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What is the Somerset Waste Action Programme?
The Waste Action Programme (WAP) is a joint venture between the Somerset Waste Partnership (consisting of Somerset County Council and its five District/Borough Councils) and the Carymoor Environmental Trust, (an environmental educational charity based near Castle Cary).
The programme promotes waste awareness to schools and community groups across the county using a team of specially trained officers. Since June 2002 the team has visited over 80% of the schools in the county and over 250 community groups.
The aim of the Waste Action Programme is to promote waste minimisation, reuse, recycling and composting, supporting the services provided by each of the six Waste Authorities in Somerset. The team provide a variety of workshops and assemblies to schools and awareness raising presentations to community groups of all ages. In addition the team offer practical advice and support. The officers also provide a useful feedback loop between the people of Somerset and the Somerset local authorities, ensuring local needs and opinions form a major part of the programme development process
The key themes of the WAP delivered by the Waste Action Officers include:
- Separation of waste at home to facilitate enhanced recycling
- Home composting
- Minimising waste through 'Smart Buying'
- How to reuse and repair
The creation of the WAP has been one of the many positive outcomes from the Joint Best Value Review undertaken by the Somerset Waste Partnership. The review, one of the first of its kind in the country, identified the need to increase waste awareness throughout the county in order to deliver enhanced waste targets and improve public awareness. Action was swiftly taken to create an education programme that has assisted Somerset in meeting and surpassing it's collective goals and targets as identified in it's jointly-produced Best Value Improvement Plan.
Parish Councils and community groups in Somerset are all welcome to contact the Waste Action Programme team, call us on 01963 351350 or email:
Links: