This project began in November 2004 with an application for the Surrey Waste Action Challenge Fund.
This application was for £15,000, and this grant was duly awarded.

Our main aims are - Waste Reduction and Sustainable Gardening through Composting

The purchase of nearly all the necessary equipment has now been completed, and all the activities proposed have been set in motion - the project has made a good start to becoming well established.

The following sections review the original budget and actions proposed:-

1. Vehicle

A good vehicle has been purchased, and signwritten with our logo. A winch and ramps have also been obtained. There are some reserves for running costs, in particular the MOT in August

2. Shredder Hire Service

This has started very well, with 3 or 4 hires each week, and nearly 1.5 tons shredded so far

3. Chipper Service

The chipper has only been used for the launch with the mayor so far. The risk assessment for this machine is quite difficult, for example there must always be a second person in attendance as well as the operator. There are also issues of noise and amenity. The shredders are much easier and safer to use.

We will apply for funds of an 8-week trial of 1 afternoon a week at the Longmead Amenity Tip, to chip for people and gather information as to the percentage of waste that could be chipped and returned to the person bringing it. We may need to pay staff to do this, as volunteers may not be able to guarantee a service.

4. Display materials

The van is our main advertising, and is a great success
We have excellent letterheads and printed materials.
We have developed display materials, and we will try to place these now at the town hall and libraries, etc.
Joint displays at the Farmer's Market have been very successful. We have had displays at two flower shows, with some interest. The Old Moat Open Day is an ideal venue for us.

5. Mobile Compost Display

This is now operating, and is a great success in explaining the compost process and ingredients to people

6. Compost Demonstration at the Old Moat Centre

This part of the project has started very slowly, partly due to our problems with our bank, and partly due to NHS red tape. For example, it has taken 3 months for my CRB clearance to come through so I can help there as a volunteer.

There are 3 elements of our project there
a). Demonstration of current compost bins. This is now set up and looks good, and the signs for this will arrive soon, but we need to sort out better explanatory displays
b). Main composting area. Large bins are to be built here, with an improved standing. This work will be done soon
c). Administration. From our point of view, we are paying £100 a month for 6 months for the compost area and for the time staff need to put in helping visitors, etc. (though this is dealt with very differently in their systems). I fell this is going well, and the Open Day was a great success

Further work. It may be good to buy a rotating sieve, to separate "spent potting compost" from raw materials for composting, and to develop a system to do this better. The compost as it is will not be very good, but as I spend more time there as a volunteer, I hope this will improve. Also plantpots could be recycled if they had the equipment to sterilise them

7. Design and Publicity materials

Logos, letterhead, van trailer and displays have all worked out well. Website at partnerchip.org.uk

8. Administration.

Continuing. I am also still acting as treasurer, which is not ideal.
Committee has been established, constitution and bank account.

9. Partnerships.

We are very grateful to the Council for all their help and support, and for the use of their facilities for storage and workspaces. The joint efforts with the Council and WRAP at the Farmer's Market have been very successful.
The partnership with the Old Moat is developing well, but more slowly. Their Open Day was excellent for us

The Future

We hope to continue to develop our work with the shredder hire service and displays at suitable events. The following new developments are proposed:-

1. Surrey County Show. This will be a major effort - volunteers and special paperwork are needed
2. Chipper service at the Tip. To gather information about the percentage of people who will take back their branches if we chip them. We may need to hire staff to do this effectively.
3. Chipper service at other sites. We want to develop noise reduction panels and portable equipment to create a safety exclusion zone. Staffing is a concern. This service is much better suited to Autumn, when there is little amenity usage at the major sites we would wish to use (Nonsuch and Horton carparks, where there are barbeque zones and play areas)
3. Partnership with Alan Rose. Mr Rose has a compost yard which is exactly what Epsom will need to have in the future. How can we both help him and help to fulfil our goals ?

Summary
We have made a good start, and we have achieved nearly all of what we set out to do in this period. We have mostly concentrated on the displays, mobile demonstration and shredder hire services, and will develop the chipper side of things next.
We are taking on a major exhibition at the Surrey County Show, and we hope to develop the chipper service more, plus investigating getting involved with Mr Rose and with Surrey Waste.