The Recycler. Featured in this issue: April-June 2013

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1 The Recycler 1 April-June 2013 Featured in this issue: Crest s 15th birthday special feature...pg 2, 3, 4,5 A 15 year history of Crest.pg 5, 6 Staff visit 10 Downing Street. pg 7 Furniture for a Fiver. pg 7 Crest and Cartrefi Conwy...pg 8 Jobs Growth Wales.pg 9 Recycling roadshows...pg 10 Crest Community Fund.pg 10 Electrical re-use. pg 11 New payment plans. pg 11

2 2 Crest Co-operative s 15th birthday Food waste turned into celebration lunch! STUDENTS from Coleg Llandrillo Cymru cooked up a feast from food that would otherwise be sent to landfill, to mark Crest Co-operative s 15th birthday. Catering and Hospitality students at the Rhos-on-Sea college selected food, from Crest Co-operative s recycling enterprise, FareShare North Wales. They transformed the in-date, surplus food into a delicious meal for more than 40 people. Crest Co-operative directors, staff and supporters came together to celebrate 15 years of recycling on Thursday, June 6. Roasted vegetable soufflé and leek soup, were just some of the meals that were created from surplus food. Guests were able to view a 15 year history of Crest Co-operative s work in the community. Barry Bond, Crest Co-operative s Voluntary Director, welcomed guests to the Orme View Restaurant and reflected on the past 15 years. The meal was followed by a speech from Crest Co-operative s Chief Executive Sharon Jones, who has been at the helm of the social enterprise since Members of the public joined in the birthday celebrations on Friday, May 31 and Saturday, June 1. At Crest Community Store, Station Road, Colwyn Bay, children enjoyed free face painting. A free day of family fun was provided at Crest Co-operative s Mostyn Broadway store. Community band Ghostbuskers were a hit with customers and performed live outside the store. Tudno FM gave a live broadcast from the shop. Crest Co-operative was supported by staff from housing association Cartrefi Conwy, who ran a hook a duck activity. Turn over to view Crest s 15th birthday celebrations in pictures...

3 3 Crest Co-operative s 15th birthday celebrations in pictures... College students Steve Povey, Mark Holmes and Jason Davies turn surplus food into a delicious menu Student chef Andrew Watson prepares leek soup from FareShare produce Crest Co-operative s Board of Directors. From left A 15 year history of Crest Co-operative s work in the community Howie Roberts, Sharon Jones (CEO), Mike Thompson, new board member Janet Brown and Barry Bond. Crest s birthday cake was modelled on a purple recycling bag Parfait, prepared from surplus food More than 40 guests attended the celebration

4 Crest Co-operative s 15th birthday celebrations in pictures... 4 The Crest day of family fun was held on Mostyn Broadway coach park, next to Crest Community Store, Llandudno Crest s mascot Tommy Textile, joins in the fun, with the Ghostbuskers Bran Harper, 10 months, holding a Crest Community Store balloon Mark Jones from Cartrefi Conwy supports the event Crest s Operation s Supervisor Carlo Maffei gets a soaking in the wet sponge stocks Tudno FM broadcast live from the event

5 Crest Co-operative s 15 year history 5 From selling second hand jewellery to providing services to hundreds of North Wales residents 1998 How it all began Kinmel Bay The company started out as two innovative business Red Box in Rhyl, which produced second hand jewellery and CTS in Colwyn Bay, a graphic design company. The businesses provided disabled and unemployed individuals with opportunities to gain skills and qualifications. In 1998 the company gained independent status as the Crest Community Co-op On the road to recycling A community compost scheme was established. Garden waste was collected from the homes of residents in Llandudno, Deganwy and Llanrhos. A composting site was set up and residents could collect compost free of charge Trash and Carry (arts and craft materials saved from landfill) Chain Reaction launched (a bicycle recycling scheme)

6 2004 Developing a community boardwalk 6 The Llandudno Community boardwalk and kids club. Crest built a 100m nature walk, including a garden and pond. The boardwalk was open to local residents. Crest Co-operative moved to Llandudno Junction. Launched Against the Grain. Wood waste was removed from industrial sites and sold at a new retail outlet Collecting green waste from 50, 000 homes Won the Green Waste contract to collect on behalf of the local authority. Green waste collections ran for 4 years Entering the world of textile recycling Purchased textile recycling banks, to encourage re-use in the community. Textile banks were linked to schools. Ragamuffins shop in Llandudno Junction opened, re-using textiles from the kerbside and selling nearly new children s clothing Working to regenerate communities An award winning partnership with housing association Cartrefi Conwy and construction company G Purchase, began in Crest Co-operative teamed up with the organisations to recycle kitchens and bathrooms. The project was hailed as the first of its kind in the UK and was honoured at prestigious national award ceremonies. The partnership is still strong today. Crest Co-operative are currently working with Cartrefi Conwy to clear unoccupied properties. FareShare North Wales Launched in 2010 a franchise of national charity FareShare UK. Working with food manufacturers to divert surplus food away from landfill and re-distribute it to the North Wales community. Kerbside recycling services Crest won the local authority contract to collect unwanted textiles from the kerbsides of 50, 000 Conwy residents. Today the recycling scheme has expanded and Crest now provide 3 kerbside recycling services on behalf of Conwy County Borough Council, including small electricals and media items (DVDs, CDs, books etc) Opening a high street shop Opened Crest Community Store in Colwyn Bay Electrical re-use Opened a re-use hub in Mochdre, repairing, testing and selling bulky household electricals. Started to collect bulky waste and furniture on behalf of local authority. Launch of Crest Community Fund Giving grants to good causes across North Wales Opened a large store at Mostyn Broadway, Llandudno To view a full history of Crest s work in the community, visit

