Oxford Wood Recycling

Oxford Wood Recycling's mission is to protect our natural environment by reclaiming and recycling waste wood and to promote sustainable forestry. They simultaneously provide jobs and volunteering opportunities for people who are excluded from work, including people recovering from mental or physical illness and people living with a disability.

The Wood Recycling Association reports that an estimated 1.3 million tonnes of waste wood (35% of all wood waste) is going to landfill or is unaccounted for. OWR together with other Community Wood Recycling Projects across the UK are making a real difference in addressing the issue of landfilling wood waste by recovering wood for reuse. At OWR everything collected is reused or recycled – nothing is returned to the waste stream. Even their collection methodology saves carbon. Their 3.5 tonne collection trucks use less than half the fuel of a skip lorry, greatly reducing CO2 emissions, pollution and impact on our roads.

Collecting, processing and selling collected wood waste gives their employed and volunteer beneficiaries the chance to develop their self- esteem and confidence and learn skills that will help them develop, or to get back into the job market.

Oxford Wood Recycling will use their investment for capital investment and business development costs to increase their trading revenues as well as to develop their organisational capacity to deliver work placements to people with disabilities.

They will build a 2nd mezzanine floor to extend utilizable workspace, creating additional machining, manufacturing and training spaces. This will to help to increase income from manufacturing items from reclaimed wood, provide more activities and training for volunteers and create space for classes in woodworking and wood finishing.

They will hire a Lead Carpenter to manage the carpentry workshop and provide training in carpentry. They will also increase their employment developer position to full time, to develop employment and training services for volunteers. They will also invest in HR training for managers to ensure they are supportive and empowering for employees. 

Visit their website here: https://www.oxfordwoodrecycling.org.uk/