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26
Sept 2023
Harrogate recycling project celebrates 20th anniversary
A community project run by Harrogate’s Bettys & Taylors celebrated its 20th anniversary last week.
The Cone Exchange marked two decades of recycling on Friday.
The idea was sparked by Chris Powell who worked in the Taylors tea production hall at the time.
He was showing a group of children around the factory, when one child saw a cardboard cone being put into a recycling bin and requested to take it home to make a Christmas angel.
From there, the Cone Exchange was born and has since dedicated itself to recycling waste, raising money for charities and bringing the community together.
The project, which is based on the Bettys & Taylors Harrogate site, collects waste from businesses and the wider community to raise money, which is then donated to local charities, including Horticap and Henshaws.
It has also worked with a range of local initiatives, including planting trees with the Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust, as well as providing work experience for people with additional needs.
Mr Powell is now the events and education co-ordinator for the project and has helped over 200 schools, playgroups and community groups teach young people about recycling.
He said:
The Cone Exchange has raised over £200,000 in the last decade from talks, events and sales of recycled materials.
Sarah Wells, community manager at Bettys & Taylors, added:
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