Wales set for £3 million community recycling fund

It is intended that, once it is up and running, the Cylch Capacity Building Fund will be used for investments that help Welsh social enterprises to increase waste minimisation, reuse, recycling and composting activities during the funding period.

The role of the selected contractor will include the administration of key parts of the application process for the fund, including the production of pro-forma, the invitation and assessment of funding applications and also making payments to those who are to receive financial support.

Outputs

Cylch will be required by the WAG to demonstrate that the fund has met its objectives, though its chief executive, Mal Williams, today revealed that these had not yet been agreed.

As such, the contractor given the responsibility for administering the £3 million will have to receive and collate data to monitor the output levels and report details of funding allocations to Cylch regularly.

Under WAG guidance, the contractor awarded the fund administration role can be paid a fee of up to £150,000 over the three year lifetime of the fund.

The tendering process for the administrative position is currently underway, with applications permitted until March 21 with a contractor set to be appointed by March 31 and the money made available by the WAG from April 1.

Contribution

The fund will be open to all of the umbrella organisation’s members, which currently total 70 active waste minimisation projects, as well as its 30 affiliates from both the non-profit sector and bodies working for the benefit of Welsh communities.

Mr Williams explained that the intention was to target the money towards projects that made a significant contribution to reuse and recycling, as well as those helping to diverting waste from landfill and also enabling low-income families to access furniture and white goods.

He was also quick to praise the role played by the recently appointed Welsh minister for environment, sustainability and housing, Jane Davidson, highlighting the impact her recently announced targets for municipal waste recycling had had on Cylch’s members.

He said: “The community sector is receiving a little bit of extra attention from Jane Davidson, with her target of recycling 70% of waste (by 2025), she has set a 30% higher target than many would have expected.”