Developing sector capacity in resource management

A new Third Sector Capacity Building Programme covering waste and resource management has been funded by WRAP, the government's waste-reduction body. Run by a new CIC (community interest company), REconomy, the scheme has five strands of Organisational Development, Market Development, Networking and Training, Investment for Growth, Projects. REconomy has been set up by a partnership of four networks: Community Recycling Network UK, Furniture Reuse Network, Community Composting Network and London Community Recycling Network. See http://reconomy.org.uk/programme, or the WRAP news item at http://www.wrap.org.uk/wrap_corporate/news/wrap_joins_forces.html.

The Minister for the Environment in the Welsh Assembly has also announced £3 million over the next three years towards the 'Cylch Capacity Building Investment Fund'. This will provide strategic support for Welsh community re-use and recycling enterprises that need help to grow their business operations. CRN Scotland news item.

Worth noting in this context is that community interest company ECT Recycling has just been bought by private company May Gurney from the ECT Group (which runs Ealing Community Transport). Third Sector reports that the CIC Regulator (http://www.cicregulator.gov.uk) has said that it would be monitoring the deal, presumably because there are restrictions on asset transfers by CICs (http://www.thirdsector.co.uk/News/815634/, registration required)