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:
“From that first spark of the idea for the Cone Exchange, our aim has always been to release the potential of things that others might see as waste, and seeing the ability, not disability, in people.
“By encouraging the reuse and repurposing of items that some might consider ‘trash’ into treasure, we try to capture people’s imaginations and show them how they can make a difference to protect the planet and raise funds for local good causes.
“I don’t think any of us ever imagined how far-reaching our impact would be so it’s lovely to celebrate and thank so many of our key partners and supporters from the last two decades.”
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:
“We have long-standing partnerships with some brilliant local charities and groups and by working together, we create a wider-reaching impact. Not to mention our team of community volunteers who give their time, crafty skills, and ideas, and without whom we couldn’t run the project.
“And finally, this special occasion offers us the opportunity to recognise and thank Chris. His dedication and creative vision for this project, along with his commitment to supporting our local community has been enduring for 20 years and we are delighted to be able to recognise these achievements today.”
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