the skills to gain a job an opportunity to go to their own village and be seen to have a positive contribution.
One of the new services is a cotton nappy laundry service run for local families. The service has been operating in the local area for over a year. The rural vehicle will act as a pick-up and delivery service for these environmentally friendly, re-usable nappies.
It is planned that every so often there will be an extra container on-board to encourage further initiatives. An example of this is the collection of tools for refurbishment and redistribution to the third world.
It is hoped that local people will come-up with new ideas and suggestions that could compliment this environmental theme.
RE-BOX INITIATIVE GAINS INTERNATIONAL RECOGNITION
The Bremen Partnership Award 2004, under the patronage of Klaus Töpfer, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Federal State of Bremen, Germany, annually awards a prize of 35,500 € for the best public–private partnership solutions worldwide in the environmental sector.
The Re-Box initiative developed in Ross-on-Wye was submitted as a good example of partnership working. It has since passed through the necessary stages to be considered by an international panel of experts. Much to their delight Re-Box have been informed that they are one of the 27 worldwide projects still in the running.
The key components that are being judged are: -
· The character of the project
· Sectors in which project has gained results
· The environmental benefits judged by performance indicators
· The period in which the project will have effects
· Project related cost reductions achieved
· The innovative character of the project
The Re-Box partnership consists of Herefordshire Council, both the Environment and Social Services departments, Worcestershire Community Recycling (WCR) - a commercial recycling company and the Ross-on-Wye based charity, EnviroAbility.
It all started with a group of people with learning disabilities looking to work in/with their local community.
They started by involving the elderly living in sheltered housing by collecting paper and giving it to the Samaritans to help to raise funds.
It grew to the point where a local charitable company was formed to enable the project to expand further. The fact that people with disabilities were involved with the work seemed to encourage higher participation from householders.
The project grew until kerbside collections covered the whole of Ross-on-Wye (4,500 houses). At this point the project needed to move into the commercial world, whilst retaining the ingredients that kept the participation levels high in the first place. W.C.R. were called in to look at the possibilities. With their technical expertise and the involvement of the other partners they designed a vehicle, collection and back-up systems that met all the requirements.
Indeed it has grown! The town rounds are operated by paid staff (two-thirds of which used to be EnviroAbility volunteers)
The partnership is about to embark on a rural initiative that offers more services than even the most optimistic of the group could have imagined. Whilst the new rounds will not produce enough revenue to pay salaries to the people involved, it does provide them with a variety of opportunities.
The new vehicle has a seven-person cab to enable increased participation:
· It will provide the obvious recycling service.
· It will provide valuable training for people that learn more slowly and hopefully prepare the workers to be employed on the more viable rounds.
· It will provide an opportunity for people who may never develop the skills to gain a job an opportunity to go to their own village and be seen to have a positive contribution.
One of the new services is a cotton nappy laundry service run for local families. The service has been operating in the local area for over a year. The rural vehicle will act as a pick-up and delivery service for these environmentally friendly, re-usable nappies.
It is planned that every so often there will be an extra container on-board to encourage further initiatives. An example of this is the collection of tools for refurbishment and redistribution to the third world.
It is hoped that local people will come-up with new ideas and suggestions that could compliment this environmental theme.