A range of projects to tackle litter in local communities have been awarded funding by the government, Environment Minister Thérèse Coffey has announced.
The first round of funding sees a number of councils, charities, businesses, and public projects awarded almost £125,000 to take innovative steps to tackle littering in their communities.
The successful projects include developing bins to prevent seagulls from scattering litter on beaches and working with river users to reduce plastic getting into rivers, helping to tackle the issue of litter getting into our marine environment.
The funding builds on the Government’s wider Litter Strategy for England, as well as the recent launch of the 25 Year Environment Plan setting out how Government will protect and enhance our natural environment.
Welcoming the new projects, Environment Minister Thérèse Coffey said: “We want to be the first generation to leave our environment in a better state than we found it and these innovative new projects will help reduce the amount of litter which so often plagues our streets, parks, countryside, rivers and marine environment.
“We have all seen the damaging effects that litter can have on wildlife and the environment, and I encourage people to do their bit, take responsibility for their litter and recycle more.”
“We have all seen the damaging effects that litter can have on wildlife and the environment, and I encourage people to do their bit, take responsibility for their litter and recycle more.”
Communities Minister Rishi Sunak said: “The Litter Innovation Fund is part of our wider strategy to deliver a substantial reduction in litter and littering while leaving a cleaner, greener and tidier environment for the next generation.
“I am looking forward to seeing these projects supporting that strategy while helping communities make a real difference in their area.”
Government has recently announced a range of new measures to tackle waste including proposals to extend the 5p plastic bag charge to small retailers and introducing a ban on plastic microbeads.
Keeping the country’s streets clean cost local Government almost £700m last year. Much of this is avoidable litter, and money that could be better spent in the community. Despite this, a worrying 1 in 5 people admit to dropping litter.
A second round of applications will be launched shortly.
The Litter Innovation Fund was set up as part of the Government’s Litter Strategy for England which was launched in April 2017 as is administered by the sustainability not-for-profit charity WRAP. A total of £450,000 is available for funding to local projects.
The announcement coincides with Chancellor Philip Hammond’s Spring statement today, in which he is expected to launch a consultation on how the tax system might be used to reduce the waste caused by single-use plastics.
It’s also expected he will announce funding for businesses and universities to develop “new technologies” to help achieve the target of eliminating “avoidable plastic waste” by 2042.
