TEN 10 ISSUE east Sport for All Waste Not Holt Town Not So Silent Majority ISSN 1745-8277 WINTER 2009 the magazine about regeneration in east manchester free Waste not It’s not all waste paper and plastic bottles for the recycling company Emerge. Mark Hillsdon finds that the local social enterprise also runs an education programme and distributes surplus supermarket food. “The principal When Lucy Danger met up with friends in a Then, all of a sudden, recycling went idea was to local pub in 1995 few would have thought mainstream. Emerge had blazed the trail so try and get that a fledgling idea to get Mancunians successfully that in 2005 the Council decided Manchester recycling would, ten years later, turn a small it would take over roadside collections to wake up to corner of New Smithfield Market in Openshaw itself. “At the time it was a bit of a shock,” recycling” into the industrious epicentre for recycling recalls Danger, “but we looked at what we in Manchester. were trying to achieve, and the fact that At the time, Danger was working for the the service had gone mainstream in many Citizens Advice Bureau and had been on the respects was positive – it’s what we set out fringes of a campaign to prevent a waste to do.” But it also left her facing a series of incinerator being built in east Manchester. tough decisions. The campaign was successful, and it was “We had to look very carefully at what we over a celebratory pint in Mary D’s that were doing and how we were going to pay the the idea for Emerge – or East Manchester rent… there was a lot of belt tightening,” she Environmental and Resources Group Emerge says. In one month they downsized from 50 to give it its full title – first began to take staff to 25, with some employees transferring shape. directly to the Council’s joint venture company. “The principal idea was to try and get Losing the Council contract meant Manchester to wake up to recycling,” says Emerge had to concentrate on the services Danger, who’s now the managing director of they offered to companies and voluntary Emerge, an organisation with over 30 full- organisations, which weren’t covered by the time employees and an annual turnover of local authority. They focused more on working around £800,000. with businesses in central Manchester, “We started offering a recycling service offering a collection service as well as advice to 50 households, using a rickety old van to reduce waste. with wheelie bins on it,” she recalls. “It was a A key contact for these businesses is proper ramshackle set-up.” Gareth Chantrell, who was recently promoted For the first two years Emerge was a to the role of business service supervisor. voluntary enterprise, moving from offices in He joined Emerge as a driver four years ago, Hulme to the West Indian Sports and Social and now liaises closely with customers about Club in Moss Side, before finally arriving at a their recycling needs. depot in Bessemer Street, off Ashton Old Road. “I think the whole of Manchester needs a “It was pretty makeshift and edgy,” good recycling company,” explains Chantrell, says Danger. “At that time the regeneration who lives in Gorton. “Emerge really has programme in east Manchester was just progressed. It’s a small company but it’s got kicking off and there was the feeling that a very big image around it.” things were going to improve.” Emerge makes a small charge for The first big break came when Emerge collecting the materials from businesses, he began a waste paper round in South East explains. The waste is sorted and then sold on Manchester covering 30,000 households. to commercial reprocessors. Gradually money began to trickle in from IT equipment makes up a large amount sources such as the landfill tax, charitable of the haul, and Danger is constantly looking trusts and then a community fund at Kellogg’s. at ways to reuse the monitors and printers Previous page: Soon Emerge had set up a free recycling that end up at the depot. They’ve recently At a local hostel, Paul service for 150+ schools across Manchester started working with a national company (left) and Joe heat up and was also funded by the government which strips down the old equipment so that FareShare soup delivered to run one of the first recycling schemes every component gets recycled. “They do a by Emerge. for high- rise flats in the country. They lot of re-use as well and we’re always keen to also pioneered a kerbside, multi-material try and push the agenda for getting people to Opposite: recycling service and eventually got a deal think more about re-use,” she adds. Lucy Danger started Emerge with the City Council to service 55,000 Chantrell is currently studying for a team after a chat in the pub. households. leader qualification and has ambitions to one 4 east “I’ve found day become operations manager. “I always “It’s been a long time coming,” jokes something that wanted to progress in life and get better jobs Danger. “From the very early days people I really want to and do better for myself personally. Emerge were saying, ‘you’ve got to educate the do,” he says. has opened a lot of doors for me and given children,’ and it’s true of course.” “FareShare me the opportunity,” he says. The three-year ‘Real Skills programme’ is a brilliant Community inclusion and the provision is now taking the ‘Reduce, Reuse, Recycle’ idea and I’m of training and lifelong learning have message into primary and secondary schools, just absolutely always been core values at Emerge, and the with three new education workers also delighted to have organisation currently has over 20 volunteers, working with young people on issues around got involved.” many from the local community. social enterprise and the environment. Martin Jamieson is one, and he began “Working with schools was also the working for Emerge Food, a subsidiary of the natural progression in spreading the ‘act main organisation, last year. He’s now helping local, think global’ message,” says Danger. with the running of FareShare, a franchise Emerge are continuing to diversify, which redistributes in-date surplus food. working as resource efficiency consultants “I came for an interview and took to it for organisations like the Co-op Group, straight away,” says Jamieson. “Warehouse Northwest Regional Development Agency work is what I used to do. and Kellogg’s, while also in discussions with “I started working on the Smithfield NHS Manchester and the Social Investment Market when I was about 15… it was all fruit Fund about setting up a training kitchen to and veg then… At three or four o’clock in the raise awareness about food and run cooking morning this place used to be chock-a-block. classes in general. There were juggernauts all over the market There are also plans to buy new and traders coming in and buying stock.” equipment that can ‘add value’ to recycled An industrial injury 20 years ago has materials by reprocessing them, even turning left Jamieson suffering from occasional them into completely new products. And blackouts, but FareShare is offering him a there’s a contract with Trafford Council way back into work. He now checks the food to provide a kerbside collection to 7,000 that’s regularly dropped off by many of the properties, too. city’s large supermarkets – which is often At its heart, Emerge remains a community simply wrongly labelled or has damaged business, an organisation offering local packaging – and then helps to distribute it volunteers the chance to improve their job to support organisations and hostels such as prospects. “We genuinely try to employ local the Booth Centre and Mustard Tree who help people,” says Danger. “There’s a lot of really individuals in need. positive energy from the staff… I think east “I’ve found something that I really want Manchester has got a really good community to do,” he says. “FareShare is a brilliant idea vibe about it.” and I’m just absolutely delighted to have got involved.” FareShare has the dual aims of relieving food poverty and cutting back on food waste and Danger hopes it’s a service that retailers will ultimately pay for. “The food industry is effectively saving money – if they didn’t give us the food they would Top: throw it away, and would have to pay to do Gareth Chantrell “Emerge that,” she says. has got a big image...” Danger has always wanted to take Emerge’s message into schools too but lacked Bottom: the funds until last year, when they were Martin Jamieson organises awarded £500,000 by the Big Lottery Fund’s another FareShare delivery. Reaching Communities programme. Sport for All Len Grant discovers how Manchester Velodrome has shaken off its alien spaceship image to become the focus of local pride. “There can’t be He’s down here five times a week. Mostly The velodrome was opened in September many sports it’s with his cycling club, Sportcity Velo, but 1994. Built by Manchester City Council as where beginners today it’s with his school club. a potential home for British Cycling, it is and world Luke Bolton, 15, is in Year 11 at Gorton’s still the only Olympic indoor cycling track in champions Wright Robinson Specialist College and has England. Cardiff has one and there are tracks use the same been cycling at Manchester Velodrome – also planned for Glasgow and London (for the facilities.