Yorkshire and Humber communities call for local government collaboration

Communities in the Yorkshire and the Humber region call on local government to involve them more closely in the development of a circular economy.

A summary from a policy session that was held at the Yorkshire Circular Economy Festival 2022 outlines how communities want to be involved by local governments and how to develop a collaborative network for a flourishing circular economy in Yorkshire and the Humber.

Communities want to be involved in diverse ways. They want local government to play a more active role in informing citizens about circular economy, and to encourage the use of the nearly 800 community-led circular economy initiatives. Circular economy initiatives can play a key role in taking climate action and adding social value. But they need to be embedded into local government strategies and plans. More proactive interaction is needed to consult with circular economy initiatives about their needs, and to co-produce plans to scale up circular economy in Yorkshire and the Humber.

Facilitating the development of a network of trusted relations through which communities can interact more easily with local government and companies is key. Communities often find it difficult to understand how they can best contact their local government. Within local government, support to collaborate across siloes will be crucial to join the dots between economic regeneration, inclusive growth, climate action, waste management and other relevant teams.

Communities in Yorkshire and the Humber are ambitious and want to make circular economy a normal feature on the high street. Circular economy fits well to a regional culture of being smart with money and caring about environment and each other. But the success of circular economy depends on relearning the right skills, developing infrastructure, and supporting initiatives through local procurement and with access to funding.

A number of circular economy initiatives recorded a video about how local governments and other organisations could support them better. Read the full results in our two-page policy brief and visual summary.

Any questions and further comments are very welcome. Please contact Dr Anne Velenturf, Head of the Yorkshire Circular Lab, at A.Velenturf@leeds.ac.uk.