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A ‘win-win-win’ social project that benefits the environment, people with learning disabilities, and organisations in Jersey has been extended to one of the Island’s largest centres of learning.
The Les Amis Recycling Team was launched in March 2017 to encourage businesses and organisations in Jersey to recycle more. A small team, using a van kindly financed by the Association of Jersey Charities, collects cans, bottles and cardboard from offices and takes them away – for a small donation - to be recycled. The team includes Les Amis residents, who have learning disabilities and/or associated conditions.
Now Highlands College – with its 800 full-time, sixth-form students – has joined a growing list of customers. Jo Turner, from the College’s Student Life department, said: “Our recycling initiative was born when I spoke with Jane Burns at EcoActive, who kindly donated the dual-purpose recycling bins for plastic bottles and aluminium cans.
“The recycling bins were placed in various buildings throughout the campus and all staff and students were encouraged to use them. Eight students from our Entry and Life Skills course were asked to do an initial sort and collection of the recycled items, which tied in with a recycling module that they are were studying. After hearing that Les Amis offered a collection service, it made perfect sense to get them involved.
“Les Amis will take the recycled aluminium cans to Durrell, where the money raised through recycling the aluminium will be used to help create tree corridors, restoring the link between fragments of massively degraded Brazilian rainforest.”
Shaun Findlay, Managing Director of Les Amis, said: “It’s great to see more people joining Les Amis to help with the Island’s green agenda. Also, it is important for as many Islanders as possible to see disabled people working and understand that disability does not mean inability. Over 30 businesses have now joined the initiative, which is going from strength to strength. This is a not-for-profit service and all the money collected will goes towards paying the allowance or wage of the learning-disabled adults collecting the recycling.”
