The Welsh Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP Cymru) has announced the creation of a dedicated fund for Welsh SMEs to target business waste and boost reprocessing capacity.
Grants of up to €200,000 (£170,000) are available for companies, social enterprises and charities to invest in small-scale reprocessing infrastructure or equipment. In addition, organisations offering business reuse collection services handling textiles, furniture and waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) will be eligible to apply.
The fund has been created as part of WRAP Cymru’s Accelerating Reprocessing Infrastructure Development (ARID) programme, a £5.2M initiative which is funded by the European Regional Development Fund through the Welsh Government.
ARID already provides awards of £500,000 or more for large-scale reprocessing infrastructure, as well up to £50,000 for commercial collections and bring sites. It also supports the development of a domestic market for quality recyclate through grants for manufacturers using recycled content. Following interest from SMEs, the new grant category was created, with a shorter waiting time for decisions.
Commenting on the SME initiative, Bettina Gilbert, WRAP Cymru European Projects Manager, said: “Since we launched the ARID programme in 2011 we’ve had enquiries from businesses which we couldn’t help because they worked in reuse, or because the amount of funding they needed was below the threshold for our large infrastructure grant.
“I’m pleased to announce that we’re now able to provide funding of up to the equivalent of €200,000 for smaller projects. We are also continuing to support larger projects, and have applications for large-scale grants worth a total of £3 million under consideration at this time.
“In addition, reuse collection services for businesses handling textiles, furniture and WEEE are now eligible for funding, which means businesses will be able to have items such as office furniture, uniforms or electrical equipment collected for reuse. This will also help lower start-up costs for businesses, since they’ll be able to buy reused equipment rather than new.
“These changes mean we’ll be supporting more businesses, creating more new sustainable jobs, diverting more waste from landfill and preventing more CO2emissions. They demonstrate that WRAP Cymru is serious about meeting Welsh businesses’ needs and helping them reap the benefits of the circular economy.”
By 2015, the ARID programme has targeted the creation of 106 jobs, diversion of 326,220 tonnes of waste and avoided 243,380 tonnes of CO2.
Support focuses on Wales’s Convergence Region (including North West Wales, West Wales and the South Wales Valleys), where there is a need for greater economic development and regeneration.
For more information visit WRAP Cymru's website.
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