CRNS supports   CRNS is supported by 
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General questions
Q. Are 'charity shops' able to join CRNS? A. Yes, so long as they are diverting waste from landfill and properly constituted.
Q. Are the Area Waste Plans still relevant? A. Yes. Target reporting continues against those identified in the area waste plans.
Q. Can anyone come along to the Community Forums? A. Yes. Anyone with an interest in community recycling is invited to come along to their local forum.
Q. Can someone come out and see us? A. Under normal circumstances, CRNS Development Officers will only visit member organisations. However, you can meet your area Development officer at local community forum meetings to talk about your project. Click here for upcoming dates and venues. You can also contact your area Development Officer via e-mail or telephone.
Q. Can someone help me with my business plan? A. Your local development officer can give advice on Business planning.
You can also contact Council for Voluntary Services. Scottish enterprise can also provide many services to help your organisation through Business gateway or your local enterprise company. Q. Do I need a waste management License? A. It’s always best to check with your local SEPA office, who will provide information on what activities require a Waste Management Licence and what exemptions are available.
Q. Do we have to be a charity to join CRNS? A. No. there are advantages to being a charity (including 80% to 100% relief on business rates and free exemption from waste carriers licence), but properly constituted, non-profit distributing organisations are eligible for membership of CRNS.
Q. Does CRNS give grants? If not who can provide start-up funds and how soon? A. CRNS does not hold funds for awards, they can identify appropriate funding sources, expected lead times and (in the case of INCREASE) provide face to face support.
Q. Does the CRNS DO have any clout with the Local Authority (Council)? A. Yes, both through the local recycling forum and developed working relationships with officers within specific Council departments.
Q. How do we find out what local authorities are doing? A. SEPA produce annual updates on the performances of local authorities towards targets laid out by the Scottish Executive. See www.sepa.org.uk or contact your local SEPA office.
Q. How far into the future should we project income / expenditure? A. Three to five years.
Q. If non-recycling help not available where can this be found? A. Local agencies include LECs, CVS, SIPs; CRNS DO can provide contact names etc
Q. Should we weigh the tonnage of items diverted / recycled? A. It is important to use best available techniques to calculate the tonnage diverted from landfill. This might include weighing (e.g. collection vehicles on weighbridge or individual items such as white goods on scales). Where this is not possible, some other methodology should be designed and agreed with key stakeholders.
Q. What are the benefits of being a member of CRNS? A. Full membership benefits includes access to our Open Doors travel bursary, discounted rates to events and seminars, access to the full range of Development Support services and eligibility to stand for the Board of Directors.
The full list of benefits are included in our membership pack. CRNS encourages you to join so that you will be able to receive the full range of membership services. Please note that all membership applications are subject to approval by the CRNS Board. Q. What does the CRNS do? How can they help? Do they provide non-recycling help? A. Membership-based organisation. Promotion of community recycling sector; providing tiered development support and recycling advice to local organisations; recycling events and local forum; sector-specific training/pointers to other training; website/bi-weekly e-update.
If non-recycling help asked for, advised of local agencies/contacts etc Q. What is a social audit? A. A quantification of the full benefit of an organisations’ activities to people and the community.
Q. What is a social enterprise? A. A non-profit distributing organisation established for wider social benefit. Social Enterprises may have other community benefits, including environmental improvement or economic development. Social enterprises are at least in part income generating through trading as opposed to being entirely reliant on charitable or public sources of income.
Q. What is an Energy from Waste Plant? A. A form of waste reduction which involves energy being generated from waste. The most common examples are an incinerator and a pyrolysis plant (combustion in a vacuum).
Q. What is the Area Waste Strategy Groups and are they still active? A. Yes. Area waste groups continue to meet to monitor the implementation of the area waste plans and discuss other issues of relevance.
Q. What legal structure is appropriate? A. Small community groups could initially establish an incorporated, not for profit, organisation. Easy to construct; first page of constitution most important – must show aims and objectives; following pages are generic and can be lifted from websites of GCVS, Senscot etc. Legal requirements:- business bank a/c, office bearers i.e. chairperson, secretary, treasurer.
Q. What should be in a business plan? A. There is no definitive list, but business plans commonly include: Executive summary, business background (might feature a SWOT analysis, management structure, key people (staff and directors), research data (qualitative and quantitative), current activities, equipment and premises, products and/or services, marketing strategy, development plans (including new services / products, equipment, sites, buildings, posts), income / expenditure and cash flow projections, action plan, appendices to include site plans, job descriptions, full research data, etc.).
Q. When is the next community Forum in my area? A. Click here for upcoming dates and venues
Q. Who else (locally) can we network with? A. CRNS, local Recycling Forum, LECs, CVS, SIPs
Q. Who else does this in my area? A. For a list of CRNS members in your area click here. There may however, be organisations involved in recycling that are currently not members of CRNS. Therefore, it might also be useful to contact your local councils’ Recycling Officer. You will also meet community recyclers at by coming along to your local community recycling forum. Click here for upcoming dates and venues
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