| 2010 Annual Conference 11th-12th October in Adelaide |
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* Early Bird rate closes 9 August
This year's conference will be held at the Stamford Plaza in Adelaide and NACRO is delighted that Jon Dee from Do Something is delivering the key note address - together with a fantastic array of speakers complementing him over the two days.
The conference will focus on policy initiatives, current and future campaigns for charitable recyclers and analysis from recent studies conducted. This conference will be very inclusive, involving delegates in panel discussions and workgroups. There will also be presentations by various speakers on a range of topics to assist the running of your organisation, including sustainability, social media and volunteer management.
NACRO is also running a competition for all delegates to enter. Simply email conference@nacro.org.au a photograph of the craziest, weirdest or most unique item that has been donated to your organisation. Details of competition are below.
We look forward to seeing you at the conference. Registration is now open.
Please click here for conference brochure
Please click here for registration form
Please click here for details of competition
NACRO:
Every day and in every State of Australia charities assist tens of thousands of people through home visitation, migrant and refugee assistance, hospital and health services, prison visitation, aged care services, supported employment services for people with an intellectual disability, education for disadvantaged children, welfare assistance, hostels for the homeless, overseas relief, disaster recovery, budget counselling and youth programs and suicide prevention counselling.
We feed and clothe Australian men, women and children overwhelmed by life’s hardships.
A significant number of these community programs are funded by the income derived from clothing recycling collection bins. Programs, that if not funded from these income sources, would require public funding through State and Federal tax and Local Government Association rate sources.
The National Association of Charitable Recycling Organisations (NACRO) is the peak body representing charitable recycling organisations throughout Australia.
The business of NACRO members is to generate social capital through recycling activities to fund welfare programs. Indeed, millions of individuals benefit from the products, operations, and programs that are delivered to the community as a result of the funds generated from NACRO members‚ recycling operations.
NACRO members range from the largest national charities to individual shops that collectively run thousands of shops around Australia. Donations of first and second hand goods can be made by depositing into charity bins, thousands of which are located across Australia, and/or drop-offs directly to charity shops.
NACRO provides a forum for the exchange of ideas, information and advice between member organisations; assisting them to continuously improve their recycling operations in order that they can provide optimal funding for their charitable aims in the community. NACRO represents its members and has collective influence at local, state and national level, when legislation affecting this industry is being drafted or reviewed.
NACRO advocates educating the community to donate goods responsibly to provide maximum profits for social welfare with minimum cost to the environment. It represents its members at a local, state and national level, when legislation affecting this industry is being drafted or reviewed.
The contribution of Charity Shops to the community is sustainable development
There is no doubt that without the recycling activities of the charitable recycling organisations (the proceeds from which fund welfare programs), both State and Federal governments would have significantly higher social costs in addition to an unmanageable volume of landfill, the management of which would be funded through increased taxes and a massive bureaucracy. For more information about NACRO and what we are doing, please click on the links provided.
Level 15, 10 Queens Road
MELBOURNE VICTORIA 3004 AUSTRALIA
Telephone: +61 3 9866 5443
Email: information@nacro.org.au
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NACRO e-news
To view monthly newsletters please click on date of edition
JUL 10:
- Study on Charitable Recycling
- Brotherhood's cafe bookshop opening
- 2010 NACRO Conference
- New York City recycling initiative
- BusinessRecycling.com.au
- Bushfire Material Aid Centre closure
- Victorian Waste Reduction Fund
- QLD Waste Strategy 2010-2020
- SA Waste to Resources Policy
JUN 10:
- Report on E-Waste
- E-Waste survey results
- E-Cycling enterprises
- NACRO 2010 Conference
- Costly consequences for rising landfill fees
MAY 10:
- NACRO to join e-waste national stakeholder group
- QLD State Government grabs $10m from charities
- Charities buy ABC Learning child care chain
- Charities avoid 'Henry' cuts
- Budget focuses on transparency for charities
- Lifeline' recycling partnership with P&O cruises
- Landfill levies will rise and rise and rise in Victoria
- Recycling on-line
- South Pacific Regional E-waste Workshop
- It’s on again – Lifeline Bookfest!
