Recycle for Cornwall....sounds familiar!

If you are not aware, there is a critical public vote currently doing the rounds.
Essentially it's a simple either or and it relates to the way that Cornwall handles the waste coming out of your home.  The challenge for us as householders is how much do we think about the bigger picture, and how much do we retrench in to our own little world and choose what seems best for us...or what's least hassle.


Option A:  You can have your black bag waste picked up weekly...just like you do now....and in addition, your kitchen waste will be separately collected...and every fortnight the council will also pick up your recycling...so not much change on the black bag front, a new kitchen waste collection is added weekly but for many of us who recycle regularly, this will be a backward step as we go to fortnightlies and need to find the space to store more material...for those who compost already, this will make little difference...recycling will go down and there is no incentive for householders to recycle more!





Option B:  Kitchen waste and recycling picked up weekly and black bag waste picked up fortnightly...for the keen recyclers and composters out there, not a problem, in fact, great!  but for those who 'can't be bothered' then it could be a nuisance...for those that have legitimate reasons for not recycling (I can't think of many when it's weekly), it too could be challenging, but in the grand scheme of things, not a major issue...I can think of worse things to have to worry about.





So what is the bigger picture...well, firstly, the Council are trying to harmonize all the waste collection services in Cornwall...this has got to be a good thing, and could save considerable money in tough times....whilst at the same time bringing on new and innovative services like kitchen waste composting.  Of course, the best thing for householders is to compost at home and use the wonderful compost for your garden...the Council also offers a Green Joanna digester which can handle pretty much anything thrown at it, including meat and fish!


Secondly,  dwindling landfill space, fines for missing landfill targets and the impending decision on the incinerator, all mean there is a real need to maximize recycling and reuse rates and minimise what we consume.  If we don't, costs will go up to the Council as we miss targets, that's bad for you and I, and the argument for the incinerator only gets more justified as a way to deal with the vast quantities of waste that we produce....oh, and by the way, if we reduce what we purchase and consume (that doesn't meant eating less) then we can save money as well.  Do you really need that electric toothbrush?  or the pink fluffy dice for the car?


Thirdly, it makes sense.  If you look at the bin below, over 75% of its contents are recyclable, and that's a standard figure.  So if you take all those things out, then there should be no need to have black bag waste collected weekly....what's left is cellophane, those ghastly tetrapaks (see movie below), nappies and odds and sods.





Nappies!  now there's an issue...what's fluffy, comes in different shapes and sizes, is better for the environment and can save you up to £500 per child?  Real nappies, or washable nappies...or Terry Squares...now fun, funky and a real practical option to save waste and money....see www.goreal.org.uk for more info.


What about rats?  If there's nothing worth eating in your bag, because it's all been recycled or composted, then they won't visit...and anyway, you're never more than a 20ft from a rat, or so they say!


What about smell?  Smell from rotting food and nappies assumes one thing...that you're not using the kitchen waste service or real nappies.  OK, real nappies might not be for everyone, but if nappy smell is the issue, then you have a choice, one that saves you money and the environment.


What about health effects?  WRAP (QUANGO for waste) conducted research on this issue and reviewed over 150 research papers on this subject and found no evidence to suggest that going to fortnightly collections of black bag waste had any health impacts.


I'm not trying to trivialize individual issues and challenges...some people may well have personal circumstances that would make fortnightly black bag collections a problem, but for the overwhelming majority, in an age of environmental uncertainty and dwindling resources, our actions now can have big implications for our future and our children's future.  Especially when we will be signing up to a long term contract that could be up to 15 years.
So I would urge as many people as possible to choose option B, and choose to increase recycling and reuse!

Is Social Enterprise really that confusing...

I got an email this weekend from the authors of a new book which aims to demystify social enterprise and help people to develop their own definitions of what a social enterprise is.

Is it me or have we inadvertently created an industry that surrounds social enterprise that justifies its existence through perpetuating the notion that there is ‘confusion about social enterprise’.

Does that confusion really exist....and does it really matter if it does.  Let’s be honest, how many people on the street know the difference between a PLC, a LTD company, or a Cooperative?

Surely what matters is that people understand the objectives of any company and its products or services...

I think there is a danger that in creating an industry around demystifying Social Enterprise, we ironically make it more complex!!

If I was writing a book about social enterprise and what it means....it would be a quick read, and probably a picture book!

Line  1 – Social Enterprises have positive social and/or environmental objectives

Line 2 – Social Enterprises reinvest their profits so they can do more good

Line 3 – Social Enterprises aim to be self-financing, not reliant on the state or grant funding.

Page 2 – Nice pretty pictures of Social Enterprises doing what they do....helping disadvantaged groups, protecting the environment, making great products.

KISS (Keep it simple, Stupid!)

Jon Rolls

Chief Executive

Cornwall unemployment rises: No surprises...

So why do we potentially face losing an award winning programme that gets long-term unemployed in to employment...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cornwall-12227844?utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed

The Cornwall Works for Social Enterprise programme, funded through ESF and delivered by a range of innovative Cornish Social Enterprises  has been heralded by many, and nationally by DWP! as best practice...collaboratively the programme will place nearly 500 people into employment at a success rate of well over the national average of 20%.

Moving the goal posts and delays in decisions on next rounds of funding means Cornwall faces losing the highly experienced staff that have been delivering this programme....and potentially organisations as well....

