£220,000 of funding available to support green projects across Greater Manchester

The Recycle for Greater Manchester Community Fund will open on Monday for applications for a third year. Community groups can apply online on the Greater Manchester Environment Fund website from noon on Monday 3 April to noon on Friday 26 May.

The Community Fund has £220,000 available for projects which help to prevent, reuse, or recycle household waste, promote sustainable use of household waste and generate wider social benefits for the communities of Greater Manchester.

Two different award categories for the Community Fund are available:

• £180,000 will be divided between projects that benefit individual council areas, to a maximum of £10,000 per project.
• £40,000 of funding will be open to projects that span two or more council areas, or Greater Manchester as a whole, with a maximum of £20,000 per project.

Applications are welcomed from community, voluntary and faith groups, schools, colleges, universities, charities, and other not-for-profit organisations from across Greater Manchester (excluding Wigan as they operate a separate waste disposal arrangements).

Over the past two years the Recycle for Greater Manchester Community Fund has awarded £440,000 and supported a total of 47 projects. Successful projects have included composting workshops, social supermarkets, podcasts, bike repair and much more.
 

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The Community Fund is a joint initiative between Recycle for Greater Manchester and SUEZ Recycling and Recovery UK, the fund is part of over 50 social value commitments SUEZ Recycling and Recovery UK has made to support Greater Manchester’s move towards a more circular economy, where nearly all materials are captured and given a second life.

The Fund is supported by the sales of pre-loved household items that have been donated at the household waste recycling centres, cleaned and repaired and sold at the three Renew shops and an eBay shop, Renew Market. To date, the shops have sold over 116,000 items that otherwise would have gone to waste.

Councillor Martyn Cox, GMCA lead for the green city-region and waste and recycling, said: “I am amazed and proud that through this Community Fund we have been able to support so many organisations across Greater Manchester who are working hard to support their local communities, especially those who are impacted by the cost-of-living crisis.

“Reducing, repairing and reusing waste is vitally important to help us reduce our impact on the environment and reduce our carbon emissions, but it also helps us all save money by reducing the amount we throw away. I would encourage all eligible groups who are planning or currently working on projects helping to reduce, repair, and reuse waste to apply for the fund. Collectively these projects really do make a difference to improving our communities and reducing our environmental impact”.

Catherine D’Albertanson, co-founder of the Little Green Sock project, which provides care packages of clothing, shoes and other vital items to families and children in need across Trafford, said:

“The Recycle for Greater Manchester Community Fund award completely transformed Little Green Sock Project. Our fantastic team of growing volunteers have given well over 2000 hours of their time, carefully sorting through all the donations, recycling 1500kgs of damaged or unsuitable clothing and creating capsule wardrobe bundles with the good stock, ready to be distributed to families and children in need. We just wanted to say a huge thank you to the Recycle for Greater Manchester and SUEZ team for their ongoing support for our project.”

The Community Fund is part of the Greater Manchester Environment Fund (GMEF) which has been established to provide more sustained investment in projects and to attract private investment, which contributes to creating a cleaner, carbon neutral Greater Manchester. The GMEF, managed by the Lancashire Wildlife Trust, aims to target funding to projects which improve nature, waterways and green spaces. For more information, please visit the Greater Manchester Environment Fund website.

To find out more and apply for the fund, visit the Recycle for Greater Manchester website.