The Case for KerbsideWhat is Kerbside?In 1998 the people of Hebden Bridge asked the council for a recycling collection. The council declined to provide one, so the people provided their own. That is the beginning of Kerbside. Kerbside uses its award winning recycling service to provide progression to employment and employment to people who are disadvantaged in the community. Effectively recycling people whose talents would otherwise lie in a metaphorical landfill. Kerbside is about what disadvantaged people bring to Kerbside, it is a two-way process, a win-win situation. Kerbside is about someone who had a drug problem for years and successfully got over their problem, but only Kerbside gave them a chance to work. These people may have problems that include mental health, learning disability, addiction, being at risk of offending and many other reasons for being unable to gain and sustain employment. They may have been failed by the school system or be serving community service orders. Kerbside is about someone who is an older person, a manual worker, who is seen not to be up to that sort of work anymore. Unemployed for a long-time before Kerbside saw their value. Kerbside’s business provides support and real work for disadvantaged people who want a hand-up not a hand-out. Kerbside is about someone whose mental health has been affected by drugs and just needs a little more patience. It is about someone who has suffered a tragedy, depression and then when they recuperate giving them a chance when no-one else would. In 2007 Kerbside provided 5147 hours of support to 46 trainees and volunteers. This grows each year. The foundation of this work is the household recycling contract. Without it Kerbside has no sustainable future. Kerbside is about someone whose attitude to work prevents him or her holding a job down. Kerbside gives them a structure, some leeway, respect and an increasing sense of value within the team. In 4 years Kerbside has created full-time employment for 24 unemployed people, 18 of who had been unemployed for a long period of time. Kerbside provides permitted work opportunities for 4 people who have never had the opportunity to take home a pay packet. Kerbside is about someone who has fallen on hard times, someone who wants to work, but no-one is giving them a chance. Kerbside currently provides a service for Remploy, Workwise, Probation, Mencap, Lifeline, Job Centre Plus and parents/carers in our community. Kerbside is about young people who come out of the school system with nothing. They can be second-generation unemployed. They can take 1 step back for every two forward and eventually become valued full-time employees setting an example to others. Kerbside has served 25,000 households with a recycling service (this contract ends 1st August 08) while the private sector serves the other 57,000 Calderdale households. The private sector (FOCSA) have fulfilled their contract and in no way would Kerbside denigrate the job they do, but it is worth pointing out Kerbside’s service outperforms (and should continue to complement) the private sector service in every measurable way, Kerbside:
Kerbside is about someone with a learning disability who with nothing constructive to fill their day is guided by ‘friends’ into trouble. At Kerbside they become part of a team doing something valuable and getting respect when they go home. People recycle more with Kerbside because:
Kerbside is about creating a job around the talents of someone with a learning disability. It is about supporting them to take home their first wage. A recent Social Return on Investment Study showed that for every £1000 spent by CMBC/Focsa on sub-contracting Kerbside to collect recycling, Kerbside deliver an additional £630 in added social and environmental services. These ‘bonus’ services contribute to CMBC’s local area agreement (a contract with government) targets. Kerbside is about giving low-risk offenders serving community service orders a chance to serve their time and do some good for the community. Kerbside is responsible for bringing in over £600k worth of funding and investment in Calderdale. Kerbside is about finding constructive community activity for someone for who real work is not a possibility. Kerbside is about appreciating what that person brings to Kerbside. Kerbside is about keeping your council tax working for the community in Calderdale rather than it becoming profit for the benefit of shareholders in other places and countries. Kerbside delivers on these CMBC/LSP LAA targets:
Kerbside is about a board of volunteer directors who give their time freely to make a positive difference in their community. They can be busy people with significant responsibilities in their jobs, but they make the effort to make a difference. Why did CMBC:
