Category: Uncategorized

Roadworks at Sefton Meadows Household Waste Recycling Centre (Sefton Lane, Maghull).

Please be aware that next week from Monday 21st October there may be some disruption getting in and out of Sefton Meadows Recycling Centre due to a relaying of the carriageway at the entrance.

Work is due to finish on Friday 24^th October.

Thank you for your patience.

A Knowsley-based youth and community centre is on a mission to help local people save money and adopt zero-waste principles in their everyday lives.

Centre 63 in Kirkby has been awarded £7,200 from Merseyside Recycling & Waste Authority (MRWA) and Veolia’s Zero Waste Community Fund to deliver a Community Food & Recycle Hub.

The project includes a ‘Social Supermarket’ which, amongst essentials such as nappies and period products, stocks a variety of plastic-free fresh produce and ethical goods at affordable prices.

For every £10 spent, local shoppers receive around £25-£30 worth of goods in return. Furthermore, the centre often gives away free products which vary from day to day, but have in the past included foods such as fresh bread and fruit teacakes.

Jackie Croft, Chief Executive of Centre 63, said: “We want to make sustainable shopping accessible. The reality is that people primarily want to save money, so it’s then up to us to help them do that in a way which protects the environment. That’s why, where possible, our Social Supermarket stocks items that are locally produced and are either loose or sustainably packaged. We also sell pre-measured portions, as well as food bags which contain recipes and ingredients, to encourage food waste reduction.”

In keeping with its food-related theme, the project also features monthly cooking sessions, designed to help participants eat healthy on a budget.

Additionally, Centre 63 has engaged members of the youth community in starting an environmental garden. Participating children have helped to plant foods such as tomatoes and chillis, with plans to eventually sell the locally grown produce at the Social Supermarket.

Jackie Croft continued: “We’ve found that, as well as bringing members of the community out of social isolation, engaging participants in various activities helps to build momentum. For instance, the food growing sessions will give the kids a better understanding of where our food comes from, whilst creating memories and building skills which they may share with their own children one day.”

Alongside food-related activities, the project encourages reuse through clothes donations and clothes swap events, with recycling sessions also being delivered to help community members know what they can and can’t recycle at home. The latter has been cited as an important measure in alerting residents on the issue of recycling contamination and the waste that it causes.

Councillor Catie Page, MRWA Chairperson, said: “The work that the Centre 63 team is doing is a huge credit to them and their community. Food waste is a major component towards residual waste across Liverpool City Region. This project seeks to genuinely help people by making food affordable, whilst also encouraging important factors such as meal planning and portion measuring. All of this – in addition to the great work which they are doing to encourage reuse and recycling properly at home – is crucial in helping to reduce waste and fight the effects of climate change.”

Beyond the excellent work being carried out as part of the Food & Recycle Hub project, Centre 63 has previously encouraged reuse through the sale of recycled school uniforms at heavily discounted prices. The centre also uses clothes donations that are no longer fit for reuse to create items such as memory cushions during crafts sessions.

To find out more about Centre 63, please visit centre63.org.uk.

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The popular Newton-le-Willows Household Waste Recycling Centre (HWRC) is closing for two weeks to undergo essential maintenance works. 

The site, which is provided by Merseyside Recycling and Waste Authority and operated by Veolia, will close on:

Sunday 22^nd September at 8.00pm,

and will re-open on Monday 7th October at 8.00am.

The temporary closure of the Junction Lane facility is to undertake essential repairs and upgrades to its road markings, kerbstones and drainage. The works will improve traffic access and movement around the site and access to recycling containers.

Closure of the facility will mean that residents should use their next nearest or most convenient Recycling Centre. Residents can use any Recycling Centre across the Liverpool City Region, the nearest to Newton-le-Willows are:

Ravenhead – Burtonhead Road, WA9 5EA

Rainhill – Tasker Terrace, L35 4NX

Huyton – Wilson Road, L36 6AD

Johnsons Lane – Widnes, WA8 0SJ

During the course of the shutdown Veolia will staff the HWRC entrance to direct any visitors to an alternative Recycling Centre.

Cllr Catie Page, MRWA Chairperson, said: “Newton-le-Willows receives over 400 tonnes of material a month from local residents. Due to this demand on the facility essential maintenance is required to ensure the Recycling Centre remains safe for customers and employees. We’re also taking this opportunity to thoroughly check all aspects of the site, undertake any repairs, repaint, review signage and ensure that the site adheres to the high standard required of a public facility.

