The seven projects will share in a total of 500,000 of funding over three years, as part of a scheme managed by WRAP on behalf of the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).
It is anticipated that the funding will enable a further 26,000 tonnes of food waste to be diverted from landfill by 2014.
The fund had been designed to give the private sector, local authorities and social enterprises the economic support to develop demonstration projects to show good practice and encourage the further development of food waste collection services from business in England.
Launched in December 2011 (see letsrecycle.com story), the fund was set up to target collection schemes servicing commercial businesses such as restaurants, hotels and catering firms, and public sector organisations including council offices and schools. WRAP has confirmed that over 40 applications for funding were received.
Projects to develop household food waste collections were not considered for the fund.
The successful applicants are:
| Recipient | Project Tonnes | Collection Area |
|---|---|---|
| Cape | 2,500 | Devon |
| Greenability (Bioco) | 8,500 | Cambridge, Manchester, Birmingham |
| First Mile | 1,000 | London |
| SITA UK | 2,200 | Bristol |
| Leeds Paper | 6,000 | Leeds |
| Yorwaste | 2,500 | York |
| Brighton Paper Round | 1,000 | Brighton |
Linda Crichton, head of collections and quality at WRAP, said: We were encouraged by the amount of interest in the fund, with over 40 applications for funding received, and a wide range of projects put forward. The projects selected cover different collection approaches and contractual arrangements and will provide services to a range of food waste producing businesses and public sector organisations.
Preventing and reducing waste is the most important thing we can do, and we hope to encourage all businesses (and households) to reduce their waste management costs as much as possible by preventing and reducing waste in the first instance.
Where this is not possible, reusing and recycling resources is the next best thing. Recycling food waste is not only good for the environment, but also saves money elsewhere in the supply chain.
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WRAP will also be providing communications guidance to the successful bidders to help communicate with businesses about the benefits of food waste collections.
It has also confirmed that it is developing tools to aid businesses to prevent and reduce food waste, which will be available on the WRAP website from the Autumn.
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