Wednesday 22 August 2012

Kitchen equipment weighs in at over 1 ton

Kitchen equipment comes weighing in at over 1 ton

Cardiff’s student population has again responded in style to the call to Get It Out for Cardiff this year. The scheme to collect and re-use unwanted items that previously would’ve been destined for the streets or landfill has been a resounding success.


Pre sort out

During the sort out

After; Beautifully sorted

The kitchen equipment sort out took place this week at Cardiff Self Storage and the total stands at 1.14 tonnes

Kitchen bric-a-brac such as utensils and cutlery collected for resale was sorted and weighed by Megan David the new welfare and community sabbatical officer, Tim Roberts from waste management, Richard Mills from Cardiff Council and Kieran McCann, Student Liaison Officer.

The team were surprised at the quality and quantity of the donations. Plates came out as a clear weight leader with 301kg others items included saucepans (164kg), Glasses (114kg), Cutlery (70kg), Chopping Boards (45kg) and Utensils (55kg)

This makes for a potential record breaking re-sale target.

The three re-sales will take place: at Cardiff Student Union; 21st and 25th September (10am in Solus) and the 15th September at Cardiff Metropolitan UWIC llandaff campus (next to the izone)

Glasses and Cups sorted for re-sale
All are welcome to come along and pick up a bargain, any money raised will be donated to charity. So please spread the word that you don’t need to arrive in Cardiff with any new kitchen equipment it will all be available at heavily reduced prices in the re-sales.

The space needed to store all these items was considerable but Cardiff Self Storage kindly stepped into the breach and stored all the items.


Cultery ready for the three re-sales

Tuesday 7 August 2012

Student Liaison Officer

An exciting opportunity to become the city’s Student Liaison Officer has become available.


https://jobs.cardiff.gov.uk/jobdetails.aspx/3513/Student_Liaison_Officer/?sSectorLook=566

Closing date: 17/08/2012

Cardiff’s Student Liaison Officer is jointly funded by Cardiff Council along with Cardiff University, Cardiff Metropolitan and the University of Glamorgan.

Employed by Cardiff Council, you will implement the Cardiff Student Community Plan. The aim of the position is to lessen the impact of the large student population on the City’s neighbourhoods while helping to improve the student experience particularly in relation to housing, health and well being.

You will be contracted to work 4 days per week (29.6 hours) but will need to be able to work flexibily often during evenings and weekends in order to make the position a success.


The role relies of strategic partnership working. Working with a management group comprising the three Universities and Council you will set the agenda, liaise, report and make recommendations on how to develop this post.

The successful candidate will need to have highly developed interpersonal and relationship skills that enables you to work with and communicate with numerous stakeholders. You must have a passion for making a difference to people’s lives and thrive in developing the strategic direction of this post.

This post is temporary up to 12/07/2014.

For an informal discussion on the position please contact Mr Kieran McCann on 029 2087 1808.

Friday 3 August 2012

You say tomato I say Get It Out!!



A can of tomatoes donated through the Get It Out For Cardiff Scheme has been tracked from donation point to a family in need.

The Get It Out For Cardiff re-use scheme set up 20 end of term Green Zones across the city’s student halls of residences and Unions. The Green Zones comprised of a collection for the YMCA Housing Association, Food for FareShare Cymru and Kitchen equipment for storage at Cardiff Self Storage and re-sale at the start of term with proceeds to charity.

Kieran McCann and Lucy Prisk GIOFC re-use organisers


These compliment the newly installed YMCA HA re-use banks and now Cylch Wales Community Recycling Network whose members include FareShare Cymru and YMCA HA have been tracking a can of tomatoes from a student kitchen, via a donation green zone in a hall of residence, through the FareShare Cymru depot and on to Foodbank Cardiff.

The can was destined to end up in the hands of one of Foodbanks volunteers who gave it out along with a crate of other food donated through Get It Out to people in extreme food poverty or homelessness.

Get it Out for Cardiff is the Cardiff Council initiative in association with Cardiff University, Cardiff Metropolitan and Glamorgan University which helps students to clear out their rubbish at the end of the academic year. The aim is to re-use and recycle as much of it as possible utilising Green Zones and YMCA HA re-use banks.

The zones and banks are located around partner organisations; Cardiff University, Cardiff Students Union, Cardiff Metropolitan University, Glamorgan University, Liberty Living and Victoria Halls.

Already over 7 tonnes of material has been donated and saved from landfill through the YMCA HA, 384 kilos of food was donated to FareShare Cymru and the kitchen equipment is being sorted ready to smash last years re-sale target for the start of term which last year raised £780 for the Lord Mayor’s charity. The final totals will be known at the start of term.

