I was very pleased to attend the recent CRNS conference on behalf of LARAC. The event was held in the Carnegie Conference Centre, Dunfermline on 24th October which was an excellent venue for a conference with lots of space and ample free parking! .....and before you say I should have travelled by public transport, that would have been a bit difficult with 2 display stands, a heavy magazine rack and box of LOOPS to take along!
I found the conference and networking opportunity of great value and LARAC has been a keen supporter of CRNS over the past few years as I think it is important to foster strong links between Scottish Councils and the charity third sector. I am always amazed at the innovation and enthusiasm shown by the third sector in dealing with areas of waste management that local authorities may not have the time or resources to address adequately, such as waste prevention, re-use of wastes and recycling of peripheral waste streams such as paint, carpets, mattresses, furniture etc.
Eighty delegates attended the conference on the day and the scene was set by speakers Peter Stapleton of the Scottish Government, Iain Gulland of Zero Waste Scotland, and Mike Walters of the John Lewis Partnership.
Highlight of the day was the awarding of accreditation certificates by Iain Gulland to Ian Matheson of Blytheswood Care and Daniel Rouse of Furniture Plus; two organisations which have participated in the Revolve Quality Programme. I think this is an excellent accreditation scheme and can only help to improve standards in the re-use sector and it is something that Scottish Councils should look to engage with and support.
One objective of the conference was to showcase how CRNS members managed their different situations, both the opportunities and the challenges, and what CRNS members could learn from one another. Workshops were delivered by Blythswood Care, Repaint Scotland, Starterpacks Glasgow, Somebody Cares & Waste Match Ltd.
Katy Anderson of Cwm Harry Land Trust travelled from Wales to give us an understanding of the revolutionary, but practical solutions to community waste collection.
Revolve Manager, Sam Moir followed up the certificate presentations with a presentation on the benefits to re-use organisations of the Revolve Quality Programme.
It was disappointing that very few Councils were in attendance at the conference as I found the presentations to be of great interest and it was also an excellent networking opportunity. CRNS and the third sector have had a difficult time in retaining business over the past few years and I am sure that they would welcome any type of support and assistance from their local Council. However, hopefully LARAC’s presence was welcomed by CRNS and demonstrated that we do collectively support their aims and ambitions to achieve Zero Waste in Scotland across all areas of the waste management sector.
