17 September 2009, 09/204
2nd birthday sees growth for community recycling
service
To celebrate West Lancashire Community Recycling Service’s 2nd
birthday and expansion news, the Mayor and Council VIPs will be
paying them a special visit.
Next month, the Skelmersdale-based centre will have only been
open 2 years but is already a shining example of an environmentally
friendly, community-based social enterprise that has grown so much
in such a short space of time.
One of the founders, Maureen Fazal, recognised the need for the
centre after seeing the plight of women who were trying to escape
domestic violence but were unable to move home because they had no
furniture.
Starting off with only 3 members of staff, they set up the
centre on the West Gilibrands Industrial Estate and started
collecting used furniture and appliances from the local area to
renovate or restore and sell on for a very small price.
Two years later they now have 14 full-time members of staff and
up to 23 volunteers and have just opened a warehouse in the Sefton
area and a retail unit in Wigan.
Their service is even more important in the current recession
where people are finding it more difficult to cope with the
financial burdens of moving house or buying new furniture and, as a
result, the centre has noticed an increase in its sales.
West Lancashire Borough Council has always supported the centre
and to help them celebrate their 2nd birthday the Mayor Cllr Geoff
Roberts and senior Council VIPs will be given a tour of the site on
21 September, where they will also find out about their recent
expansions.
Cllr Adrian Owens, Portfolio Holder for Regeneration and
Estates, said: "I’ve visited this social enterprise on several
occasions and in the space of two years this organisation has made
a real difference to the community. Not only is it boosting the
local economy and providing an invaluable volunteer programme to
help people into employment, it is also providing furniture to the
needy at an affordable cost and is reducing the amount of unwanted
items that would normally go to landfill."
Maureen Fazal, who is also Chairman of the West Lancashire
Women’s Refuge, added: "I met women at the refuge who were unable
to move out into a home, as they had no furniture or domestic
appliances. I saw this as a significant gap in the market place and
also an opportunity to make a contribution to the reduction of
landfill by being able to put to good use un-recycled household
items. It has been great to watch the centre help so many people
over the last two years and expand its services into other areas.
We have won lots of awards for the work that we carry out and it
means a lot to know that we are giving so much back to our local
community."
The main aim of the centre is to:
-
Provide quality used and re-conditioned furniture and other
domestic goods at low cost to people in need living in the
borough
-
Reduce the amount of good quality furniture and household goods
ending up in landfill
-
Provide quality volunteering and skills development
opportunities for economically inactive local people in order to
improve their employment prospects
For more information about the centre, visit www.wlcrs.co.uk (external
link).
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