Community groups in Sefton can now apply for funding to support initiatives that focus on waste prevention.

Posted on: 23/02/2023 10:24

Merseyside Recycling and Waste Authority and Veolia Community Fund have a total of £165,000 available.

Innovative
Innovative waste prevention community initiatives in Sefton could receive between £1,000 and £8,000. Projects that cover three or more Liverpool City Region districts could receive up to £30,000.

Successful applicants will need to show their projects support local community activity to improve waste behaviour through re-use, prevention and recycling, as well as making a difference to the wider community and people’s lives.

Waste prevention, re-use & recycling
Waste prevention includes actions that reduces the amount of waste created by changing people’s behaviour. Re-use includes repairing, upcycling or cleaning activities that mean items can be used again for the same purpose as they were originally intended. And, recycling is when materials are collected and sent to organisations that reprocess the material into new products.

Applications must be submitted by 11.59pm on Sunday 26th March 2022. Funding decisions are expected to be made by early May 2023, with projects needing to be delivered by the end of March 2024.

Sefton Community Groups can find out more and make applications to the Merseyside Recycling and Waste Authority and Veolia Community Fund, here.

There are also case studies of previous successful projects to help with applications.

Regenerus – The Big Community Glean Up
These case studies include Regenerus – The Big Community Glean Up, a project which involved South Sefton Foodbank and community organisations in Bootle. Regenerus aimed to stop food waste and to ensure good food gets into the hands of those who need it the most.

Volunteers were shown how to forage successfully for the food at farms, as well as community gardens and public spaces. They then learned about the different ways to preserve and cook the produce at food workshops.

Ruth Livesey, Business Development Manager at Regenerus, said: “We have gleaned cabbage, cauliflowers, winter veg, onions and pumpkins – the end result has been the same – the fresh produce we glean is distributed to local residents with the help of South Sefton Foodbank and community organisations back in Bootle where it is eaten and enjoyed.”