WRAP regional development funding available next month

More than 2 million will be available to regional projects in England that strengthen the market for recyclables. The target for the fund is to create an additional 373,000 tonnes of recycling capacity in the UK by 2006.

Although the Waste and Resources Action Programme plans to focus fund on diverting biodegradable municipal waste from landfill, grants will also be available for glass, paper, wood and plastics as well as waste streams that are subject to new legislation such as tyres, electronics and vehicles.

Liz Goodwin, WRAP's director of materials programmes, said: “WRAP has already awarded 1.89 million to a number of strong regional initiatives in the first tranche of funding and these projects have now started and will continue to deliver beyond the two year funding period.

“The second round of funding will build on this momentum by focussing on local and regional initiatives that address the priorities we will be setting out in the call,” she added.

The first tranche funded eleven different projects, ranging from capital costs to research and development projects, and covered a range of material areas but not waste electronics or end of life vehicles.

Organics
Mervyn Jones, special projects manager at WRAP, told letsrecycle.com that this round of funding will favour biodegradable waste recycling projects which develop existing work done by WRAP, such as its PAS 100 standard for compost.

“Our big focus is in organics. Biodegradable municipal waste is a key area and we are looking for projects that build on previous WRAP work,” he said. “Given this is a regional fund we will be looking for projects that can demonstrate the viability of the PAS 100 for smaller niche markets.”

But projects to recycle other materials and waste streams should also be put forward, Mr Jones said. “What we are going to do is address the gaps we identified in the first round of funding,” he said.

The application process is expected to open in mid-August and will be a two-stage process. Projects will first provide an initial outline proposal and then in mid-Spetember qualifying schemes will be invited to submit a full application. More information is available from Mervyn Jones on 01295 819633 or by emailing mervyn.jones@wrap.org.uk.