Businesses are being invited to bid to share in a £5 million capital grant programme for developing plastics recycling facilities in Scotland.
The
Zero Waste Scotland Plastics Capital Grant Programme, which opens today, is being funded by the Scottish Government under its
Zero Waste Scotland initiative. It will provide up to 30 per cent of eligible capital expenditure for a new facility or facilities, based in Scotland, to sort, recycle and reprocess
waste plastics. Its primary focus will be on plastic packaging and bottles from household
waste.
An estimated 200,000 tonnes of household plastic waste is currently generated annually in
Scotland, but only around 15,000 tonnes is currently collected for
recycling. The fund aims to raise that figure by an additional 20,000 tonnes.
The Scottish Government said the capital
grant offered “exciting” potential spin-offs for the nation’s economy, including ‘green’ jobs and the raw materials for a new generation of manufacturing businesses.
“This capital grant will enable more plastics to be taken out of landfill and put into useful products. There is a demand for high quality recycled plastics in Scotland and it makes sense to service that from the country’s own waste stream, creating jobs and economic benefit along the way,” said Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment, Richard Lochhead.
Iain Gulland, Programme Director of Zero Waste Scotland, added: “The Scottish Government’s ambition for Zero Waste means that things like plastic bottles and packaging, which have value as a secondary material, should never end up in landfill.
Full information on the scope and requirements of the competition are available at
www.wrap.org.uk.
The closing date for applications is 1.30pm on August 30 2010.
Zero Waste Scotland said a seminar for potential applicants would be held in Stirling on April 20 2010.
Related news:Waste & recycling newsGreen grants & fundingScottish green business newsRelated links:www.greenwisebusiness.co.uk/resourceswww.scotland.gov.uk