FEATURE
by award-winning nationwide social enterprise Recycling Lives, which runs its HMP Academies in 11 prisons, employing up to 250 men and women at a time on waste-sector related programmes which offer experience, qualifications and a salary.
Its recycling workshops alone process around 75,000 waste electrical items every month for clients that include BT and British Gas.
Of the inmates who pass through the HMP Academies system, 84% find employment on leaving prison compared to a national average of just 17%.
And only 4% of HMP Academies’ inmates reoffend compared to a national average of 67%.
Put together, it is estimated that the social value of the Recycling Lives’ projects is worth £9.8 million.
Across the Irish Sea at Maghaberry Prison in Lisburn, around 30 prisoners work at a recycling station picking plastic, tin, cardboard, paper, waste electricals and broken pallets. The first six months of operation saw 11 tonnes of scrap metal and 9.5 tonnes of plastics and paper recovered – equivalent to the weight of 12 cars.
Inmates there can work towards NVQ qualifications, boosting prospects with local recycling companies at the end of their sentence.
As the Ministry of Justice’s exclusive Awarding Organisation for cleaning, facilities management and waste management qualifications across HM prisons in England and Wales, WAMITAB (Waste Management Industry Training and Advisory Board) has been at the forefront of helping inmates achieve vocational qualifications and experience.
Now nearing the end of the first full year of the contract, the organisation says good progress has been made embedding its range of cleaning and waste management qualifications, with some 7,000 qualifications having been delivered and 'exciting' future plans to strengthen its links with employers.
Chris James, CEO at WAMITAB said: “We have worked closely with the four providers delivering qualifications under the Prison Education Framework (PEF) as well as the instructional officers who deliver qualifications in workshop settings, providing prisoners with the employability 'holy grail' of a recognised vocational qualification combined with relevant hands-on work experience.
“We have been offering training days providing guidance on delivering WAMITAB qualifications, with some 25 training sessions delivered over an 18-month period, reaching over 80 prisons and well over 200 people.”
At HMP Altcourse in Liverpool and HMP Wymott near Leyland, meanwhile, dozens of inmates are learning essentials of welding and fabrication, repairing and making skips, containers and cages for use in waste management.
It’s just one innovative programme devised
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Circle, a waste management joint venture of Bolton-based construction specialists Seddon, is using skips made by inmates at HMP Altcourse and HMP Wymott to service construction sites for contractors and housebuilders.
Circle’s director Steve Pagett said: “The opportunity for inmates to manufacture these skips helps the development of key manual skills which will be vital to personal and professional success outside of prison.
“We will continue to purchase skips from HMP Academies to support this cause, with the money raised being invested back into the scheme for the benefit of future inmates.”
www.lifecycleuk.org.uk/bike-back www.recyclinglives.com
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