The second round of the £800,000 Innovation in Waste Prevention Fund opened today (20 November).

Funded by the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) and launched by the Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP) in May of this year, the fund offers business partnerships in England grants of between £5,000 and £50,000 to prevent wastage of the priority materials outlined in Defra’s Waste Prevention Programme for England: food; textiles; furniture and bulky material; electronic and electrical equipment; plastics; paper and board; construction and demolition; healthcare and chemicals.

It aims to generate more action to prevent waste at a local level.

Eligible projects that could be funded include:

• textile or electrical repair skills workshops run by local businesses and voluntary groups;
• businesses working with local charities to prevent food waste by distributing surplus food to those who need it;
• councils working with local companies to reuse and repair items that businesses no longer need;
• businesses working with educational establishments to design products that result in less waste; and
• household goods and furniture reuse initiatives including housing associations, councils and charities.

Applicants can be either from existing partnerships or newly-formed ones, but must be able to match the funding they are seeking to secure through their own financial fund or staff time, or from another resource.

The second funding round will accept applications until 6 February 2015.

‘Innovation is key’

Announcing the launch of round two today, Linda Crichton,
Head of the Waste and Resource Management Programme at WRAP, said: “Innovation is key. We are seeking projects that have never been tried before anywhere – innovation that is ‘new in the world’. And to be more helpful, there is a new, lower level of match funding required for projects requesting between £5,000-£10,000. The maximum amount of funding available per project remains at £50,000.”

She added: “I wish you every success with your application.”

The first round of the two-year grant fund closed on 1 September, with WRAP reportedly receiving 79 applications. Crichton announced today that 10 organisations have been selected to receive grants from the first funding round and contracts are now being finalised. The winners will be announced in December.

Find out more about the Innovation in Waste Prevention Fund or download the application pack.