Grants of up to £5,000 offered to help Hampshire communities reduce waste

Grants of up to £5,000 are available for community organisations and groups to help Hampshire’s residents reduce waste and make items last longer as Hampshire County Council’s Waste Prevention Community Grant Fund opens once again for applications.

Deputy Leader and Executive Lead Member for Economy, Transport and Environment at the County Council, Councillor Rob Humby said: “This is the fourth year we’ve been able to make this funding available following the tremendous success of the first three years which has kickstarted many local businesses and launched several community based innovative projects, helping us all to waste less.”

Grant funding is available to community groups, small businesses, schools, charities and parish councils to fund projects which will introduce a new waste prevention, reuse or repair project to the local area, contributing to a network of waste prevention services across Hampshire.

Applications are being sought particularly from groups who want to start or continue projects which will introduce a new waste prevention, reuse or repair service to their local area, which are proven to work elsewhere and will help build a network of complementary waste prevention initiatives across the county.

The County Council’s Executive Member for Climate Change and Sustainability, Councillor Jan Warwick, said: “This is a popular fund that has supported more than 60 projects across Hampshire since 2017. Among the exciting projects are repair cafes, cookery and upcycling classes in schools, reusable nappy libraries, swap events and many more that have contributed to helping people to reuse more and reduce household waste in Hampshire.

“As we continue to see the stark reality of climate change, it has never been more important to find different ways to encourage all of us to lessen our impact on the planet and build for a green recovery centred around sustainability.”

Potential applicants are asked to discuss their ideas first with the Waste Prevention Team before applying. Please contact the team by emailing: waste.prevention@hants.gov.uk to arrange an informal discussion.

The deadline for applications is 5pm Friday 18 February 2022.

Organisations and community groups can find out more at: www.hants.gov.uk/waste-prevention-community