“We would encourage residents to use an alternative Recycling Centre or hold on until Newton-le-Willows re-opens.”

Residents using Newton-le-Willows over the next few weeks will be able to see the closure information on www.merseysidewda.gov.uk, on banners at the site, and an information leaflet which details all of the nearest sites for them to use during the temporary closure.

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Merseyside Recycling and Waste Authority have today launched a new campaign which provides a unique and informative view of the journey of recycling across Liverpool City Region.

Through a newly created series of videos, residents from Halton, Knowsley, Liverpool, Sefton, St Helens and Wirral can learn more about where their recycling goes once collected from kerbside, and how it is sorted for reprocessing and redistribution to the recycling markets.

Combined, the six districts of Liverpool City Region currently hold an average household recycling rate of 34.74%.

This figure provides a foundation to build from – however, the Authority recognises that collectively as a city region, we can do much better.

The Journey of Recycling campaign has therefore been launched to build trust in the recycling process and to remind residents how they can recycle right – all in a bid to boost recycling rates.

Lesley Worswick, Chief Executive of Merseyside Recycling and Waste Authority, said: “We all know how the simple act of placing items in our recycling collections can become ‘out of sight, out of mind’.

“That’s why, with the Journey of Recycling campaign, we are keen to give residents a behind-the-scenes insight which will equip them with more knowledge on how their recycling efforts can discourage unnecessary waste and make a real difference.

“In addition to displaying the sorting and end processes of each recyclable material, our suite of videos provides a reminder of what materials can be recycled in each of the districts and how to avoid recycling contamination.

“These are all important factors in ensuring that we recycle right.”

Cllr Catie Page, Chair of Merseyside Recycling and Waste Authority, said: “As an Authority, we are always keen to help residents understand that reducing the amount of stuff we buy – as well as repairing and reusing what we can – are great habits to adopt to protect our environment for current and future generations.

“However, we also know that recycling the materials we can in the correct manner also plays a key role in supporting this effort.

“If anyone is ever unsure about what they can recycle at home, we encourage you to watch our Journey of Recycling videos.

“Residents can also visit recycleright.org.uk, which is a really helpful resource that is full of information on what can be recycled at home and at our Household Waste Recycling Centres.”

To view the full suite of Journey Recycling videos, please visit https://recycleright.org.uk/do-it-right/journey-of-recycling/.

Residents across Liverpool City Region can also view the videos via the official Recycle Right Facebook, Instagram and Twitter pages.

Sixteen community groups have been awarded a share of £165,000 to help the residents of Liverpool City Region reduce, reuse and recycle more.

The money has come from the Zero Waste Community Fund 2024/25, which supports local waste prevention, reuse and recycling initiatives. The Fund is arranged by Merseyside Recycling & Waste Authority (MRWA) and Veolia.

Earlier this year the organisations had to bid for the funding which will give them the financial support to deliver waste-reducing behavioural change projects across the region.

Programmes include schools waste workshops, a repair cafe, cookery lessons to reduce food waste, clothes and textiles upcycling, a children’s toy lending library, restoration of unwanted furniture, food growing and community composting, amongst other things.

Chief Executive of Merseyside Recycling and Waste Authority (MRWA), Lesley Worswick, said: “The Community Fund helps groups to become environmental stewards, creating a healthier place for everyone. Thankfully, our society is increasingly recognising the value in resources – they’re not just disposable items.

“The impressive ideas this year from local organisations are truly inspiring, and with 56 applications, the selection process was tough. Many past projects funded by the Community Fund have lasting benefits. They not only leave a positive legacy, but also continue to influence participants’ habits through ongoing activities.

“I wish all projects the best and look forward to seeing the impact they have.”

Project applications had to tackle one or more of the five priority household waste materials which have been identified by MRWA as key, namely Food, Furniture, Electricals, Plastics and Textiles. An analysis* of waste in the Liverpool City Region highlighted that a greater amount of these materials could be reused or recycled.

One project to previously clinch funding is the British Dietetic Association (BDA) who have been running food waste reduction and cookery skills programmes thanks to the Community Fund.

Suzanne Mitchell of the BDA said: “The opportunity to support a local community was a really powerful idea. We hope we’ve inspired households to think about new ways to save money by reducing the amount of food they throw away and growing their own produce.”

