Soft Landing ACT has taken one of the main prizes at the 2016 Keep Australia Beautiful Sustainable Cities Awards for their work on recycling the ACT’s mattresses.
The national recycling social enterprise was named the winner of the National Dame Phyllis Frost Litter Prevention, Waste Management and Resource Recovery Award at the KAB Sustainable Cities Awards ceremony held in Frankston on 17 November.
This national success comes on the back of its dual win at the ACT regional awards in September, it took the title of ACT Sustainable Community of the Year as well as the territory’s Dame Phyllis Frost prize.
Since Soft Landing opened in the ACT in April 2016, it has recycled more than 14,650 mattresses and expects to recycle over 25,000 mattresses annually.
Commenting on the national accolade, Soft Landing National Operations Manager, Bill Dibley, said he was delighted to see the ACT team’s efforts acknowledged alongside the ACT Government and local community.
“The Canberra community have been so supportive of our social enterprise approach to mattress recycling,” he said.
Davydd Cunningham, the organisation’s ACT Manager, said the territory is proving a successful base for its operations.
“Our partnerships with the ACT Government, Habitat Personnel and Max Employment have really provided us with the right conditions for this success,” said Mr Cunningham. “The local community is actively encouraged to engage with our services, and the opportunity to provide real training and employment to those experiencing disadvantage in the local community is very rewarding.”
Soft Landing Founders Bill Dibley and Andrew Douglas are hoping for more awards success when they attend the 2016 Social Enterprise Awards in Melbourne on 30 November, as the organisation is a finalist in the Social Enterprise of the Year (Large) category.
Collecting the award, from left to right are: Bill Dibley, Soft Landing National Operations Manager; Catriona Rowntree, Awards Host; Davydd Cunningham, Soft Landing ACT Manager; Stan Brookes, Soft Landing NSW Manager.