b'01SMITHFIELD (NSW) Someone needsHUNTER (NSW)Graham McPherson was long-term unemployed,to recycle thoseThe staff at Soft Landing Hunter are a hard-a statistic you hear about in the news. Thenworking, resilient team. Site Manager Kyle an employment agency told him about Softmattresses andEaston says hes proud of how theyve pulled Landing. After an induction and onsite training,through challenges this year to keep doing their he joined the Soft Landing Smithfield team asbed bases andpart for the environment.General Hand. That was in 2015, and he hasntkeep them out While the Hunter sites warehouse underwent a major looked back. of landfill! upgrade for two months, the team continued to collect I had trouble finding work. I dont have a drivers license,mattresses from five local waste facilities despite the02and my high school grades werent that great, saysWhy not me? fact they were unable to process them onsite. For Kyle, Graham. Plus, its the old catch: you need experience toSite Supervisor Gav Mason, and NSW State Manager get a job, but you need a job to get experience.GRAHAM MCPHERSONSMITHFIELDJoe Rasmussen, this meant rethinking operations.Soft Landing was a life-changer for Graham, who hadWe had to come up with a new plan, says Kyle, spent many years volunteering and studying at TAFEOur main goals at Soft Landing are to provide stable while looking for permanent work. He says, Volunteeringemployment and to keep mattresses out of landfill. We was a chance for me to give back to the community. Butdidnt want to close the site. And so thats what we kept Soft Landing is a full-time job, and I can still do somethingin the front of our minds the whole time. that matters.A partnership between our Hunter and Smithfield sitesWed like to broaden our While its physically challenging work, he says, Its aenabled us to meet these goals successfully; the Hunterhorizons, and were asking team started driving the mattresses they collected to supportive place, and I always know what I need to do. Soft Landing Smithfield for recycling. ourselves what else is possible.03I can just get in and do it. I like that its the same job each day.This year has certainly proven The teams from both sites worked together to overcomewe can handle anything if we Graham spends his workdays stripping bed bases andchallenges, demonstrating their courage, resilience and sorting the different materialslike foam, fabric, metal,dedication to sustainability and keeping our peoplework together and stick to our and timberready for recycling. On his own, he can stripemployedsetting a true example by honouring ourmission. up to 120 bed bases per week, and he was a front-lineorganisations values. worker in one of our recycling success stories from lastKYLE EASTONHUNTER SITE MANAGERyear.Joe Rasmussen, NSW State Manager, explains, Two manufacturers who supply beds for social housing were struggling to find sources of timber for their bed bases due to ongoing disruption in the supply chain. Now, we04keep an eye out for bases that meet their criteria, andKyle says, It took some planning, but we kept up with theKyle says, Everyone was offsite, working in vehicles Graham and the team prepare them for sale.mattresses coming in. Everyone in the team had their partas a driver or offsider. It was a change of pace, and to play. Gav agrees, saying, Everyone just got on withthey enjoyed it. They got to visit waste facilities theyve The partnership is successful in multiple ways. Joe says,it while still having a bit of a laughits the way we donever been to before, and many had never been We can re-use the timber rather than recycling it, whichthings here.to another Soft Landing site, so seeing Smithfield is a higher outcome on the waste pyramid; the newopened their eyes and let them see that were a part of waste stream generates income for us; that income isThe temporary arrangement also presented ansomething bigger. He adds, I think it might have been supporting the additional labour on our sites required toopportunity for staff to expand their experiences anda blessing in disguise. prepare the bases, and were ensuring a steady supply ofconnect with people from across our wider enterprise.quality bed bases in social housing. Wins like these are a source of pride for the Smithfield team because, as Graham says, People often send their 05 mattresses off without thinking about where they end up,0505and I dont think many people truly appreciate the hard work we do. We provide a service the community needs while making a difference.SOFT LANDING He adds, Someone needs to recycle those mattresses SOFT LANDINGand bed bases and keep them out of landfill! Why not me? 06PAGE 40'