DCLG recycling fund soars from £5m to £11m

The scheme, which was originally offering funding totalling £5 million, has now been extended to offer a total of £11.1 million to local authorities, after the Department opted to funnel more money into the initiative.

The scheme is aimed at helping councils increase their recycling rates by offering incentives to households, such as shopping vouchers and loyalty rewards. Funding will be going to a total of 46 schemes across 45 local authority areas.

A partnership involving Braintree, Epping Forest, Harlow and Tendring has been awarded the largest pot of cash, after having been handed £896,468 to roll out a reward scheme aimed at increasing recycling participation rates amongst households and in schools.

To view a full list of the winning bidders, click here.

As part of the scheme, residents who put out their recycling each week will be selected at random and offered prizes including discounts from local shops, or a donation to a charity or community groups, while schools will be offered cash prizes for new equipment.

Winners

The Buckinghamshire Waste Partnership, made up of Aylesbury Vale, Buckinghamshire county, Chiltern, South Bucks and Wycombe councils has been handed £838,600 for a scheme which will reward householders for increasing the amount of food waste they recycle. The initiative is expected to reach a total of 215,831 households.

Other councils who have successfully bid for funding include Dover and Shepway, Hackney, Manchester, Camden, Bexley, Oxford, Westminster, St Helens and New Forest.

DCLG estimates that nearly four million people will be able to participate in reward schemes thanks to funding provided through the initiative.

73 bids were received by the Department in total, with funding of £17.6 million having been sought altogether, although 27 bids were unsuccessful. Only councils offering a weekly collection of either food or residual waste were eligible for funding under the scheme.

Pickles

The project has been masterminded by the Secretary of State for Communities Eric Pickles, who is keen to see more councils adopt weekly waste collection. The minister has come in for criticism in recent months after his £250 million fund set up to support weekly waste collections failed to entice any local authorities from returning to a weekly residual service.

Mr Pickles visited the London borough of Havering in January to assess the progress of a DCLG-funded rewards scheme which aims to reward residents for recycling by offering them discounts at shops and restaurants in the area.

Speaking during the visit, he said: “Rewards for recycling show how working with families can deliver environmental benefits without the draconian approach of punishing people and leaving out smelly rubbish.

“I was delighted to see how well this approach, supported by government funding, has been working for the people of Havering and I urge other councils to follow suit and encourage families to go green.”