The successful organisations have got until March 2025 to deliver their projects.

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The successful projects:

Organisation and Project	Material focus	Project Summary
British Dietetic Association   Waste Warriors	Food	This project will train up 17 ‘Leaders’ to support 12 Cooking Clubs. The programme will engage with 2,000 people face to face and will produce e-learning resources to prevent food wastage and food packaging, across home, school and public events. There will be resources, equipment and grants for clubs to deliver sessions focussing on cookery, growing and composting.
Centre63   Centre63 Community Food & Recycle Hub	Food, Textiles and Furniture	Centre 63 will provide pantry use and food waste prevention training, as well as composting and growing food. They will also set up a sustainable shopping by Zero Waste lifestyle store, offering loose dry goods, organic options and plastic-free groceries on a not-for-profit basis. Monthly cooking sessions will be provided on how to eat healthily on a budget. Clothing swaps and upcycling/furniture restoration will also make up the project.
Dovecot and Princess Drive Community Association   The Drive Repair Cafe	WEEE (electrical waste) & Textiles	A local repair café will host experts including seamstress, electrician, clock repairer, cobbler and a joiner who will fix items free of charge.
Friends of South Park   Compost Creators!	Food	This food growing and composting project will see household kitchen/food waste taken to a local park for composting. Food skills and cooking sessions will be delivered to local residents, who will also take part in food gleaning and seed saving.
Gateway Collective   Gateway Craft Cafe	Textiles	15 textiles repair and upcycling workshops supported by the ‘sew by lovely sisters’, held every two weeks termtime. Online access also available for further participants. Links to school and school inclusive hub for holiday children’s groups.
The Let’s Cook Project   Let’s Cook More to Waste Less!	Food	Let’s Cook will deliver cooking and food waste demonstrations in partnership with FareShare Community Food Members. A one day conference will launch the project with 100 attendees representing 50 engaged CFM clubs.
Liverpool Lighthouse   Sew & Co	Textiles	The Anfield-based charity provides a sewing group that teaches sewing skills, including a focus on re-fashioning old worn and damaged clothes into new items and mending items, providing an alternative to ‘fast fashion’.
Liverpool World Centre   The Great Schools Climate Assembly	Education	This project will amplify young people’s voices on issues around waste, energy consumption and living sustainably, and bring them together with key local, regional and national stakeholders through the use of the Citizens Assembly model. Young people (aged 11- 18) taking part in the project will become ambassadors for change within their school.
Mencap Liverpool and Sefton   Mencap Cottage – The Big Garden Revamp	Food, Furniture, Textiles	Working with people who have learning difficulties and people with mental health needs, Mencap Liverpool & Sefton will deliver Swap Shops, cookery and food waste reduction classes, as well as a Grow your own swap shops and a community garden upgrade using recycled and repurposed materials.
North Birkenhead Development Trust   Refresh	Furniture	‘Refresh’ is a project that aims to establish a weekly drop-in upcycling session at the St James Centre on Laird Street. It will be a dedicated space for community members to learn new skills by upcycling furniture, either by bringing their own items, or utilising donated furniture.
The Reader   Recalled to Life	Furniture	The charity based in Calderstones Park will receive unwanted and donated furniture for restoration, whilst training and giving volunteers key upcycling skills and knowledge.
Rule of Threes Arts Ltd   Rule of Threes	Food & WEEE (electrical waste)	This food waste-based project will offer a kitchen equipment lending library, preserving jars, fruit press, cake tins and other food-saving items. It will also glean food from their community garden and offer practical skills in preparing, preserving, pickling, fermenting etc.
Sustainable Starts CIC   Sustainable Starts Toy Library	Textiles & Toys	Sustainable Starts CIC works with families to support and inspire them toward a more sustainable family life. We do this through Liverpool Cloth Nappy Library, children’s clothes swaps and a playgroup where families can explore sustainability with their children. The funding will be used to expand the lending Library with toys and baby items.
Vibe Charitable Incorporated Organisation   Feed the Need	Food	Vibe will distribute shopping lists, meal planning sheets and reusable containers as physical ways to support people to make improvements by careful planning to reduce overspending/shopping and utilising leftovers. The project will also produce an educational video of food saving and food challenges.
Wirral Change   Second Stitch and Zero Waste Plate	Food & Textiles	Second Stitch is about fixing, reusing, and transforming old clothes to fight against wasting fabrics. Wirral Change will also teach people from local ethnic minority communities how to make their clothes last longer and even turn them into something new through fun workshops.
Wirral Environmental Network   Wirral Clothes Swap Cafes	Textiles	Wirral Environmental Network (WEN), Indigo Venue and Wirral community groups and organisations will reduce waste and promote sustainability through community-driven Clothes Swap Cafés at various locations across the Wirral. The Clothes Swap Cafes will be interspersed with workshops and activities focused on sustainable fashion and reuse.

