Business Action | April / May 2019

Pinnacle Award offers £3,000 prize to young people
The 2019 Pinnacle Award,
organised by the Exmoor
Society, is now open to young
people aged 18 to 27 years
who live, work or study in the
Greater Exmoor area.
The award offers up to
£3,000 to an individual or
group who have an idea for
a business venture based
on Exmoor, for example, in
agriculture, forestry, food and
drink, conservation, horticulture,
craft, tourism, or any
outdoor land-based activity.
Now in its eighth year, the
award was established to help
young entrepreneurs live and
work on Exmoor. As a conservation
body, the society fully
recognises the importance of
providing opportunities for
young people to continue to
live in the area by encouraging
entrepreneurial activity.
The award also helps to
promote the idea that beautiful
landscapes and livelihoods
in a National Park do
go together. Previous applications
have come from people
making cider and developing a
herd of pedigree cattle.
So far the award has helped
fund young people either
setting up or developing
businesses such as agricultural
contracting, country
clothing and woodland
management. There were
three successful applicants
in 2018: Polly Goodman,
Philip Stephens and Camilla
Waterer, who were developing
respectively goat meat from
local herds, vehicle canopies
from lightweight material and
horse-drawn carriage rides
over the moor for celebrations
and special picnics. All
three applicants impressed the
judges so much that trustees
decided to offer the full award
to each one.
Public unaware of how to recycle scrap metal
Members of the public prefer
to take their metal waste to a
local council recycling centre
instead of a metal recycling
company, according to a recent
survey by YouGov for a leading
UK metal recycler.
65% prefer this option,
not realising that regulated
recyclers not only genuinely
recycle scrap metal, but will
pay to receive it. Only 32% said
they would sell to a scrap metal
company, and a ‘worrying’ 1%
said they would fly-tip it. The
remainder would pay someone
externally to take it away
directly from their home.
“If the results coming out of
the survey are to be believed, it
is very worrying,” says Martin
Mogford, managing director of
SWM. “As the region’s leading
metal recycler, we strongly
believe that promoting the need
to recycle all metal is a fundamental
part of what we do.
“SWM want the general
public to be aware that we
welcome their business, and
are investing to make our yards
more welcoming. The public
could be missing out so we
want them to know that now
it is easier than ever to sell
waste metal to SWM. Not only
do you get the peace of mind
knowing that your metal is
recycled efficiently, but you also
get paid for it.”
As part of a global recycling
programme, SWM has also
launched an initiative which
gives back to local charities
and organisations who support
scrap metal recycling through
their metal recycling yards.
For every tonne of waste metal
purchased, SWM will donate
a percentage to a nominated
charity or organisation. During
March it supported North
Devon Hospice.
As a family business, SWM
is proud to support an initiative
recognising that businesses
can make a difference to
Winner Polly Goodman is developing goat meat from local herds
local communities and to the
environment. It believes the
metals recycling industry,
while being a driver of the
circular economy, faces many
challenges. This includes scrap
yards who pay cash for scrap
metal, which is illegal. It is also
illegal to receive cash for scrap.
Yards such as SWM, which
is a Metal Recycling Association
member, ensure they are
environmentally compliant,
pay close attention to the
health and safety and welfare of
their employees, and support
the local community.
Anyone can take scrap
metal to one of SWM’s yards in
Barnstaple, Bideford or South
Molton and receive payment
in addition to raising funds for
worthy local causes.
■■Details 01769 572184 or
swmrecycling.co.uk
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Exmoor Society chairman
Rachel Thomas, said: “There
is a great deal of concern that
young people have to leave
Exmoor because of the lack
of employment. By providing
seed core money through the
Pinnacle Award, the society
hopes to enable them to stay
in the area and keep the moor
alive and thriving.”
The society aims to attract
even more entries this year
before the closing date of
30 June 2019. Entry is via a
simple form with a reference
from a mentor or sponsor.
■■Enter at exmoorsociety.com
NEWS IN BRIEF
Power plant factory
installs solar panels
TDK Corporation has installed
solar panels at its power supply
manufacturing facility in Ilfracombe
to help power the whole
factory, including its recently
opened EMC test facility. The
company anticipates a return
on investment in the 92kWh
solar array in five years.
“The west facing roof of
‘Factory 2’ is the ideal place to
install solar panels as it gets
maximum exposure to the sun,
while being obscured from
general view,” explains Geoff
Wilby, joint managing director,
TDK-Lambda UK. “From day
one, the solar panels will significantly
reduce expenditure on
energy, whilst showing local
residents and our customers
our continued commitment to
improving the environment.”
The solar panels, combined
with an upgrade of the lighting
system to LED technology, aim
to minimise the whole facility’s
grid power requirements.
■■Details uk.tdk-lambda.com
@businessactionm | April / May 2019 | business action 3