The fund will help prevent waste and encourage reuse and remanufacturing.
Resource reported on the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP), which has launched a fund worth £800,000 ($1.34 million/€984,902) to “help business partnerships bring about ‘innovative’ waste prevention projects”, with grants from this fund set to be between £5,000 ($8,385/€6,155) and £50,000 ($83,851/€61,556).
The grants are offered to these companies and partnerships when they seek to “support local-level waste prevention projects”, with partnerships consisting of two or more parties from local businesses, councils, charities and voluntary groups. The aim of the fund is to prevent waste, so “recycling and composting” are not eligible, though reuse, repair and distribution are.
The waste materials earmarked for prevention by the UK’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) include food, textiles, furniture and bulky material, electronic and electrical equipment, plastics, paper and board, construction and demolition and healthcare and chemical waste.
WRAP notes that projects that could be funded might include “councils working with local companies to reuse and repair items that businesses no longer need”, as well as businesses “working with educational establishments to design products that result in less waste”. The partnerships will need to be able to “match the funding” they are seeking, whether through their own finances, staff time or “another resource”.
The fund will run for two years, award grants in three phases, and is set to “boost voluntary opportunities” and “provide the potential to create new jobs”. Defra will fund the project but will be “stepping back”, particularly in terms of areas “where businesses are better placed to act and there is no clear market failure”. Applications need to be submitted before 1 September 2014.
WRAP Project Manager Jude Andrews said: “By working together on a local level people can really make an impact on what’s happening in their own community. Preventing waste is about finding ways to keep items in use longer and not generating as much waste in the first place.
“It’s about rethinking the way we do things – redesigning and remanufacturing the things we use – changing attitudes and changing behaviours about what we buy and what we throw away, but most of all, working together and thinking creatively to do something about it.”
Resource Minister Dan Rogerson added: “Preventing waste from being produced in the first place is not only good for the environment but helps to build a stronger economy and supports our businesses too. This is an excellent example of the work we are supporting and I would urge everyone with innovative ideas to get involved.”