*Statistic from Merseyside and Halton Waste Composition Analysis 2021/22

A share of £165,000 is up for grabs to help community groups make the Liverpool City Region a cleaner and greener place.

The funding – made available via the Zero Waste Community Fund 2024/25 – is for community and voluntary groups, schools and not-for-profit organisations, who can reduce household waste, encourage recycling and resource reuse and prevent carbon emissions.

There is up to £30,000 for projects which cover a minimum of four City Region districts, and between £1000 and £8,000 available for projects which work solely at one local authority level.

Chairperson of Merseyside Recycling & Waste Authority (MRWA), Councillor Catie Page, said: “We are so grateful for the partnerships we have with the region’s community groups. They are the backbone of our communities, the ones who are working on the ground to make a difference.

“Giving groups the opportunity to get involved in looking after their environment brings benefits to all and can help us appreciate items as valuable resources rather than something which otherwise might be just thrown away.”

Bids must tackle one or more of the five priority household waste materials which have been identified by MRWA as key, namely WEEE (Waste Electrical & Electronic Equipment), Food, Textiles, Plastics and Furniture. An analysis* of waste in the region highlighted that a greater amount of these materials could be re-used or recycled. Projects can also include other household waste materials, for example paper or metals.

Previous Community Fund projects have included local recycling guidebooks, cookery clubs to support healthy eating and reduce food waste, fruit and veg gleaning, restoring old furniture to sell for charity and refurbishing unwanted rugs for resale.

One organisation to have previously received funding is Toxteth-based Liverpool World Centre, who have been running clothes and textiles waste education programmes throughout the region.

Jacquie Ayre, Global Learning Education Officer at Liverpool World Centre, said: “Our projects in the past and the current one ‘Re-think The Waste Revolution’ work closely with teachers and youth group leaders – supported by our partner Faiths4change – to give them the confidence, knowledge, understanding and skills needed to initiate conversations within  their settings.

“Currently we are supporting the creation of groups of young people to become peer led waste educators to deliver the rethinking waste message and engage with others to think critically about consumption. We anticipate these messages becoming more embedded in community and school settings and consequently behaviour around textile, food and electrical waste will start to change and waste will be reduced.”

A celebration event for the Community Fund was held on Tuesday 6^th February, which brought together previous and current projects.

Interested groups can apply via www.merseysidewda.gov.uk.  

The deadline for submissions is 11.59pm on Sunday 10th March 2024.

Successful projects should receive the funding by mid April 2024 and will have to deliver their schemes by March 2025.

Organisations interested in this year’s Community Fund can:

• Apply online at www.merseysidewda.gov.uk  

• Contact the Authority:

Community.fund@merseysidewda.gov.uk   

DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION OF APPLICATIONS:

Sunday 10^th March 2024, 11.59pm

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A Wirral community organisation is using money received from an environmental fund to help stop furniture from going to waste.

Birkenhead-based Bee Wirral CIC has clinched £5760 from the Merseyside Recycling & Waste Authority (MRWA) and Veolia Community Fund to help deliver the ‘Refresh: preloved furniture’ project. The money is being used to train up volunteers who can repair and refurbish unwanted furniture and pass it on to a new home.

The project is being run in conjunction with Wirral Council and local housing association, Magenta Living, who are supplying the furniture from their empty properties.

Lorraine Anderson, Director at Bee Wirral, said: “Refresh is all about reusing and recycling furniture and preventing it from going to waste. We are using the funding to deliver furniture cleaning, repair and restoration skills to our volunteers, teaching them how simple techniques such as painting, waxing, stencilling and decoupage can transform donated items. By undertaking some minor improvements unwanted furniture can be restored and repurposed to become a desirable item for a new home.”

