Fund to reduce waste from plastic packaging and textiles
The government is inviting organisations to apply for funding under a multi-million pound grant scheme to help boost the recycling of plastic packaging and textiles.
Organisations in England can apply for government funding for innovative solutions to drive up the recycling of hard-to-recycle plastic packaging such as plastic trays, pots and tubs, plastic films and pouches, as well as funding for innovative projects that boost the recycling of textiles when they have reached the end of their life.
For plastics this could include innovative sorting or segregation equipment, and smarter systems to enable sorting of different polymers. For textiles this could include machinery for recycling textiles, technology for disassembling or sorting textiles, automated processes for removing items from textiles such as zips, and technology to sort textiles by fibre type and colour.
The UK generates around 2.4 million tonnes of packaging waste per year. Around 40% of all plastic produced in the UK is used in the packaging of goods.
In 2015, there were 300,000 tonnes of clothing in the UK going to landfill or incineration.
(Published by DEFRA: 12 June 2019)
£5 million fund to develop support for unpaid carers
The £5 million Carers Innovation Fund will invest in innovative ways of supporting unpaid carers, outside of mainstream health and care services.
This funding will be used to improve support across the country and help build more carer-friendly communities.
Examples of the kind of projects the fund would invest in include:
- technology platforms – for example, to help carers to take a break from their caring responsibilities;
- support groups – like carers’ cafes and Men’s Sheds, which develop peer support groups and offer short courses to help reduce isolation.
Projects will be expected to show a positive effect on:
- carers’ health and wellbeing;
- carers’ ability to manage work alongside caring responsibilities;
- carers’ ability to take a break from their caring role;
- reducing loneliness and social isolation.
Applicants will need to demonstrate their idea is a fresh approach that is better than existing provision, will benefit the local community and can be expanded and replicated.
The voluntary sector, charities, SMEs and commercial organisations can all bid for funding to prove their concept, with the aim of securing longer term funding from other sources.
Carers and other experts will sit on the evaluation panel to make sure proposals are feasible.
The fund was first announced last year as part of the Carers Action Plan, a cross-government programme of targeted work to support unpaid carers over the next two years. Initially the fund was worth half a million pounds. However, funding was later increased to £5 million.
www.gov.uk/government/publications/carers-innovation-fund-how-to-apply
(Published by the Department of Health and Social Care: 12 June 2019)
Tree champion reappointed to continue planting push
The Government’s Tree Champion Sir William Worsley has been reappointed to continue his drive to accelerate tree-planting rates.
The chair of the National Forest Company was tasked last year with setting a bold direction for the country’s forests and woodlands over the next 25 years.
Now Sir William is marking his reappointment with a call to land owners, farmers and foresters across the country to take up the mantle of tree planting by accessing the Government’s Woodland Creation Grant Scheme.
(Published by DEFRA: 12 June 2019)