APR 10:
- Victorian landfill levy
- $100,000 donated in suitcase to Salvo store
- Wyndham Council removes bins
- Dumped rubbish declared crime scene in QLD
- Dob in a thief
- Op shows going up market
- Textile collection business sold for six figures
MAR 10:
- Kerbside collections impacting charitable recycling
- Lifeline “Bookfest” wins national award
- Wyndham Council removes eight bins
- US legislation on “for-profit” collection bins
- New sorting technology to optimise fibre recovery
- Denim recycling program suspended
FEB 10:
- UK Maximising Reuse and Recycling project
- Crime ring stealing goods from charity bins
- Warringah Mayor on dumping
- Charity too down-market for up-market Bowral
- Dumping waste at the doors of charities
JAN 10:
-Salvo’s despair over Christmas waste
-UK Charities unite
-Productivity Commission report
-Involving volunteers
DEC 09:
- NSW Residential Tenancies Bill 2009
- UK charities turf war
- Clean-up Australia’s Ian Kiernan
NEWS ARTICLES
May 10: Lifeline enters into recycling partnership with P&O cruises
A multi-million dollar makeover for the P&O Cruises’ superliner Pacific Dawn has launched a new partnership with Lifeline Australia which has taken delivery of nearly one thousand chairs in a massive donation of surplus items from the superliner. Other items being donated by P&O Cruises include sofas, tables, boxes of crew clothing and 150 luxury duvets. Click here for media release
:
March 10: NACRO advocates for kerbside collections not to duplicate charitable recycling
In a letter to the Whitehorse Council in response to the trial on kerbside collection, NACRO has requested that items such as usable clothing and household items be specifically excluded from collection and that householders be informed to continue giving these to local charitable recyclers, as they do now. A copy of the letter sent by NACRO can be seen by clicking here.
March 10: Lifeline “Bookfest” wins national award
Billed as the biggest book fair in the Universe, the Lifeline Bookfest was recently honoured with an Excellence in Fundraising award. Relying on 1,000 volunteers, spanning over 10,000 square metres and hosting over four kilometres of tables groaning with over two million second hand books the Lifeline Bookfest is charitable recycling at its best. Click here to see the NACRO Media Release on the Bookfest.
March 10: Wyndham Council removes eight bins
In a quest to “prettify” the Shire, Wyndham councillors in Melbourne’s west have unanimously voted to introduce a tough policy for the maintenance of clothing collection bin sites, including the removal of several existing bins. The article in the Werribee Banner can be seen by clicking here.
March 10: Legislation passed in the US for full disclosure of “for-profit” collection bins
A bill has been passed in Georgia (US) and at least ten other states, requiring for-profit entities to disclose that the donations are not for charitable purposes. The legislation calls for bins to be clearly labeled for either charitable or non-charitable purposes and/or if donations are only partially benefiting a charitable purpose. The full article can be seen by clicking here.
March 10: New technology for sorting should optimise fibre recovery
The European Union project has developed a machine which can automatically sort unwearable textiles by chemical composition and colour, creating a new market for low-grade textiles. The full article on the promising technology can be seen by
clicking here.
March 10: Overwhelming response suspends denim recycling program
The North American cotton growers group, Cotton Inc’s denim recycling program has been suspended due to overwhelming response from people across the U.S and a deluge of donations. More on the program to recycle denim into insulation can be seen by clicking here.
DEC 09: Merry Christmas: NACRO wishes all of its members and the charitable recycling communities a very merry Christmas.
DEC 09: NACRO objects to the draft of the NSW Residential Tenancies Bill 2009.
NACRO lodged an objection to the draft of the NSW Residential Tenancies Bill 2009 that proposed that landlords be able to dispose of the goods of tenants by donating them to a charitable organization. Click here to view the letter sent to the NSW Fair Trading Policy Division.
DEC 09: Textile Recycling now promoted
on You Tube
The North American Secondhand Materials and Recycled Textiles Association (SMART) is now on You Tube. Click here to view the video on-line.
DEC 09: UK charities fight over second hand clothes market
The Guardian in the UK reports a turf war has broken out between British charities and commercial operators over the increasingly competitive market in second hand clothes. Click here to view the article on-line.
DEC 09: A waste timebomb that must be defused
Ian Kiernan, Australia’s most well known Clean-up Australia advocate wrote in the Sydney Morning Herald that waste is a timebomb that must be diffused by recycling. Click here to view the article on-line.
NOV 09: NACRO conference exceeded all expectations
The NACRO 2009 annual conference was held on 12th – 13th October 2009 at the Country Place at Kalorama in Victoria and attracted 62charitable recycling practitioners who had travelled from all around Australia. Home of spectacular tall forests, the Dandenong Ranges National Park was the picturesque place to unwind, relax and be enriched by a program of informative presentations. The conference program featured a stimulating mix of 13 presentations from leading local and international recycling practitioners. A full report on the conference can be seen here.
