Share in £115,000 grant to make Halton a cleaner place to live in
GROUPS across Halton are being encouraged to apply for a share of £115,000 to make the borough a cleaner and greener place.
The funding has been made available for voluntary groups, schools, faith groups and not-for-profit organisations in Runcorn and Widnes who can reduce household waste, encourage recycling and resource re-use, and prevent carbon emissions.
The money is coming from the Merseyside Recycling And Waste Authority (MRWA) and Veolia Community Fund 2017-18, which has been running annually since 2006.
The impact of last year’s fund led 10 projects deliver 71 full-time jobs across Merseyside and Halton, participation by 253 volunteers, 24,256 people directly engaged, 680 tonnes of waste material diverted from landfill and £68,000 of equivalent landfill costs avoided.
Previous projects have included taking in unwanted bikes and cheap bikes from auctions, refurbishing and selling them at an affordable price.
Others include targeting young adults aged 16 to 25 and providing a two-day course, arming club leaders with the skills and support to establish Mersey Waste Muncher cookery clubs that focus on reducing food ● waste. A series of learning workshops have also been delivered enabling people to gain skills to revitalise unwanted furniture and textiles.
MRWA chair Cllr Graham Morgan said: “We’ve made this money available for new and existing projects which can have an impact on their local community and make Merseyside and Halton a cleaner and greener place for us all to live and work.
“Giving groups the opportunity to get involved in looking after their environment can only bring benefits to all and can help us appreciate items as valuable resources rather than something which otherwise might be just thrown away.”
Interested groups should complete and submit an expression of interest with MRWA by Wednesday, February 1.
If applicants are shortlisted then they will be asked to fill in a more detailed entry.
Successful applicants can be awarded up to £25,000 for schemes which operate across Merseyside and Halton, and £8,000 for projects which work solely at local authority level.
Projects will have 11 months to deliver their schemes and will be expected to get started in May. For more information call 0151 255 2526, email communityfund2017-18@ merseysidewda.gov.uk or visit www.merseysidewda.
gov.uk