augean & the community
Fostering Positive Impact
Engaging with Our Communities
Augean has always made a conscious effort to be an active and supportive part of the local communities near to our operational sites. It is important to us that we meet our professional obligations in a way that has a positive impact on local communities or the environment and to create ongoing relationships with them. We hope to provide a meaningful contribution to local life and to be a good neighbour.
From the outset of its inception, Augean has sought to engage with and value local communities to increase understanding about site operations and the waste sector in an open and transparent way through our community enhancing funding and local projects activities, community newsletters, hosting open days and encouraging anyone interested to make use of our open door policy.
what we do...
Community Funds
Augean resources several different funding opportunities which benefit our local communities:
Augean staff are great volunteers and champions of local projects. They enthusiastically take part in community initiatives like charitable fundraising, regular litter picks, mitigating the consequences of fly tipping, creating or enhancing allotments, and most recently supporting foodbanks. Sadly in these challenging times with the rising cost of living, many more people have found themselves turning to foodbanks to support their day to day lives. Our staff have been keen to donate items or to raise funds to send to local groups in each area. We are very proud of our staff and the way in which they have built positive local relationships through their generosity.
We encourage all our staff to take the volunteering day offered to them through our employee scheme.
By using the Landfill Tax Credit Scheme, we have been able to significantly contribute to many projects that are important to the local community.
Southern Sites
The Augean Community Fund helps community projects within a 10-mile radius of ENRMF in Northamptonshire and Thornhaugh Landfill near Peterborough. The fund is managed by Grantscape with qualifying projects decided by community volunteers on the Kings Cliffe Environmental Association (KCEA) and the Thornhaugh Environmental Association (TEA).
They recommend grant awards to community groups wishing to make environmental improvements to public amenities, biodiversity and conservation or heritage projects. Projects within a ten-mile radius of our two landfill sites may apply for grants that meet the requirements for eligibility. Since 2004, Augean has contributed over £5.6m to the fund.
In addition, a separate fund which is part of the planning consent to accept Low Level Waste at ENRMF, was established and is administered by North Northamptonshire Council. Since 2012 Augean has contributed £296,120 to its Revenue and Small Capital Grants Fund.
Northern Sites
The Teesside Environmental Trust (TET) manages the fund for Augean Port Clarence. TET’s objective of engendering a sense of community pride and involvement has been realised in delivering the award winning Saltholme International Nature Reserve project which is supported through our community fund. The project is a fantastic example of the successful coexistence of nature and industry; transforming about 1,500 acres of previously industrial wasteland into wild flower meadows and wetland habitats that support a wide variety of bird species. Saltholme encourages inclusive participation, welcoming around 75,000 visitors per year. Its educational outreach programmes and supported visits are enjoyed by about 3,000 children every year. The project is looking at ways in which it can bring additional land in the area into conservation management to further enhance the area for the benefit of the local community. Since Augean’s acquisition of Port Clarence Landfill Site in 2004, the company has contributed over £4.5 m to the trust in landfill tax credits.
Augean has a policy of purchasing services from local suppliers within a 10km radius of site where the standard of service and the quality of the goods is appropriate. Approximately 22% of our annual spend in 2023 was with local companies.
We see our people as our greatest asset. They are a key resource that possess the skills and qualifications necessary for us to safely deliver the wide range of services that we offer in a challenging sector. We have policies of recruiting site staff from the local community whenever possible; providing local people with local jobs.
Augean invests in encouraging the workforce of tomorrow through Apprenticeships. These allow young people, or those wanting a change of direction, to develop the right skills and knowledge for a career in the context of a real, paid job, learning alongside more experienced workers. The hands-on experience underpins the 20 per cent of working hours that are spent in study towards qualifications. Our Apprentices play an essential part in supporting the success of teams across the company and are crucial to ensuring that Augean has the highly skilled people that we need, now and in the future.
Augean works with educational establishments such schools, colleges and universities. We regularly gives presentations on waste management, coordinate placements and field trips, and offer support during careers fairs. We re passionate about showcasing to young individuals the exciting possibilities in the waste industry for chemists, engineers, and other professions.
Augean is always keen to encourage more children and young people to consider a career in Science, Technology, Engineering or Maths (STEM); helping them to see the importance of STEM in the world around us and how studying science can translate into a wide variety of career pathways and professions.
We promote our own educational initiatives to support STEM with Primary and Secondary school children and young people in the area.
We also host visits from special interest groups or clubs for example those interested in ecology who want to see the flora and fauna on some of our sites.
We have an open-door policy at our sites. Our friendly and welcoming site managers are happy to speak to anyone interested about the site and take them on a site tour by arrangement directly with them.
Our newsletters are intended to provide the local community with news about the site and the company as a whole, together with other articles that may be of interest about the waste sector. The newsletter gives update on planning or permitting applications that are currently in progress. Editions of the newsletters are published on this website and can be sent by email on request.
An electronic newsletter by email is available to anyone who has signed up to our Register of Stakeholders. This is used to make public announcements and give information about events or opportunities of interest quickly.
To improve and speed up sending relevant company information or notices about events and activities, which may be of interest, we have established a Register of Stakeholders. This has been developed from existing contacts with whom we have already corresponded by email.
The Register allows us to quickly email anyone who has signed up in case of cancellations. People who attend community events, consultations, Open Days, or reach out to us through the website are welcome to join the Register.
