£2m project helps divert two million tonnes of West Midlands landfill waste
Jul 13 2010 by Anna Blackaby, Birmingham Post
Grants and support worth nearly £2 million are enabling businesses in the West Midlands to divert an additional 2 million tonnes of commercial and industrial waste from landfill by 2014.
Sixteen different waste and recycling businesses were awarded the grants during the first phase of a Waste Recycling Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP) programme funded by Advantage West Midlands (AWM).
A further 21 businesses have received free business development support.
This means at least 39 jobs will be created or safeguarded, WRAP AWM said, and will save over 500,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions.
The initiative is part of a £5.4 million programme to tackle the projected waste infrastructure capacity gap in the West Midlands.
Both the forecasted landfill diversion and the CO2 savings are in excess of the original targets set at the beginning of the programme - which aimed to divert 320,000 tonnes of commercial and industrial waste from landfill and save 200,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions.
Wolverhampton-based plastics reprocessor Recycled UK received capital support to help fund the purchase of vital new plant and equipment.
Director Paul Green said: “Without the assistance from the WRAP/AWM Programme we wouldn’t have been able to grow and develop the business as we would have liked to. We certainly wouldn’t have been able to attack the new markets that we’re focusing on now.”
With the first series of grants now allocated, the programme is turning its focus to the next stage of support, designed to increase even further the amount of C&I waste being recovered from businesses in the region.
To help guide plans for the next phase and identify the opportunities and barriers affecting capacity growth in the region, over 100 waste and recycling organisations have been interviewed and their feedback collated.
The research has shown that significant opportunities still exist for recovering more commercial and industrial waste - with mixed plastics, low-grade wood, paper and card, food waste and small business waste collection services offering some of the best opportunities to further increase recycling rates.
Among the main challenges highlighted by a smaller group of businesses invited to a follow-up workshop was a need for closer integration across the supply chain, improving the segregation of waste streams at source, selecting and financing new equipment and ensuring appropriately skilled workers were available for technical, operational and commercial roles.
These challenges will be targeted in the next phase of the WRAP AWM Programme and by the wider work of AWM’s Waste Infrastructure Advisory Group – a business-led group of waste industry experts.
Julia Turner, WRAP’s AWM programme manager, added: “We’re looking forward to starting the next phase and the feedback we’ve received from the industry has been vital in determining where the programme should now be focusing its support.
“Demonstrating value for money is always critical and we need to ensure the support we provide has the best possible impact on increasing recovery and recycling rates across the region.”
•For more information about the WRAP AWM programme and to find out if your business could receive support, please contact Julia Turner on 0121 222 5447.
