Eleven councils received a share of 160,000 which was handed out under an annual funding scheme run by European Metal Recycling using funds gained through selling packaging waste recovery notes (PRNs). This year marks the second year of the scheme which EMR launched in 2003 (see letsrecycle.com story)
”The Reload Fund aims to meet local priorities and strengthen the current collection infrastructure “
– Colin Iles, EMR
The government has said that 50% of metal packaging needs to be recycled by December 31 2008 in order to meet the requirements of the European Packaging Waste Directive.
The Reload fund will provide 140,000 over a three-year period for larger projects and 20,000 for smaller projects.
A panel of judges was set up to judge the entries including John Enright from the Waste Implementation Programme set up by the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and Kay Twitchen, board member at the Environment Agency and councillor for Essex.
The 2005 winners were:
- Bexley Council 12,080
- East Lindsey Council 3,310
- Exeter City Council 10,840
- London Borough of Croydon Council 23,840
- Mid Sussex District Council 16,250
- North East Lincolnshire Council 8,670
- Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council 7,370
- South Oxfordshire District Council 10,840
- Stockton-on-Tees Council 6,940
- Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council 14,580
- Teignbridge District Council 44,050
Projects range from the provision of split litter bins in town centres and tourist hotspots, the installation of can-recycling bins near residential flats, research and development of new methods for increasing recycling rates amongst students and the placement of can banks and crushers at local schools.
Colin Iles, managing director at EMR, said: “As a nation we must extract an additional 72,000 tonnes a year of metal packaging from our waste, the equivalent of 30 cans per head of population.
“By distributing revenue at the local level, the Reload Fund aims to meet local priorities and strengthen the current collection infrastructure. We're hoping the initiative will help local authorities to target packaging waste more effectively,” he added.
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