EU deal sees WRAP move toward consultancy role

And, the organisation has several other funding opportunities in the pipeline according to its chief executive.

The Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP) on Tuesday (July 9) announced that it had secured a total of 3.1 million (2.7 million) in funding, to spearhead REBus (Resource Efficient Business Models), a project financed by the EU LIFE+ fund which supports environmental initiatives across the continent.

According to WRAP, the project will see it focus on resource efficiency in four key markets – electrical and electronic products, clothing, furniture and construction products.

The announcement of the funding comes just a fortnight after the organisation was told that its funding from the UK government will be cut by more than a third during the 2014/15 period during the governments Spending Review (see letsrecycle.com story).

Quality

And, the news of the EU work came at the same time as the Resource Association conference heard concerns from across industry about the ongoing need to ensure quality for recycling, an issue some in the sector believe WRAP should be more active in.

Following the announcement of the EU award, WRAP chief executive Dr Liz Goodwin told letsrecycle.com that the organisation would seek to diversify its income base and would look to adopt more of a consultancy role alongside its work for the UK governments.

Dr Goodwin said she was confident that it would be the first of many such announcements for the organisation.

She said: I was delighted to hear that WRAP had been successful in securing new EU funding for REBus (Resource Efficient Business Models).

We have been saying for some time most recently at the time of the recent Whitehall Spending Review that WRAP is actively pursuing a new business model where we can draw on more diverse sources of funding, and this latest award is a perfect example of this in action.

She added: We have other development opportunities in the pipeline and I am confident this is the first of many such announcements youll see coming out of WRAP in the coming months.

The announcement was also welcomed by Marcus Gover, WRAPs director of Closed Loop Economy, who, speaking at the Resource Association conference in London yesterday said that the award of the funding was very good news in the face of government budget cuts.

Defra is one of four government bodies which currently funds WRAP alongside the Welsh Government, Scottish Government and Northern Ireland Assembly.