2 years on, our Managing Director reflects on how we’ve adapted to the pandemic

“Although supply chain bottlenecks in the construction sector are at times leading to longer waits for orders, increasing awareness of the climate emergency and the need to build a greener and more sustainable future has helped us to widen our customer base.

“Changing market conditions have meant increasing competition and an increase in costs, but we are well placed to continue our growth as more and more organisations, in and beyond the construction sector, seek the best outcome for their waste wood.

“We have brought in efficiencies by introducing an electronic Waste Transfer Note system. This went live to the whole network on 1st April, a very impressive achievement to launch such a complex IT with so much of the preparatory work being done remotely during the 2021 lockdown. We have also sought to ensure our internal processes are as effective as possible, and recently were granted ISO 9001 accreditation.

“We have also been supporting our member enterprises to diversify, supplementing our national sales and marketing effort with a local marketing programme to increase work from SMEs.

“The Community Wood Recycling network grew out of a practical hands-on response to the problem of reusable timber being sent to landfill. We value the power of face to face human contact, particularly in the work we do giving marginalised people the chance to get out of the house and find a place where they are valued and can build skills and confidence. Social distancing and the need to reduce the risk of staff having to isolate meant that the numbers of volunteers we could support fell in 2020 and 2021. We are now focussing on reopening our doors and playing our part in helping to rebuild community mental health in the wake of the pandemic.”

– Richard Mehmed, Managing Director, Community Wood Recycling