Awards and Funding

• National Award for Glass Recycling
• TNT Modernising Government Partnership Awards 2001
• EMR Reload Funding
• Apple of their Eyes!

National Award for Glass Recycling

Council recycling bosses are celebrating after picking up a national award for their innovative glass recycling work.

They won top prize at the Association of Public Service Excellence ceremony held in Glasgow in the Best Sustainable/Environment Initiative category.

The award was in recognition of the groundbreaking work undertaken at the Ash Road Environmental Centre, which includes the machine which crushes all the glass collected from the borough's 95,000 households.

The machine, which was designed by the council's executive leader and qualified engineer Cllr Roy Oldham, turns all the glass collected into various grades of sand which can be used for a wide range of things, including shot-blasting and for use on sports pitches.

Research is currently being carried out by the Sports Turf Research Institute on some council football pitches where the sand is being used as a soil improver, the results will be available at the end of the season.

Tameside is the only council in the country authorised by central government to run a glass reprocessing plant - which it's done from the Ash Road site in Droylsden since it started operating in 2002.

The centre now houses a number of environmental services, including pest control and licensing as well as recycling. It was visited by local government minister Nick Raynsford last December who was keen to have a look round.

Cllr Oldham said: "This award is recognition for all the hard work that has gone into turning our glass recycling ideas into practice. It has always been our intention to make recycling in the borough sustainable and the glass crusher has gone along way to helping us achieve this."

"The possible uses of our recycled glass seems limitless and we are still in talks with a number of major businesses who are interested in buying the finished product, so the site just goes from strength to strength."

TNT Modernising Government Partnership Awards 2001 - 'Most Improved Organisation'

About the Award

The TNT Modernising Government Partnership Award competition recognises the achievements of public sector organisations that use a business excellence approach to partnerships with other organisations - to improve performance. View the TNT Website.

Tameside has one of the very best paper recycling schemes in the country thanks to our business excellence approach to partnerships.

There are many partners involved in the scheme from the International Paper Manufacturer - Cheshire Recycling to the community groups we work with:

• 1st Millbrook B.P. Scouts
• 1st Mossley (St Georges) Scouts and Guides
• 468 (Hattersley Hyde) Squadron Air Training Corps

With a key role in making the scheme a success, every partner is as enthusiastic and passionate about recycling waste paper as we are! It was this enthusiasm and passion that impressed the panel of experts who visited Tameside earlier this year.

The Awards Scheme

Improving Services

Applying for the award has helped to generate benefits not only for our customers and suppliers but society in general. We have been able to asses our strengths, as well as weaknesses and found numerous opportunities for improvement. Like many other organisations who now use the EFQM Excellence Model®, we have discovered that working within the framework of the business excellence model is an ideal way to achieve demanding business objectives.

Improving Morale

The award has provided a massive boost not only for Tameside employees but for our partners as well. We have all been able to focus on the benefits of working together.

Expert Feedback

The application has been assessed by leading industrialists, their feedback has proved to be a useful guide for continually improving our scheme. Tameside is a learning organisation and we plan to improve year on year.

Recognition

Receiving the recognition that this prestigious award offers confirms that the Blue Bin scheme shows dynamic use of the EFQM Excellence Model® and has generated excellence in the development of partnerships.

EMR Reload Funding

Tameside Council was one of eleven local authorities in England to receive a share of £160,000 funding from European Metal Recycling. The funding has been provided to help local authorities extract more steel from the household waste stream. With the awarded £14,580, Tameside MBC is hoping to introduce can recycling facilities near residential flats to make it easier for people to dispose of their waste in an environmentally responsible manner.

Apple of their Eyes!

The recycling team is celebrating after picking up a national award at this year's Green Apple award ceremony at the Tower of London on 3rd November 2006

The annual awards are presented to local authorities and commercial organisations in recognition of their environmental initiatives. Not only did the team pick up an award from the well known TV personality and environmentalist David Bellamy, but they picked up one of only five Environmental Champions awards from more than 200 awards given out on the day.

Robin Monk, head of Environmental Operations, said: "It's always good to receive a national award in recognition of all the great work that is being undertaken in Tameside.

"This year the judges recognized our innovative work to pulverize glass and also to produce recycled plastic furniture from the materials we collect.

To be honoured by being chosen as one of five Environmental Champions from over 200 local authorities and businesses was a tremendous achievement."