Recent News
Make Noise Cymru 2017Almost 500 people attended the Make Noise Cymru 2017 Tour bringing with them a broken piece of e-waste for recycling as their entry pass to the gigs. Four recycling gigs were held across Wales including locations at Blackwood, Merthyr Tydfil, Ebbw Vale and Talgarth. The awesome Sweet Baboo headlined the tour and were supported by a raft of upcoming and inspiring Welsh musical talent. Four Welsh local authorities in the Collaborating Local Authorities in Resource Efficiency (CLAIRE) Wales group have been nominated for not just one, not two, but three MRW National Recycling Awards 2018. Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council, Caerphilly County Borough Council, Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council and Powys County Council are all nominated for the awards for their roles in delivering the 2017 legs of the Make Noise Wales tour. The project that has been nominated is the Make Noise Wales 2017 legs of the tour which took in gigs in Blackwood, Merthyr Tydfil, Ebbw Vale and Talgarth. Make Noise Wales, the UK’s only e-waste recycling free entry music tour, collaborative project between the nine councils on the regional Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) recycling contract, procured by Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council, and delivered by European Recycling Platform (ERP), together with Heavenly Recordings who created the Make Noise brand and Resource Efficiency Wales (REW), the co-ordinators of the CLAIRE Wales group. The tour was co-ordinated by REW on behalf of the four participating local authorities in conjunction with ERP, who recycled all the donated broken items, and Heavenly Recordings who organised venues and booked all the live bands. The tour was headlined by Sweet Baboo and included a variety of supporting artists such as H.Hawkline, Boy Azooga and Jessy Allen. The aim of Make Noise Wales is to raise awareness that broken small electrical items can be recycled and, where possible, preferably repaired. At each event REW staff were present to engage with partygoers and help explain where similar electrical items can be reused and recycled in the locality together with answering a variety of questions about WEEE recycling and, often, other associated local recycling services too. REW, on behalf of the CLAIRE Wales group, has been shortlisted for the WEEE Innovation Award category and the Local Authority Innovation category at the National Recycling Awards 2018. ERP, REW, Blaenau Gwent CBC, Caerphilly CBC, Merthyr Tydfil CBC, Powys CC & Heavenly Recordings has been shortlisted for the Partnership Excellence – Public/Private sector category also. The winners of the National Recycling Awards 2018 will be revealed on 28 June at London Hilton, Park Lane where the industry elite will come together for a night of recognition and celebration of the sectors achievements. |
Paint RecyclingThe CLAIRE Wales group has been working closely with Paint 360 on a trial basis together with Rhondda Cynon Taff County Borough Council, Welsh Government & Merthyr Tydfil Institute for the Blind to develop best practise for the collection, storage, transportation and treatment of waste paint cans at HWRCs
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Repair Efficiency Wales - Online Repair DirectoryRepair Efficiency Wales – Online Repair Directory is live!
With a somewhat bumpy start to 2021 thanks to Covid, we have some great news to share which comes in the form of a new Online Repair Directory for the Collaborating Local Authorities in Resource Efficiency (CLAIRE) Wales Group Council areas, live today, 22nd April 2021 coinciding with Earth Day. As a successful recipient of the Welsh Government’s Circular Economy fund, the Repair Directory was developed by lead Council, Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council, working with Resource Efficiency Wales (https://www.resourceefficiencywales.co.uk) and The Restart Project (https://therestartproject.org). Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council’s Corporate Director of Regeneration and Community Services, Richard Crook says: ‘We are delighted to work collaboratively with our partners to enable the development of such an essential tool in the drive to achieve a Circular Economy. This will be the first Repair Directory of its kind in Wales.’ The Repair Directory provides an online resource for members of the public, where they can locate, within any of the member local authority areas, a ‘repair shop’ where they can take electrical and electronic items, bicycles, clothing, furniture, and other equipment to be repaired. As per the original London based Repair Directory (https://therestartproject.org/repairdirectory), the user can input their postcode/area into the online platform, along with other selectable criteria - i.e. the item to be repaired, plus the distance they are willing to travel - and repair shops will be displayed on a map (with address, contact details). Ugo Vallauri, Co-founder and Policy Lead, The Restart Project said: “Searching for a reliable repair business can be time-consuming and often frustrating – the Repair Directory aims to make it easier, and to grow the repair economy in the process. This is a fantastic move for Wales, and we are so pleased to be involved!” Sharing this information enables members of the public to avoid their items from becoming a waste and will extend the lives of otherwise disused products. This provides an essential part of the desire to build a Circular Economy in Wales and encourages the public to consider options available to them at the top of the waste hierarchy. The aim is that the Repair Directory will signpost people to reliable repair businesses and will hopefully increase the uptake of repair in the community. James Kay, Regional Waste Co-ordinator, Resource Efficiency Wales said: “This is a game changer – the Repair Directory provides a basis for promotion of inherent behaviour change, driving repair and extending the useable life of products that would otherwise be discarded – it may even save users a few pennies too! The local authorities group has a history of innovative and ground-breaking initiatives and we look forward to seeing this latest idea to drive Wales’ Circular Economy becoming a success’. The Repair Directory, coupled with other Welsh Government funded Local Authority led projects to develop and / or support repair shops / events, provides a platform for promoting these outlets and will be key in providing the communications and advertising required to achieving the footfall needed to make a difference. The Repair Directory is live, why don’t you check it out and send us your feedback |