And guess what...you can bet your bottom dollar that the programme will have to start up again later in the year...meaning we all have to re recruit to get staff to deliver the programme...at what cost!

Sometimes it is very frustrating that 'business as usual', when it is performing very well, is not seen positively...and that we have to constantly re-create programmes, re-design them and generally tinker...and the only people that suffer are those that depend on the services and the organisations that deliver the work who offer so much other added value that doesn't get counted.

Rant over...its a lovely sunny day and I need to talk to our fantastic manager of a great little social enterprise solution to disabled children's incontinence issues....

Cornwall 170th out of 203 in UK Waste League Table

Cornwall came 170th in the UK Council League Table for Recycling and Residual Waste (waste to landfill) with a recycling rate of 37% compared to the England average of 39.7% and with waste to landfill per person at 328.8 kg per person per year compared to the England average of 277.6

There are all sorts of caveats attached to this, so to see more detail go to: http://www.resource.uk.com/article/Latest/Zero_Waste_Race_local_authority_residual_league_table

Cornwall "Local Social Enterprise Partnership"

There has been much talk in the press this week about the LEP and plans for developing it...but I've seen little mention of how it's going to link with the Big Society so far.

If the Coalition is serious about Big Society and its role in shaping the future, then surely its central to our economy.

For me that means the "E" in LEP is even more important because it directly relates to "Social ENTERPRISE".

We must ensure that Social Enterprise is a core part of the LEP and I hope you'll support this by letting the decision makers know that this is the case...if we don't include Social Enterprise at the strategic level then the Big Society is not achievable...this is not an opportunity to be missed.

Social Enterprise Day beckons....

Welcome to ReZolve's new blog and the launch of our new social media channels...which sounds a bit pretentious really so welcome to our modern day newsletter!

In fact we've been blogging and twittering for a while now on one of our national pojects and the results and feedback has been so positive that we decided we should look at using it in Cornwall to improve the way we communicate with our partners and customers.

So who are we, what do we do and what makes us different.

ReZolve is a Social Enterprise, set up in the late 90's to look at sustainable waste management. We've come a long way in that time and now we are company that employs over 30 staff, diverts 1'000's of tonnes from landfill every year through reuse and recycling both locally and nationally, has helped over 100 long term unemployed in to jobs over the last 2 years, trades for well over 50% of our income and competes for the majority of the rest and supports over 180 environmental businesses in Cornwall to grow and develop.

We're Carbon Negative - that means our operations divert more carbon than we produce as an organisation. We are Matrix accredited - that means the quality of advice and guidance we give is up to standard. We are FRNe Accredited - that means our furniture reuse operations are audited annually and pass tests that are similar to ISO 9000.

Finally, we have the Social Enterprise Mark, logo above, one of only a handful of organisations in Cornwall to have achieved this, alongside Eden, Fifteen, Real Baby Milk, Pentreath, CoaST, CEP, Zoo Training, Bosence Farm, Blisland Community Association and the National Lobster Hatchery.

So what is a Social Enterprise...there's so much talk of it in the press, in the public sector and everyone wants a piece of it! Here's a quick animation that explains it...nice and simple....the way I work!

To obtain the SE Mark you need to demonstrate the following:
• Your company has social and/or environmental aims?
• Your company has its own constitution and governing body?
• At least 50% of the company profits are spent on socially beneficial purposes?
• The company earns at least 50% of its income from trading?
• Your company can demonstrate that social/environmental aims are being achieved?
• If your company ceased trading, remaining assets would be distributed for social/environmental purposes?

The Social Enterprise Coalition uses the following definition:

"Social enterprises are businesses trading for social and environmental purposes. Many commercial businesses would consider themselves to have social objectives, but social enterprises are distinctive because their social and/or environmental purpose is absolutely central to what they do - their profits are reinvested to sustain and further their mission for positive change." See http://www.socialenterprise.org.uk/pages/frequently-asked-questions.html for more useful explanations.

That just about sums it up for me...and that is what ReZolve is all about. We develop projects with social and environmental purposes and reinvest any profits in to furthering our overall objectives, which are about improving our environment and helping those who are disadvantaged. I guess the biggest myth in all of this is about trading and profit. Many commentators think that Social Enterprises shouldn't make a profit...or shouldn't pay staff....and that couldn't be further from he truth.

Gone are the days of public subsidies, large grants for core funding and plain brown envelops to keep you going! The future is going to be about competing with the private sector, gearing up to deliver contracts for the public sector and finding innovative ways to trade to supplement income streams. Certain activities will always need an element of grant funding and rightly so, but a Social Enterprise has commercial spirit at its core, and to survive, that needs to be the case. Not at the expense of social or environmental objectives, but aligned in a 'triple bottom line approach'. So in terms of profit...I say the more the merrier...but nobody is going to get fat on it....it just means we can reinvest for the benefit of Cornwall and to ensure that we can still be here in 2013 when the EU tap is turned off, delivering services that make a difference. Those that do not embrace a more business like culture will not survive.

This week is Global Entrepreneurship Week, and Social Enterprise Day is tomorrow, 18th November. So please join us in celebrating everything that is good about Social Enterprise and the part it can play in Big Society, Big Cornwall, Big Everything....so join us by following our blog, tweets and everything else trendy!