Recycling and Reuse Enterprises

Part of 2. Questions to the Minister for Housing and Local Government – in the Senedd at 3:00 pm on 20 February 2019.

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Photo of Hannah Blythyn Hannah Blythyn Labour 3:00, 20 February 2019

I thank the Member for that and for highlighting the excellent work that Reseiclo does. In my previous role as Minister for the Environment, and still with having responsibility for this, I've visited a number of re-use centres: FRAME in Pembrokeshire, Crest Co-operative in north Wales and also most recently The Shed in Llantrisant. So, I'd be more than happy to join you on a visit and to congratulate Reseiclo on their award in person. We talk about the way that, actually, these centres are not only providing environmental benefits but, as social enterprises, they're bringing much more broader benefits to the people who have an opportunity to get involved, and I've heard so many stories of volunteers who have then gone on to learn skills and to actually have employment there as well, so they are not just to the benefit of the environment but change people's lives. That's why Welsh Government is committed to further investing in supporting initiatives such as these. As you mentioned, there's question of whether you upscale and use reclaimed woods—and we know that wood can be a particularly hard thing to recycle because of the chemicals often used on it, so it's really good that they are taking this and creating such a successful initiative, and I'd be more than happy to come and visit.