7 7 Meeting the Prime Minister - Crest Staff visit Downing Street STAFF at Crest Co-operative were invited to attend a reception at 10 Downing Street, after winning a Big Society Award. The team of staff met Prime Minister David Cameron on Monday, June 10 and were given the opportunity to talk to Mr Cameron about Crest s work in the community. Crest Co-operative were only the 2nd Welsh organisation to be awarded, since the Big Society Awards were launched in So far 77 non-profit organisations have been honoured for their work in the community. Secretary of State for Wales David Jones MP said: Crest Co-operative is a true example of the power of the third sector, changing people s lives for the better. Prime Minister David Cameron said: Crest has an innovative and compassionate approach to tackling a range of social problems through one enterprise, which really demonstrates what the Big Society can achieve. Furniture for a Fiver day success! SHOPPERS flocked to Crest s head office on Saturday, May 18. The Furniture for a Fiver day was part of Crest s campaign to encourage the public to save furniture from landfill. Local residents purchased coffee tables, wardrobes and more for just 5. The next Furniture for a Fiver day will be held at Crest s head office in Llandudno Junction on Saturday July 13th from 9am 2pm

8 New agreement signals green for go! 8 From left Kiera Vogel of Cartrefi Conwy, Crest Co-operative s CEO Sharon Jones and Rod Williams, Crest s Operations Director Cartrefi Conwy and Crest Co-operative s award-winning green partnership, which has proved a huge success over the past four years, has been extended. Crest Co-operative worked closely with Cartrefi Conwy during a 30m housing improvement programme. The award winning scheme has now ended and a 12-month agreement has been signed. Crest Co-operative will provide waste removal and disposal services through a reactive team of workers. The Crest team will be moving in to clear properties which become vacant - or voids. They will then clear waste after repairs and maintenance has been carried out. Crest s Chief Executive Sharon Jones, said she was delighted to be able to build on the success achieved by the partnership in recent years and was confident that the new agreement would produce similar benefits all-round. It s important not only from the point of view of recycling and reusing as much as we possibly can, but also in job creation and promoting social Inclusion, she said. The current agreement is for a 12-month trial period after which the results will be analysed. Four jobs have been created by the scheme, as two teams are kept fully occupied in responding to Cartrefi Conwy s calls, all within agreed time-limits. Cartrefi Conwy tenant David Gathern from Old Colwyn, has benefited from the partnership. Not only has he gained full-time employment with Crest, after initially being a voluntary worker with the co-operative, but he has also had waste removed from his own flat by the team. Kiera Vogel, of Cartrefi Conwy s Building Maintenance Unit, said the agreement with Crest was in line with the association s green ethos and the arrangement had worked extremely well during the extensive improvement programme, which had led to the signing of a new agreement. We are constantly looking at ways of delivering the green agenda and this is a good example of what can be achieved, she said.

9 Welsh Government case study 9 Spotlight on Jobs Growth Wales Kaine Bentley is one of more than 4, 000 young people across Wales so far to have benefited from the Welsh Government s EU-backed Jobs Growth Wales programme. There are great people to work with here and Whatever happens I will have had six months warehouse experience, which will help me to find a job. I ve also got an opportunity to try for a forklift licence. It s all about learning here, Kaine added. Kaine has been working for Crest s FareShare North Wales enterprise for five months. The scheme is designed to get unemployed young people into employment. The young adult has been helping to save food from landfill and has delivered surplus food (donated by food manufacturers) to community groups across North Wales. He said: I asked to work here because I d been homeless for a year and I know what it s like. After my interview with Crest I realised what they did and I really wanted to work for them. First Minister Carwyn Jones said: Reducing unemployment and getting young people into jobs and training is one of our top priorities. Kaine s experience is one example of how programmes such as Jobs Growth Wales are making a difference. Crest Co-operative has provided Jobs Growth Wales work placements for 25 young people, between the ages of

10 10 Recycling Roadshows AT the end of May Crest Co-operative were invited to join More community groups set to benefit from Crest fund Crest Community Fund has helped to provide funding for community groups across Conwy. Conwy County Borough Council at recycling roadshows. The aim of the roadshows were to promote kerbside recycling collections. Crest Co-operative s mascot Tommy Textile encouraged members of the public to re-use their unwanted clothing, small electrical items and media items. Roadshows took place in the Victoria Shopping Centre, The fund was launched in July 2012 and Crest Co-operative has already given 9, to struggling groups. Llandudno and on the promenade in Rhos-on-Sea. In May, community radio station Tudno FM, Llys Parc in Rhos-on-Sea, Clych Meithrin Llangelynnin and 1st Conwy Scouts, benefited from grants. In Crest Co-operative has allocated a further 10, 000 funding pot, to help non-profit groups, who are struggling to fund their work in the community. The next deadline for submission of community fund applications is July 12th To find out more or to download an application form visit

11 11 Electrical re-use is hit with community In April and May Crest Community Store sold 185 household electrical items, including fridge freezers, ovens and more at low prices to the community. Look out for the Crest Waste Collections vans. Crest Co-operative collect unwanted furniture and electricals from homes across Conwy. Call to arrange a collection. Crest lends a helping hand Payment plans introduced Crest Community Store customers, who are struggling to pay for furniture and electricals in full, can now pay using a payment plan. Crest Community Store offer a 4 week plan for items from 50 99, and an 8 week plan for items 100 and over. The store requires a minimum deposit of 10%. Then the remainder can be paid over the 4 or 8 week plan. Customers can pay as little or as much as they like each week. All Crest ask is that the full amount is paid in 4 or 8 weeks. Crest Co-operative will then deliver when the item has been paid for in full. The scheme was introduced due to an increase in requests from members of the public, who were struggling to pay the full cost of household essentials up front.