~ Farewell to Richard, Hello to Ben!

I’ve been trawling the archives to find out when Richard and I went to a demonstration at the Houses of Parliament. It was in January 2003 and Richard had just taken over from Ralph Mackridge as co-ordinator of DCRN and has become the one with the longest staying power! Ken Orchard was the first, replaced by Carol Johnston, then Karen Evans and Ralph. I cannot find the original photo of that first trip we took, it was probably on a ‘real’ camera as there is a photo I took of Joan Ruddock and Tony Juniper as well and I’m sure I didn’t have a digital camera in those days; we had only just started using computers. Richard had already been working in the community sector helping establish the Proper Job resource centre, largely thanks to him still thriving today due to his continuing support since that time. He also worked with Torridge and Devon County Council helping to implement garden ‘waste’ and cardboard collections for 5000 household in Torridge and waste minimisation and recycling efforts for Devon County Council having to don a suit and tie and work in an office at County Hall, hard to believe! Richard has been a great support for myself and David Banks especially helping Refurnish in setting up new premises in Crediton, Tavistock and Buckfastleigh to name a few as well as encouraging and supporting reuse and recycling projects throughout the County, he will be a very hard act to follow.  ~ Nicky

I am Ben Bryant the new Coordinator of Devon Community Recycling Network from June 2016.
Firstly I'd like to say a big thank you to Richard Gomme for all his hard work in ensuring DCRN has given good value to the Devon Community sector up until now. He has left a strong legacy for me to continue which I hope to build upon by serving all of those in Devon interested in Recycling and sustainable waste action.


In my previous job as Recycling Officer for Teignbridge District Council I sat on the management team for DCRN and DCCN which provided me a good degree of knowledge about these sister organisations.  My eight and a half years at Teignbridge Council also puts me on a sound footing to take DCRN forward providing me a good knowledge of the local scene and an understanding of local authority, funders and partners of the DCRN.

I have previously worked in the private sector for Croner and then TNS Plc whilst living in London and got my first full time environmental job with Groundwork west London for whom I ran a Resource Efficiency Club, funded by envirowise (formerly WRAP) helping small to medium sized businesses make savings.  I moved back to my native Devon in 2006 to be closer to my family, my roots and the sea.  Working as an Envision Business Mentor for environmental charity Global Action Plan (GAP) I led another government funded Resource Efficiency Club to help businesses based in and around Exeter.

I became Recycling Officer for Teignbridge in 2007 and I really enjoyed helping the public by answering a whole range of questions about waste and recycling. I often found myself explaining away the complexities of recycling and why recycling things that are technically recyclable often becomes more difficult than it might be,  I mean how hard can it be?  Examples of recurring questions included "why can't we recycle more plastics" and "why has every district in Devon got a different recycling scheme".  It always baffled me how something so seemingly straightforward could throw up so many complications.  I believe the key to encouraging more participation in recycling is good communications and transparency. It is so importantly for people to know where the material is going and what will it become? 

So hopefully writing this blog providing news and views of community projects and real recycling options in Devon will help to that end.  The blog also offers an opportunity for DCRN and DCCN to work as one to better serve Devons communities.