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Kent Community Recycling has closed.
The not-for-profit organisation – which was set up over 22 years ago – had been struggling to survive for more than a year, after losing a major funding stream.
Over the years KCR has raised nearly £700,000 for local charities – as well as diverting thousands of tonnes of “waste” from landfill sites, incineration and other environmentally unfriendly methods of disposal.
KCR rewarded people for recycling with them and paid cash for recyclable materials or invited individuals to donate the proceeds to a charity or worthy cause.
It also ran a scheme whereby recyclers could choose to send a bag of sweets to troops overseas, rather than take the proceeds from their recyclables.
As a result of this scheme KCR sent over 1,000 bags of sweets to our front line troops in Afghanistan.
Over the past year KCR paid garbage men on Saga cruise ships £1,308 for recycling drinks cans. The men send the money home to their needy families in the Philippines.
KCR was also working with the University of Sussex in Brighton, providing pure, fine, glass chippings for research into filtering arsenic from drinking water in Bangladesh.
Founder of KCR Mark Wyatt said: "It is with great regret that we have had to close."
"Since learning of our difficulties we received tremendous support from local people, but this is another case of our elected representatives ignoring the will of the people. There was vast support from the community but it made no impression what-so-ever on those elected to represent the people!
They didn't even bother to put our case before a committee. They didn't listen and didn't care."
KCR's Resource Recovery Plant in Hawkinge was recycling in excess of 1,000,000 (million) kilos of "waste" material per year, supporting the efforts of local authorities.
Earlier this year it produced an Educational DVD which Kent County Council circulated details of to schools across the county.
KCR - R.I.P
July 1989 - October 2011
Here you will find out more about the benefits of recycling; to yourself and to your environment.
We want everyone to think about the environment and green issues.
Why throw everything into the bin, when so much of this household waste could be recycled?
Despite the advent of kerbside collections,Kent Community Recycling are continuing to recruit more recyclers than ever before.
Be paid to go green!
At KCR recyclers can earn credit for material they bring to the plant.
For details, visit our Exchange Scheme Page
Don't throw it - give it!
Did you know that you can help people in need without it costing you a penny? Simply drop in all your empty drinks cans from home and work to Kent Community Recycling in Aerodrome Road, Hawkinge [next to the Kent Battle of Britain Museum] between 8.00am and 4.30pm weekdays with late night opening till 6.00pm on Thursdays.
You choose which worthy cause you wish to support. Your support will be greatly appreciated and it costs you nothing! Our recycling has raised over £½ million so far for charities and worthy causes in Kent. We look forward to seeing you.
Social Enterprise Mark - are you ready? from Social Enterprise on Vimeo.
The Social Enterprise Mark is the brand for social enterprises.
The Mark identifies businesses which meet defined criteria for social enterprises, for example allocating 50% or more of profits towards social and/or environmental benefit.
Businesses displaying the Mark give assurance to customers that they are driven by social and environmental objectives and are trading to benefit people and planet.
The Mark is a visual badge for a movement that is working for social change and environmental sustainability.
 Margaret Finch and her Elves All visitors to our Plant are offered bags of sweets and invited to place them in a box, which we then send to a group of volunteer ladies,
namely Margaret Finch and her 'Elves', who box them up together with other goodies
and forward them to our troops on the frontline in Afghanistan.
There is no pressure whatsoever on anyone
to donate their sweets and it is heartening
to see how many actually do take part in the scheme.
REPRESENTATIVES FROM KENT COMMUNITY RECYCLING WERE INVITED TO A RECENT RECEPTION HELD BY THE ROYAL GURKHA RIFLES.
THE GURKHAS EXPRESSED THEIR THANKS FOR ALL THE HUNDREDS OF BAGS OF SWEETIES WHICH OUR RECYCLERS HAD DONATED FOR THEM TO ENJOY WHILST ON THEIR RECENT TOUR OF DUTY IN AFGHANISTAN.
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