RecycleAbilities revs up
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A small social enterprise is working to change even more lives.
When you hold your brand new baby in your arms, you start imagining their future. What hopes and dreams will they have? What will make them laugh or bring them sadness? What adventures will they have? What will they do for a job?
Imagine then, how local Canberran resident and mum of three, Corinna, felt when she was told her youngest child, Ryan, would never work.
Corinna recalls: “When Ryan graduated from school in December 2020, we were advised that given his inability to speak and hold a conversation, as well as his diagnosis of autism with an intellectual disability, he would find it virtually impossible to secure employment in Canberra.
“The post-school path recommendation for Ryan, as an adult, was to attend part-time day care programs and start a life of permanent state dependency; this felt disheartening and disempowering – like starting out having already failed”.
Corinna vehemently disagreed with this vision of her son’s future. She could clearly see his passions and potential.
“He loves recycling, has a passion for making and mending things, and remarkable attention to detail,” she says.
Corinna tried to put aside her “Mum” hat and imagined herself as a potential future employer: “I had a clear and compelling vision that Ryan, irrespective of his challenges, would lead a balanced, purposeful, and fulfilling life, in which he would be included, contributing, and valued member of his local Canberra community, just like his two older brothers.”
More than 60 percent of individuals with an intellectual disability, who live in Canberra, are unemployed. Corinna was determined her son wouldn’t be one of them.
She says: “Everyone, no matter their challenges, has a capacity to work. Genuine, interest-driven employment can create purpose, socially valued roles and mental health wellbeing.”
With a dash of creative thinking and help from friends and NDIS mentors, Corinna came up with the concept for RecycleAbilities.
RecycleAbilities was set up as a small social enterprise that creates employment and a socially valued role for Ryan.
Today, Ryan works alongside an employment mentor to collect 10c containers from local businesses, households, and communities. These are then given to the ACT Container Deposit Scheme in return for cash. Twenty five percent of the proceeds collected from the 10c containers are donated to charities and the remainder is used to cover the running expenses of the business.
“We started RecycleAbilities by asking friends and neighbours to fill a bin we placed by our letterbox. We then asked friends if they knew any small businesses that might support us, collecting containers using our personal car, which ended up smelling like a brewery!
“We now have our own collection van and we support over 50 businesses in North Canberra and Fyshwick. We have collected and sorted over 500,000 containers and donated over $18,000 to local and national charities,” Corinna reflects.
In 2023 Corinna was given the opportunity to participate in The Mill House Ventures’ GRIST program which helps small social enterprises review their viability and learn skills to improve and grow their business.
She describes the experience as “incredibly empowering.”
As a result Corinna and the RecycleAbilities team are now working to expand from solely supporting Ryan to giving more young people the same life-changing experiences. The goal is to have a fleet of up to ten RecycleAbilities vans on the road within the next three years.
Looking back, Corinna can see that working has had a transformative effect on her son: “In my mind there is no doubt that RecycleAbilities has had a life changing effect on Ryan, who now, despite his significant challenges, believes in his own capacity both at home and at work. Interest-driven employment generates life purpose.
“Helping Ryan believe in and demonstrate his capacity to be a contributing member of society has been remarkable,” she says.
“With the skills Ryan has learned through RecycleAbilities, he now helps me put fuel in the family car, run simple accounts in a spreadsheet and even change a lightbulb when it blows, without even being asked. These are things he would never have done before.”
For more details on RecycleAbilities, check out this video.
