A new fund will encourage recycling companies to use innovative, environmentally-friendly methods to recycle food waste. Image courtesy of: sxc.hu
The
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has launched a new fund to encourage innovative solutions to collect food waste from SMEs and public sector buildings.
The fund of £500,000 will be managed over the next three years by the
Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP), and is intended to promote good practice through improved recycling services and greater use of anaerobic digestion (AD) technologies to recycle food waste.
Recycling minister Lord Taylor commented on the scheme: “We know that a one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t work for business waste collection. We need to see innovative solutions put forward that will help set businesses on the path to a zero-waste economy.”
To be eligible for the fund, collection schemes must service commercial clients including restaurants, hotels, catering firms and public sector organisations such as council offices.
Collection schemes must also process waste via either anaerobic digestion or in-vessel composting procedures in England.
Linda Crichton, head of collections and quality at WRAP, said: “The maximum value of a grant under this current round will be £100,00 per applicant and this can be used towards capital items such as vehicles, collection bins and caddies, or for labour and overheads costs.
“Applications will be assessed against published criteria, and must demonstrate good practice approaches to collecting business food waste, as well as outlining ways of both reducing service costs and maximising food waste recycling.”
Collection tonnage targets will be agreed individually with each successful applicant, to run over a two-year period. WRAP will work closely with fund recipients, providing advice on implementing and service development.