Setting up new community reuse & recycling enterprises

Starting a new social enterprise in reuse, repair or recycling?

Please see below resources that may be helpful to you. You can also get in touch with us with any other queries via info (at) crni.ie.

Mentoring and Support

Circular Economy Academy

The Circular Economy Academy is a free mentoring and support programme run by the Rediscovery Centre, the National Centre for the Circular Economy. It assists social enterprises and community organisations in any part of Ireland to move their activities towards sustainability and embrace the circular economy.

For more information visit here or contact [email protected]. 

Irish Social Enterprise Network

The Irish Social Enterprise Network has set up a Social Enterprise Helpline to listen to social enterprises and issues they face. The number is free and accessible to any social enterprise, social entrepreneurs and social enterprise managers. 

Phone 089 255 0289

Guidance Documents & Tools

Social Enterprise Toolkit

This Social Enterprise Toolkit is for communities and individuals thinking of setting up a social enterprise in Ireland. In short, this guide is aimed at communities and individuals with an idea who want to make the world a better place.

Find the toolkit here or contact the Irish Social Enterprise Network here.

CICLO E-Learning platform for Circular Economy Skills

This online platform provides a training package for employed and unemployed persons to equip them with basic circular economy jobs skills related to recycling management, reuse and remanufacturing opportunities, servitisation (services instead of products) development. It was developed through Erasmus+ KA2 project funding. Visit the e-learning platform here.

Material Reuse Good Practice Guide

The Rediscovery Centre developed best practice guidelines on reuse through EPA funded research, available here. The research, titled “Development of a Material Reuse Protocol”, created guidelines on the reuse of furniture, bicycles, textiles and post manufacturing food. Reuse good practice demonstration is important for the reuse and charity sector, and the wider green sector, both locally and in helping Ireland to meet EU targets.

Activation Toolbox for setting up new reuse parks

A recent European Interreg project SURFACE developed tools that can help regions or cities to set up new Smart Re-Use Parks (SRP). The toolkit includes:
•    A decision support tool to show the current re-use situation in a spider-diagram
•    Multi-Stakeholder Forum (MSF) to allow the exchange of know-how between stakeholders
•    Cooperation Matrix to describe synergies and combinations between re-use actors in a region
•    Template of a Collaboration agreement between re-use actors
•    Policy and operational requirements for case histories
•    Calculation model to present economic and financial scenarios of an SRP
•    Training curricula´s for SRP managers
•    Quality scheme to describe quality criteria when designing and running SRPs

All of the tools are available here.

Review of Waste Resource Exchange Systems and Good Practice Guide

This research, available here, completed through the Green Enterprise programme provides a good practice guide to demonstrate how new and existing organisations can be set up and operate to the highest standards. Factsheets are also included targeting those engaging with waste resource exchange systems to ensure that their interactions are informed and conducted in line with industry good practice.

Scaling up Social Enterprise

“Scaling Pathways” from the Skoll Foundation is an excellent resource to help social enterprises achieve impact at scale (even in times of crisis). Their 2020 report on ‘using data to power scale’ is available here.

E-commerce solutions for the reuse sector

Compiled by Reuse Network UK, these tips here outline the pros and cons list of some of the main e-commerce solutions used in the sector by their reuse members.

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Our funders

EPA Circular Economy Programme

CRNI supports its members and works to mainstream reuse thanks to core funding provided by the EPA under the Circular Economy Programme.

For more information about the programme see here.

Project Funding

Waste Regions Logos

Green + Social Virtual Trade Fair

CRNI’s Green + Social Virtual Trade Fair is funded by Ireland’s Regional Waste Management Plan Offices. This innovative virtual platform is open 24/7 and gives visitors the opportunity to explore green and social procurement opportunities provided by reuse, repair and recycling social enterprises and community-based organisations across Ireland.

Access the Green + Social Virtual Trade Fair here.

CRNI is the all island representative body for community based reuse, recycling and waste prevention organisations. We are funded by the EPA under the National Waste Prevention Programme and through membership contributions. CRNI is a proud member of the European RREUSE network.

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