Bury St Edmunds recycling scheme to provide jobs

A new recycling scheme for printer cartridges is to provide work for disabled people in Suffolk.

Cartridges will be collected and sorted in Bury St Edmunds and sold to recycling companies.

Eco Services Digital (ESD), a social enterprise which provides employment and training for adults with learning disabilities, is behind the scheme.

Andrew Akehurst, manager at ESD, said: "It's giving the opportunity to try out work skills in the community."

ESD provides a mixture of paid and unpaid employment and training for 150 adults at its unit in Moreton Hall, where they also run packing and printing operations.

Mr Akehurst said: "People come here and improve their fine motor skills and everyday skills such as English, maths and social interaction.

"The market for recycled material fluctuates, but we hope to be able to provide 0.5 tonnes of cartridges a week."

The company has teamed up with St Edmundsbury Borough Council to put nine yellow ink jet cartridge bins at public car parks and supermarkets in Bury St Edmunds and at Ixworth Library, Risby Village Hall and Moreton Hall Community Centre.