The MRWA funding has enabled the recruitment of a driver’s mate and handyman, which is allowing Bee Wirral to pick up and deliver more furniture donations than they could previously. Families who need furniture liaise through Magenta Living and are able to choose restored items they need for their home.

As well as learning repair and refurbishment skills any volunteers recruited to assist with the Refresh project are included on the Bee Wirral staff and volunteer training programme where they receive first aid, safeguarding and employability skills teaching.

By the time the project has ended, Bee Wirral hope they will have saved 25 tonnes of material from going to waste, engaged with 100 people, and delivered 340 hours of training to 16 volunteers.

Lesley Worswick, Chief Executive of Merseyside Recycling & Waste Authority, said: “We were really impressed with this project by Bee Wirral as we can give them the financial support to deliver a project where usable furniture doesn’t even make it into the waste stream but instead back into people’s homes. This is such a great scheme and I’d like to give everyone involved a huge thank you for their efforts.”

To get involved with Bee Wirral call 0151 647 7587 or email info@beewirral.co.uk.

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Notes to editors:
Image captions – images show volunteers for Bee Wirral’s Refresh Furniture project refurbishing furniture.

Established in 2013. Bee Wirral CIC is a lottery funded community centre, created to help bring a sense of community to Birkenhead. The organisation was called Birkenhead Early Excellence, which is where the name Bee comes from. www.beewirral.co.uk

The MRWA and Veolia Community Fund 2023/24 has seen 13 community groups from Merseyside and Halton receive a funding boost to help make the region a cleaner and greener place. The financial support will see the groups help reduce household waste, encourage recycling and resource re-use, and prevent carbon emissions. Funding total is £164,945.00

Merseyside Recycling and Waste Authority is responsible for the disposal of municipal waste on Merseyside. Established in 1986 following the abolition of Merseyside County Council, it is a statutory Authority that works with all the local authorities on Merseyside – Halton, Knowsley, Liverpool, Sefton, St Helens and Wirral. MRWA takes a lead in advocating recycling, waste prevention and safe and effective disposal of waste for Merseyside residents.

A local charity theatre is celebrating a funding boost which they say will help cut waste and increase reuse and recycling.

Valley Community Theatre in Netherley, Liverpool, has been awarded £7977 to help deliver ‘Valley Vegheads’, a food growing and cookery skills project which it hopes will reduce food waste, increase composting and encourage food growing in the local community.

The money has come from the Merseyside Recycling and Waste Authority & Veolia Community Fund 2023/24.

Martin Ball, Charity Director at Valley Community Theatre, said: “We are using the funding to bring in an extra pair of hands. This means that we have more resource to help create  a community kitchen garden at our premises on Childwall Valley Road, allowing us to run gardening activities and host community swap shops. Our recycling of waste products from the garden and cafe and our textiles ‘Swap Shop’ will serve as an education for all in reducing waste and will impact positively on the environment.”

The project launched in the summer and is hoping to cut waste by:

• Creating a community kitchen garden that supports and provides food for free school meals during the theatre’s Holiday Activities Food club.
• Hosting gardening activities, composting, growing vegetables and using harvested foods in the theatre’s café.
• Increasing the recycling of items from the theatre café (including aluminium cans, cardboard, plastics, paper, glass) which serves audiences attending performances throughout the year.
• Running six community ‘Swap Shop’ for clothes and textiles including unwanted school uniforms.

By the end of the project the theatre hopes they will have engaged with up to 4000 people and stopped over 16 tonnes of material from going to waste.

Martin Ball continued: “The vegetable growing part of the project will ensure more children, young people and wider community members have access to the fresh food we produce. Helping young people understand why we can’t grow bananas, or that potatoes grow underground, gives them a greater appreciation of where our food comes from and what’s involved in producing it.

“The nutrition and education part of the process will be incorporated into our Holiday Activities With Food programmes. All our participants and visitors will also benefit from the transformation of an otherwise overlooked outside space which will now offer a place to sit and appreciate the enhanced grounds, learn about the growing of different fruits and vegetables and serve as a place of discovery.”

Lesley Worswick, Chief Executive of Merseyside Recycling & Waste Authority, said: “Wasted food is a huge issue for society and for the environment. The numbers show that eight meals could be saved each week if we stopped binning our food at home. Projects like this one are crucial in delivering useful information to residents and helping make positive changes in behaviour. We’re looking forward to seeing how it develops.”

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