Grants on offer to recycle construction waste

WRAP (the Waste & Resources Action Programme) has launched the Construction and Demolition Capital Grant Programme, backed by the Scottish Government, following complaints from construction contractors that there is not enough capacity to recycle their waste.

It means that waste firms will be able to apply for funding for up to 30% of the total costs of building new plants, equipment and infrastructure.

But applicants will have to prove their projects will provide additional capacity to recycle waste such as off-cuts, timber, plastics, packaging and soils from construction and demolition that would otherwise have ended up in landfill.

Iain Gulland, WRAP’s director for Scotland, said: “This Capital Grant Programme provides grants to help companies develop the capacity that Scotland needs to recycle more of its construction and demolition waste.

“We are specifically interested in proposals that will significantly increase the quantity and quality of non-inert fractions of construction and demolition waste materials recovered, separated and recycled from construction sites.”

A similar programme is already running in England and one has been proposed for Wales.

Earlier this month, WRAP also launched an agreement with the construction industry committing signatories to reduce the amount of waste they send to landfill.

Applicants for the Scottish programme must be based in Scotland and must be dependent on WRAP support to go ahead.

Waste firms only have until December 18 to apply for the grants, and if successful, they will have to make sure their projects are fully operational by the end of 2010.

More information on the grants and eligibility criteria can be found here.

Kate Martin