Kerbside is about a measure of love, a measure of respect, a measure of tolerance, a measure of structure, a measure of value resulting in self-worth, progression to employment and inspiration. History1998-2003People in Hebden Bridge begin collecting aluminium cans from houses. Kerbside Recyclers grow out of this, eventually collecting recycling from 9,600 households. Financial trouble sees the end of Kerbside Recyclers. 2003-2005Fuelled by their passion for the ideas and values of Kerbside Recyclers many organisations and people come together to form Kerbside (Calderdale). By March 2004 recycling collections resume at 5000 households. Securing lottery funding enables expansion to 25000 households by 2005. From this foundation Kerbside establishes its progression to employment training. 2006CMBC’s Workwise incorporate Kerbside as a partner assisting learning disabled people progress to employment. Creating real jobs around people’s abilities rather than finding people for jobs. CMBC Community Services prepare a very positive report resulting in the following recommendations:
Following on from the above CMBC announce the contract will be split into kerbside collections (lot 1) and all other waste related activity (lot 2) to give Kerbside an opportunity to bid for lot 1 directly. What CMBC did not say was Kerbside would not get past the expression of interest phase as they would need a turnover 40 times larger than they currently have. Kerbside put a lot of work into the expression of interest; not knowing it would be a complete waste of time. 2007Kerbside partners with all tenderers including the eventual winner, Sita. Sita ask Kerbside to work as a partner and for Kerbside to deliver all of lot 1, i.e. kerbside recycling to the whole of Calderdale. This is to be based from our Luddendenfoot site. Kerbside find out much later that prior to the submission of their best and final offers (BAFO) 2 of the 3 tenderers inform us that CMBC have asked them to price the job without VCS involvement. One tenderer states clearly in their BAFO that at CMBC’s request they have submitted a tender without including Kerbside. CMBC accept this aspect of the BAFO and award the contract to Sita. 2008Sita confirm that Kerbside will be delivering all of lot 1, but Sita have submitted a BAFO without Kerbside’s involvement. It is costed on running the service themselves from the council depot rather than Kerbside’s specialised training and recycling depot. Kerbside, under Sita’s instruction, continue planning and costing the necessary changes at Luddendenfoot. In February Sita awarded contract. In March Kerbside approach Sita requesting a meeting to plan delivery of lot 1. Sita are tied up rolling out their Warwick contract to have a meeting at that time. At the end of April Kerbside meet Sita and firm up the changes required at Kerbside’s Luddendenfoot base. At the end of May Sita visit Kerbside. Sita’s attitude radically altered away from partnership. Sita tells Kerbside the price they’ll pay, Luddendenfoot is out of the equation, all communication with the householder must go through Sita and there will be no reprocessing of recycling (removing all the essential simple progression to employment jobs that people could do such as shredding, can sorting and crushing, baling etc. would go.) In June, with only price and confidentiality left to finalise Sita decide they no longer have time to negotiate and remove Kerbside from the delivery of the waste contract. In July, Kerbside, Sita and CMBC meet. After meeting Kerbside propose to Sita that if Sita:
Then Kerbside will be able to continue to operate out of Luddendenfoot in an independent fashion enabling the training to be delivered and Kerbside to develop its enterprise. Sita reject this, Sita also reject an offer of a premium above market rate for cans. Stating it would be impossible to do this because they are setting up a metal recycling facility and they would have to send all metals there. Sita offer Kerbside the possibility of bulky waste collections. The money offered falls far short of what it costs. Kerbside exhaust all avenues with CMBC and Sita. Kerbside must now report the situation to the owners of Kerbside, the 60,000 people who use the service. 13 of the 18 Kerbside staff who are offered 7 year contracts with Sita decide to stay and fight for what they believe in at Kerbside. They don’t have savings to fall back on. This commitment speaks volumes for what Kerbside means to them. Reasons such as “you gave me a chance when no-one else did”, “my previous jobs were just jobs, this one means something”, “I was given the opportunity to help build Kerbside”. Kerbside decides not to roll over. Kerbside decides to keep collecting without the collection fee from CMBC. Householders will receive the Sita collection and the Kerbside collection. The people will decide who to recycle with. Kerbside goes public with the Save Kerbside campaign. The people write to us in their hundreds supporting what we do. The press and radio report vociferously on the campaign. http://www.halifaxcourier.co.uk/news/Its-us-or-them-Kerbside.4301327.jp http://www.halifaxcourier.co.uk/news/Kerbside-future-anger-mounting.4307068.jp http://www.halifaxcourier.co.uk/news/Sita--Kerbside-talks-end.4321047.jp http://www.halifaxcourier.co.uk/news/It39s-up-to-you-to.4325779.jp Kerbside organises a celebration of the Kerbside spirit outside the Town Hall, Halifax Wed 30 July at 5pm.
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