Reuse Recycle Recreate
Our Bits and Bobs Scrapstore has it's own website at:
www.bitsandbobsedinburgh.org.uk

Bits and Bobs

• is a positive environmental business
• run as a social enterprise
• providing unique personal development and employment opportunities
  for people with learning disabilities
• delivering an arts and crafts resource for the whole community
  Innovation and Employment

Bits and Bobs employs mainly people with a learning disability. These employees are partners in the enterprise - members of a co-operative group who have researched and developed an innovative business from scratch, with on-going support from a team of development workers and volunteers.

Protecting the Environment

Bits and Bobs collect safe waste from commercial businesses. This waste would normally be sent to landfill sites or incinerated - its recyclable worth lost to the environment and the community. The business is also part of a wider network of scrap stores operating across the UK.

A Service for the Community

The safe waste is brought back to the warehouse, sorted, prepared and displayed - ready for use in arts and play activities. From schools to nurseries, playgroups, social clubs, artists and carers - anyone can become a member of Bits and Bobs. As a member customer, you gain access to a wide range of arts and play materials, at very competitive prices.

Project Background

Bits and Bobs is a social enterprise set up to create jobs for people with disabilities (mainly people with learning disabilities or an acquired brain injury) and to provide a service to the community and the environment.

Employing or providing training and work experience opportunities for up to 24 individuals (with the potential for 6 permanent jobs), one to one support is delivered by a team of project development staff with additional input from volunteers - a number of whom are people with disabilities.

ESF funding will play a crucial role in supporting the ongoing development of the business and the people with disabilities who have invested in it.

Innovation

Bits and Bobs is innovative on a number of levels -

• as a business developed from inception, run by and employing people mainly with learning disabilities
  
  
• as a recycling operation where business waste is selected and used in a creative way through arts and crafts use within the community
  
  
• as a medium for vocational training and personal development through entrepreneurial behaviour within a group of people who have been significantly disenfranchised from the local labour market
  
  
• as a commercial enterprise engaging with other businesses in a proactive way which in turn has a positive effect on the environment

Impact and Future Development

The Bits and Bobs project is engaged in a long term development process - on a business and individual beneficiary level. The main focus of the project is to build its capacity to trade effectively, developing opportunities to build its customer base and turnover and at the same time offer permanent employment and a progression point for those individuals who want to move into alternative paid employment.

ESF funding supports a strong training, development and volunteer support programme which will help trainees and beneficiaries acquire the business skills and entrepreneurial insight to take the business forward.

From a wider business community perspective this helps demonstrate that people with high support needs can effectively contribute to growing a new business and all the specialist activities involved in this process - business planning, financial management, marketing, product and service development to name but a few.

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