Stolen van impacts Leeds Wood Recycling. It hinders their mission and income during the Christmas season in Yorkshire.
The organization is a social enterprise, focusing on the environment and society. They’ve operated for six years, collecting waste timber to keep it from landfills. They operate across Yorkshire.
The company employs thirteen people and works with over twenty volunteers. Many volunteers faced challenges getting jobs. The van theft was planned, involving a locked compound.
The van was vital for their work and bought two years ago using a £21,000 loan. They are awaiting insurance money after the loss. The payout won’t cover a replacement, nor lost income and staff costs.
They reuse collected timber and strive to empower volunteers. This reduces waste to benefit their community, and profits benefit West Yorkshire residents directly. People get free training programs and employment help.
They have run work programs for adults with learning difficulties. They’ve aided isolated people with free classes and provided young folks work experience. These things help get people employment. They diverted over 43,965 yards from landfill. They teach circular economy principles to businesses, help the public with reuse knowledge, and worked with hundreds of volunteers upskilling people. They help them thrive through community empowerment.