Pembrokeshire in the frame

Pembrokeshire County Council has been shortlisted for a major Recycling Award.

The Council is in the running for the Local Authority Partnership Award in the Wales Recycling Awards run by Cylch, the Welsh Community Recycling Network.

Winners will be announced later next month at the Cylch annual conference in Cardiff.

The authority was nominated for the award by Pembrokeshire FRAME, the local re-use charity, which currently holds the contract with Pembrokeshire County Council for the collection of bulky household waste items.

This enables unwanted items to be collected and sorted for recycling rather than directly placed in landfill.

Since the contract has been in place nearly 19,000 items of furniture, equivalent to almost 600 tonnes, have been reused or recycled across the County.

In the last year FRAME has also provided work practice and training to 191 people and provided employment for 24 people.

And, as well as being open to the general public for pre-used furniture and household items, it also supports disadvantaged households with over 800 families benefiting from free or very low cost packages of furniture last year.

"We're delighted to be shortlisted for this award," said Councillor Ken Rowlands, Cabinet Member for Environmental and Regulatory Services.

"The links between us and FRAME have benefited the community both environmentally and socially," he said.

"While it is good to be short listed, it would be a real feather in our cap to win the award in recognition of the good work of all those involved and also for all our residents and businesses who recycle. I would encourage as many people as possible to visit the Cylch website and vote for Pembrokeshire."