Sustainability charity WRAP and Innovate UK have launched a major new UK fund to reduce the impact of plastics on the environment in India, Chile, Kenya and South Africa.
The International Circular Plastics Flagship Projects competition is a £1.7 million fund designed to address the problem of plastics pollution in these key nations.
Applicants can apply for funding ranging from £50,000 to £250,000 that demonstrate solutions that respond to specific targets under the plastics pacts of each nation, and that will ultimately help reduce plastic pollution in:
- Asia
- Africa
- Latin America.
Four key themes
The funding focusses on four key themes:
- flexible film packs including small format
- reusable packaging and new business models
- collection, sorting, cleaning and recycling
- end market development.
WRAP, the UK based charity that has driven the development of plastics pacts in the UK and around the world, including those in the Ellen MacArthur Foundation Network of Pacts, will deliver the grant on behalf of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).
David Rogers, Head of International Programmes at WRAP said:
This funding forms a key part of our ongoing work to reduce the impact of plastic pollution across the globe. It will address one of the world’s most urgent and escalating environmental challenges and show how innovation and collaboration can contribute towards systematic change.
WRAP is proud to have worked on each of the plastics pacts, which now means that there is now a plastics pact in every populous continent on the planet.
Paul Davison, Challenge Director for the Smart Sustainable Plastic Packaging challenge at UKRI:
Representatives from dozens of nations gathered at COP26 in Glasgow to try to find solutions for environmental issues that affect the entire planet. One the most urgent issues is that of plastic pollution.
UKRI and the Smart Sustainable Plastic Packaging challenge is in the vanguard of supporting efforts to address this challenge and we are proud to support this vital initiative.
Organisations that are interested in applying should do so before the 13 January 2022 at 23:45 GMT. More information can be found on WRAP’s website.
