business opportunities
Second Invest-in-Recycling Capital Grants Programme
In 2007 EnviroBusiness ran a further competition to award grants to businesses seekingn to increase the recycling capacity of the South East under the Invest in Recycling initiative. The competition received twenty-one applications to support the grow of a diverse recycling activities. Following a criteria based assessment process, three businesses were awarded grant awards. The total grant fund invested was nearly £250,000, funded by SEEDA the South East England Development Agency, which is realising a total investment in new captial by these businesses of over £750,000. The three businesses receiving grants to increase their capacity are:
- Biodiesel Solutions; installing a fully automated bio-diesel production facility in Kent capable of running 24/7, converting up to 40,000 litres per day of waste cooking oil from businesses across the South into alternative fuel at the touch of a button;
- Wight Made Diesel on the Isle of Wight, making fuel from waste oil on a local scale and offer their recycling services to local businesses;
- Enlightened Lamp Recycling; investing in equipment that manages waste batteries, fluorescent lamps and other potentially hazardous items to render them safe whilst extracting raw materials such as glass and aluminium.
Invest in Recycling helps businesses identify and exploit opportunities in the recycling sector by using EnviroBusiness’ in-house expertise and its network of businesses, contacts and interests. New ventures are assisted in evaluating options, engaging the sector, finding partners and exploring sources of finance. The focus of the capital grants is to build capacity for waste recycling in the South East, helping to grow the recyling enterprises and accelerating their investment plans.
Other recent Invest In Recycling activities include: Helping a European company find a footing in the UK by identifying a UK partner and site and; Strategic advice to enable an energy from waste technology company to maximising the value from its IP and market position.
First Invest-in-Recycling Capital Grants Programme
Last year, EnviroBusiness ran a highly successful competition for grants through their ‘Invest in Recycling’ initiative. Through the scheme, five businesses received substantial funding enabling them to invest in new equipment to grow their recycling or reprocessing activities. These ranged from Woodhorn Group, a composting business in Sussex, to PPR Wipag, a plastics recycler in Kent and Impact Recycling a commercial waste management company in Kent; Director Carol Blake said:
“The grant we received through the Invest in Recycling scheme cleared a major bottleneck in our business. The new equipment has allowed us to greatly increase our capacity and more than treble our business. The application process was short and straightforward, with the application in November and the grant received the following January.”
The successful applicants have now invested in ground-breaking systems to handle difficult materials and more efficient collection and management of reclaimed materials.
The Woodhorn Group, operating in West Sussex, have invested in a waste wood shredder and screening equipment to enable them to extend their recycling and composting services to the agricultural sector and waste wood producers.
PPR Wipag based in Dover have scaled up their specialized operation to recycle plastics from end-of-life vehicles, providing a closed loop solution to the motor industry and producing recycled plastics for international markets.
Impact Recycling and Magpie Recycling are now able to recycle more waste produced by homes and businesses in Kent and Sussex. Brighton Community Compost Centre, a social enterprise, have deployed new equipment to increase their composting of garden wastes in the Brighton area.
An in-depth case study on how the investment has helped two of the companies, The Woodhorn Group and PPR Wipag, was published by Materials Recycling Weekly and can be viewed by clicking here.
Tom Fourcade, CEO of EnviroBusiness said "We are delighted to have helped businesses to secure new funding to the benefit of the economy and the environment of South East England."
If you have a business ready to grow and engage new markets then please contact us on info@envirobusiness.co.uk