NOV 09: Ken Richardson of Lifeline steps down as NACRO Chairman
Following a heartfelt speech at NACRO’s recent AGM, Ken Richardson announced his resignation as NACRO Chairman. “I have had the opportunity to better get to know and work with a group of skilled and dedicated people within the charitable recycling sector, all working toward a common goal which is supporting and enhancing the capacity of communities across the country in a myriad of different ways. It has been a privilege to be welcomed into their world and to better understand depth, diversity and impact of the work we all do, but more important a better appreciation of why we do it.” Ken’s commitment to NACRO was saluted by the members and guests who attended the conference dinner. Ms Cathy Bray, CEO of the Smith Family Commercial Enterprise is the new NACRO Chairman.
NOV 09: NACRO Victoria to undertake study on charitable collections
Sustainability Victoria recently granted NACRO Victoria funds to commission a landmark study to determine the profile and volumes of post consumer waste collected and/or donated to charitable recycling organisations in Victoria with the aim to develop policies and programs to assist the intelligent management of post-consumer waste and landfill mitigation. The report will be undertaken by double-t innovations pty ltd, an Albury based firm that specialises in sustainable business strategies and will be available to NACRO members early
next year.
NOV 09: Historic agreement sets waste agenda to 2020 for less waste and more resources
Australia’s environment ministers have agreed to a new national policy on waste and resource management. The historic agreement took place in Perth at the biannual meeting of the Environment Protection and Heritage Council (the Council). The National Waste Policy sets the agenda for waste and resource recovery in Australia over the next 10 years. The Council’s communiqué can be seen at this link; the Decision Regulatory Impact Statement for Televisions and Computers can be seen at this link; and the policy document “Less Waste, More Resources” can be seen at this link.
NOV 09: BIR – Textile Division: impact of the crisis is not as hard as anticipated
The international trade federation representing the world’s recycling industry, the Bureau of International Recycling - Textile Division announces the impact of the crisis is not as hard as anticipated. View BIR Press release at this link.
Sept 09: Fraudulent clothing collectors using old Smith Family plastic bags
Earlier this month the Smith Family issue a press release to Brighton residents warning them to be wary of potentially fraudulent collectors. The warning comes after a series of Smith Family branded brown plastic bags once used by the non-profit to collect donations, were left in residential mail boxes. In some cases bags have been filled by residents unknowingly and collected by an unknown party.
Click here to view the Smith Family Media release.
Sept 09: Healthy registrations for the NACRO conference
Kerryn Caulfield, NACRO Executive Manager reports that the registrations for the conference scheduled for the 11th, 12th and 13th October are healthy! Indeed, the event is shaping up to be one of the best NACRO has hosted with delegates registered from six states and one NACRO member travelling 4,000 kilometres from Humpty Doo in the Northern Territory. Places are still available for non residential delegates. Tuesday night accommodation has been booked out for residential delegates; however Sunday and Monday nights are still available. The booking form can be found on the NACRO website – or by clicking through this link.
Sept 09: Bin littering signs
Littering around recycling collection bins continues to menace both the charitable recycling practitioners and the community. NACRO members are sharing knowledge on the effectiveness of littering prevention signs displayed on recycling collection bins. Click through to this link and this link for examples of two such signs used by Lifeline Brisbane. Please feel free to forward images of signs that have been effective in deterring dumping and littering around bins.
Sept 09: Announcement – Visiting Expert to Speaker at NACRO Annual Conference
NACRO is proud to announce that Professor Mohammad Taherzadeh from School of Engineering at the University of Borås in Sweden will be speaking on the first day of the NACRO annual conference.
Click here to read the full Media release and here for the conference brochure.
Sept 09: The UK Association of Charity Shops warns of 'potentially fatal' loss of support: Public confidence in door-to-door clothing collections is being "potentially fatally undermined" by partnerships involving charities that do not run stores, according to a report by the Association of Charity Shops in the UK.
Click here to read the full copy of the article.
Sept 09: Article in the Newcastle Herald –
“Charity income stripped”
A recent article published in the Newcastle Herald, reported that “a commercial operator is robbing charities of profitable second-hand clothing, their main source of income with bins incorrectly labelled as being linked to a charity.”
Click here to read the full copy of the article.
July 2009: The Environment Protection and Heritage Council asked the Australian Government, in consultation with state and territory governments and the Local Government Association of Australia, to develop a National Waste Policy. A Draft of the National Waste Policy Framework – “Less waste more resources”.
The discussion paper can be found here.
July 2009: In a communiqué released in July, the Environment Protection and Heritage Council (EPHC) announced its support for a national
e-waste product stewardship system.
The full report can be seen here.
July 2009: Announcement of the NACRO 2009 annual conference. Click here to view information
June 2009: NACRO policy for the use and operation of recycling and household items clothing recycling collection bins.
Click here for the information and report
May 2009: NACRO submission to the National Waste Policy enquiry – Managing Waste to 2020 Click here for the information and report
January 2009: Release of a discussion paper - Sources of Textile Waste in Australia
Click here for the information and report
