Community groups urged to apply for an eco-grant by 3 December

Thanks to the Waste Action Grant scheme, organisations can apply for funding from the City of Edinburgh Council to support waste-related community projects aimed at reducing, reusing and recycling.

Since the programme was launched in 2005, as part of the Council’s Waste Aware Edinburgh Education Campaign, it has awarded £50,000 to local waste projects and diverted 263.5 tonnes of waste from landfill.

The latest deadline for grant applications is Monday 3 December 2012. Around 20 grants are awarded annually of amounts ranging from £500 to £2,500, while smaller grants of £50 to £200 are available at any time of the year.

Environment Vice Convener Councillor Jim Orr said: “The Waste Action Grant scheme is an excellent way to inspire community groups to become more environmentally aware, and also to support ongoing initiatives. Several excellent projects have already benefited from this programme, and I would urge any group to apply for a slice of the funding.”

Schemes which have already successfully applied for grants include the Inverleith Allotments Compost project, which involved communal compost bins to be used in a bid to reduce the dumping and burning of green waste.

Gowrie Care Limited’s Clothesline project in Bruntsfield, which provides clothing for homeless people, received a grant last year and has now been nominated for a Care Accolades award.

You can apply if you are part of a:

• constituted community group (and individuals working with a community group)
• group of interested residents (to form a constituted Waste Action Group)
• not-for-profit community sector organisation (for joint applications with community residents or groups)
• youth group (supervised by an affiliated group, organisation or school)
• school, Eco-Committee, Parent and Teacher Association
• church or Eco-Congregation.

Interested groups can read the guidelines and download an application form here.