Apply now for grants to reduce Christmas waste

With the cost of dealing with Hampshire’s household waste now exceeding the £100 million a year mark, Hampshire County Council is offering grants to community groups and organisations to help kick start or expand projects, products and services which minimise the amount of waste getting into the system in the first place.

Councillor Rob Humby, Deputy Leader of Hampshire County Council and Executive Member for Economy, Transport and Environment, said: “It is vital we all take a look at waste generated from our homes and find ways to reduce it.  We’re offering this grant to support initiatives which reduce the amount of waste leaving our homes – everything we throw away has to be collected, sorted and processed which all incurs cost.
“We recognise that Christmas is a time when waste increases significantly, so are looking for innovative projects that will help to reduce household waste over the festive period, but also be sustainable all year round.”

Hampshire County Council is offering grants of up to £5,000 to projects which will reduce household waste. The Waste Prevention Community Grant Fund has already supported nearly 30 projects to reduce household waste across Hampshire.

Councillor Humby continued: “Initiatives which help us all waste less also have social benefits such as helping to reduce social isolation through sharing food or assisting families on a low income over the festive period.
“Dealing with waste is a costly business for everyone and reducing the amount of household waste produced in the first place can make a big difference. We know that some of the best work in waste reduction goes on at a local level with groups sharing knowledge or providing facilities. We want to encourage these initiatives and inspire more. There is some great work going on, but I know that limited funding can sometimes prevent good work expanding, so I hope that community groups and other eligible organisations will be encouraged to apply to the grant fund to help them.”

Interested groups are encouraged to discuss potential projects with the County Council’s team prior to applying. Please contact the team via email: [email protected] to arrange an informal discussion.

For full eligibility criteria and more information on the Grant, including how to apply and videos of some of last year’s successful projects, visit: www.hants.gov.uk/waste-prevention-community

The fund is open to:

Although projects can be up and running for Christmas, they should ideally be adaptable so they can be sustainable

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