Get It Out For Cardiff is a Keep Cardiff Tidy partnership. The re-use campaign is lead by the city’s Student Liaison Officer, Kieran McCann and Lucy Prisk from waste management. Kieran Get It Out organiser said:

“To see the process and end result of our student donations benefiting vulnerable members of our local communities is a joy. This really showcases ongoing partnership commitments to civic pride and dedications to re-use. Thank you to all who kindly donated and to all our partners for making this such a huge success”

The photos track the can from a Local store, brought by students but unused in their Student kitchen to a door step donation from Students to Get It Out Volunteers and into one of 20 Green Zones set up for the campaign. From the Green Zone FareShare cardboard boxes it is collected by Get It Out For Cardiff organisers and taken to FareShare warehouse, where it is sorted into crates with other emergency supplies for families for delivery to Foodbank. Foodbank on Cryws Road Baptist Church then distributed via a voucher system to those in need.


All photos credited to Kath Hilsden, Girl About Cardiff.




Megan David, Community and Welfare Sabbatical Officer at Cardiff Student’s Union said: “It is really great to see the success of the “Get It Out For Cardiff” scheme achieved by the help and the donations of students across Cardiff. Cardiff Students Union is very proud to be part of a local project, benefiting the lives of members of the community which also highlights the importance of sustainability”



Megan David and fellow housemates donating food


Campaign information including pin point google maps of the locations of the Green Zones and YMCA banks can be founds via the website:

http://www.cardiffdigs.co.uk/getitout.htm

For more information contact Kieran McCann kmccann@cardiff.gov.uk
All photos credited to Kath Hilsden, Girl About Cardiff.












Tackling Doorstep Crime



Cardiff Council’s Trading Standards team is campaigning to raise awareness of doorstep crime, rogue trader and distraction burglaries throughout Cardiff.

Doorstep criminals use a variety of tactics to deceive residents to get into their homes. They frequently claim to be from the water board, an electricity company, local council or other organisations and they will try to pressurise or confuse the person who answers the door. Often they may carry an official looking Photo-ID, and wear an official looking jacket or overall.

Rogue traders are also just as likely to knock on the door without any warning as they are to be invited to the home. The key way to identify a rogue trader is the way they devise their contracts, or rather, the things they fail make clear in them. Critically, any contract concluded at residents’ homes legally has to have cancellation rights provided in writing; a failure to do this is a criminal offence. Similarly, a failure to offer a reasonable price constitutes a banned practice under Trading Standards legislation.

Most worryingly, many rogue traders approach home-owners by offering to do regular maintenance work; this work is often entirely unnecessary, and the trader can even cause damage that wasn’t there before.

In the case of distraction burglaries - a crime often linked to rogue trading - whilst the home-owner is at the door, an accomplice may be entering the premises elsewhere, quickly searching for cash and small valuables they can sell on. In other cases, the distraction can even lure the homeowner away from specific rooms whilst the criminals carry out their theft.

Cabinet Member Councillor Lynda Thorne, who is responsible for Housing, Communities and Social Justice in Cardiff, said: “Tackling cold callers and putting a stop to these truly despicable doorstep crimes is a key priority for this administration and, on a personal level, something I feel very strongly about.  “These are calculated crimes carried out by unscrupulous people who are only interested in making a profit, quite literally at the expense of others.”

“The price that is paid by those who have been targeted by door step criminality is not just limited to financial loss but also includes emotional trauma and scarring, which can be equally if not more difficult to address. Everyone can do their bit to help and we would therefore encourage communities to work with us on this.

Keeping an eye out for neighbours and loved ones, particularly if they are elderly or vulnerable, and reporting any suspicious activity to us won’t cost you a thing but it may well help to save someone from losing their life-savings or suffering the emotional pain of becoming a victim.”

Trading Standards recommends the following tips to avoid the Rogue Traders:

Before they knock at the door:

· Consider setting up a password with your utility suppliers

· Trading Standards and South Wales police support a 'Nominated Neighbour' scheme whereby vulnerable members of the community can nominate a neighbour who will check the callers' identity and then return with the caller

· Consider installing a wireless intercom with a Bogus Caller Button or Pendant Buttons with the Community Alarm Service at Cardiff Council

· Do not be afraid to chain your door or speak to caller while your door is locked

· If in doubt, keep them out

When they knock at the door:

· Be wary of any business literature that only gives a mobile phone number. They are difficult to trace

· ID Cards are very easy to fake on a computer. Use a phone number from the telephone directories or directory enquires to see if the caller is genuine

· If you let someone in – stay with them at all times

· Never part with money, documents or other things whatever they say

· Get more than one estimate for work

· Official organisations usually write first. Have you had a letter?

· If you feel afraid, harassed, threatened or intimidated by a caller, call the Police on 999 straight away

Cardiff Council’s Cabinet Member for Environment, Councillor Ashley Govier added:

“Our strategy for tackling this issue is wide ranging and we intend to cut these criminals off from all angles and at all levels. By working with other agencies and the wider community we will make Cardiff a no-go area for the people involved in this type of crime.”

South Wales Police Detective Chief Supt, Stuart Mckenzie said: "The information the public provide us with is critical in the successful detection and prevention of such crimes. I would urge anyone who comes across such operators to contact the police so we can stop these people from profiting at the expense of innocent people.”

For more information, or to arrange a free informative talk for your community group,

contact Cardiff Trading Standards on 02920 872 059, or Tradingstandards@cardiff.gov.uk