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The Devon Authorities Waste Reduction and Recycling Committee, (D.A.W.R.R.C.) has financially supported the Devon Community Composting Network since its foundation in 1996.
Devon is unusual in having regular meetings of this committee, where all the local councils, (Borough, District, Unitary, City and County) all unite and meet together.
Core Support
Devon also is rare amongst local Authorities in that it pays Recycling Credits to community groups. This is cash given to groups for each tonne of material which otherwise would have been landfilled. For the groups this amounts to a form of core funding, which is usually so difficult to obtain and many groups would simply not be sustainable without this funding.
The other key 'core funding' area, that we are extremely lucky in Devon to have, is the provision of the mobile shredding service. Now the expansion of the network has proved to be a bit of a two edged sword. More projects has meant more call on the shredding service, this in turn has meant applying for larger and larger budgets to D.A.W.R.R.C. So now instead of the individual area Authorities all contributing to a central budget for shredding, instead they all budget for shredding activities on their own patch. The shredding situation still poses somewhat of a dilemma. Authorities have to budget for it - for some this will amount to an extremely large amount and for others, there may be no groups in their area. But what happens when a group is launched in a new area which has not provided for the potential of a group launching during that financial year?
Potential for Growth?
At the time of writing this update, (Autumn 2004) Devon has twenty six active community composting groups.
I feel that many more groups would have been formed were it not for the very heavy handed legislation and its interpretation by the Environment Agency officers. Happily the Environment Agency has just been through a complete restructuring, which means that the same approach should be followed across the whole Country to each situation. We now have Agency staff well versed in the workings of the Community Composting Sector.
Not so happily we have been waiting for a very long time for DEFRA to finally release a consultation document on the proposed changes to the Waste Exemptions. All community composters are deemed to be working with and handling 'waste' materials and so we come under the legislation. This was originally drafted before there was any significant community sector composting happening, and aspects of it make setting up community schemes overly difficult. Additionally for any schemes that were composting catering waste, or contemplating it, we have the Animal by-products order, which at the time of writing is in consultation, but which looks almost certain to make it nigh on impossible for the community sector to comply with.
How do Local Authorities support Composting Initiatives?
• Devon local authorities pay recycling Credits.
• D.A.W.R.R.C. supports DCCN financially.
• Individual Authorities support shredding service, as well of course as in other ways and on the home composting front.
• DCCN supports existing and potential projects through its co-ordinator giving information, guidance, visits, talks etc. Also through 10% grant support towards larger funding bids.
Devon also has a 'compost demonstration site', this is one of over twenty Nationally recognised sites supported by the National Community Composting Network. ( see Chagford in the 'Thumbnails' section)
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