Nursery Needs project in North Lanarkshire recycles for environmental and financial sustainability
Posted on Tue 16 August 2011
Case Study: Watch Us Grow: ‘Nursery Needs – The Next Steps’ Awarded £36,415
Nursery Needs is a community project in the central Scottish region of North Lanarkshire that recycles children’s nursery equipment. Funded by the Fair Share Trust programme, the project was established as a vehicle to provide meaningful employment for adults with learning difficulties, while also tackling poverty by providing quality nursery goods at a reasonable price to low-income families and other community-based organisations.
The provision of the award from the Fair Share Trust programme has helped Nursery Needs move towards financial independence, building skills in the workforce, developing a strong reputation within the local community, and looking at new opportunities and community partnerships for taking the project forward. The main challenge facing the organisation now is sustainability, as it needs to sell enough products to ensure long-term viability.
As a result, Nursery Needs has developed a number of initiatives in a bid to move from grant funding to revenue generation through business activities. For example, the organisation collects books from local people to pass on to Bookdonors and sells all surplus fabric, clothing and bedding to a textile recycling company. It has also made an agreement with the North Lanarkshire Council to pass on water based paint donations to Repaint Scotland, who pays Nursery Needs in paint that is then converted into money through the agreement.
These opportunities have arisen as a direct result of the investment from the Fair Share Trust programme which provided the staff, management and Board of the organisation with the opportunity to develop new themes targeting employment opportunities, environmental action and revenue generation. Through these activities, staff have learned new skills and the profile of Nursery Needs has increased within the local community. The additional income raised will help ensure the project’s continuation.
Since Fair Share Trust began funding Nursery Needs, 1,252 families have visited the project, purchasing cots, buggies, toys and books. Over 12 tonnes of nursery items were recycled, diverting potential waste from landfills.
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