The fund, of 50,000 to 70,000 each year for a period of three to four years, is designed to cope with what the company sees as a “major requirement for management skills in recycling” in the near future.
Wastelink, which specialises in outsourcing the waste management needs of its 700 members, is to finance the programme through its packaging waste compliance scheme subsidiary, Wastepack.
The fund could see the establishment of a “virtual faculty” in recycling, a study on recycling demand or the introduction of a new formal qualification in recycling skills. The company is also open to other ideas from universities or colleges, and hopes to attract other funding bodies to potentially boost the project's current scale.
Growth
In a statement announcing the fund, Wastelink said that rapid growth in the sector through new legislative pressures is “generating a major requirement for management skills in recycling and there are signs that demand is already exceeding supply. This trend is likely to continue.”
“The pace of legislative change and technical innovation means that best practice information needs to be constantly updated and made available rapidly to managers in the sector. We believe that these challenges present an ideal opportunity for universities and other academic institutions to make an important contribution to creating a sustainable future,” Wastelink said.
The company, which has been advised by SEPA in establishing the fund, stressed there would be no duplication of any existing research. As well as the funding, Wastelink said it would also make its in-house expertise available, perhaps through providing a member for any steering group established to co-ordinate the programme.
A deadline for proposals has been set for October 31, 2004. For more information contact Mike Beard, director of corporate affairs at Wastelink on 01279 721721or by emailing mike.beard@Wastelink.co.uk.
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