Grant helps youth centre go green

The centre applied for funding from the EnviroGrant scheme to help pay for an innovative recycling project to help the environment and save money.

“The young people who use the centre were helping us to come up with ways to cut down our running costs and thought about recycling,” said transitional youth worker Steve Scotthorne.

“They visited Veolia to have a look round and see how different things are recycled and it all went from there.”

That visit inspired them to have a go at recycling all of the youth centre’s rubbish, so they put in an application for funding to help set them on their new greener path.

“We have used the money to pay for the recycling bins and can crushers that we bought,” said Steve.

“And the rest of the grant will go towards buying plants and hanging baskets for the outside of the centre to make it more welcoming.”

“The project has been running since April and the young people have been crushing cans and using the new bins to separate out all of our rubbish so it can be recycled.”

“It’s been a great success so far and everybody has got involved with the scheme. We are now recycling the majority of our rubbish where as before it was all going to landfill.”

“The youth centre is saving £800 a year and helping to look after the planet,” he added.

The cheque was presented to Ted Banks, chairman of the youth centre management committee and the young people who use the centre by Kevin Parker from Veolia.

Run by Veolia Environmental Services Nottinghamshire, EnviroGrant is a community fund aimed to help not-for-profit community groups.

Groups and organisations can apply for grants of up to £1,000 to fund projects which improve their local environment.

EnviroGrant funding can be granted for a variety of projects and activities including promotion and marketing, education and awareness raising, practical equipment and running costs.

A panel reviews all grant applications and normally decides on the funding of projects within one month.

For more information about the EnviroGrant scheme or to make an application for funding visit www.veoliaenvironmentalservices.co.uk, email [email protected] or phone 0115 850 5900.