The Scottish Recycling Fund is a limited fund (£3.8M over 3 years) that has been established by Zero Waste
Scotland and Scottish Enterprise to develop or expand:
• sorting, reuse/repair and reprocessing capacity for eligible waste materials in Scotland
• remanufacturing facilities in Scotland
Waste Materials Eligible for the fund;
• Plastics
• Tyres
• Textiles
• Glass
• Industrial food & drink processing waste
• Waste electrical and electronic equipment
• Plasterboard
The fund is able to offer loans, repayable over a 3-5 year period on commercial terms, to organisations that are interested in developing the relevant infrastructure in Scotland. While loans are primarily for capital investment, they can include working capital.
Who can apply?
Any business that is seeking to develop material sorting, reuse /repair, reprocessing and remanufacturing infrastructure in Scotland can apply, provided the project meets the following criteria:
• it contributes towards the building of additional sorting, reuse/repair or reprocessing capacity for an eligible waste material (as listed above) or towards the establishment of additional remanufacturing capacity
• it diverts eligible waste material from landfill or energy recovery; OR it will produce high value products from eligible waste materials; OR it will produce certified remanufactured products
• a proportion of the eligible waste materials to be recycled are from the Scottish waste stream
OR, for remanufactured products, supplied from Scottish businesses
• funding is required for purchase of assets (but can be for working capital)
• the infrastructure funded will be in Scotland
• Projects are ineligible if an interest is held in it by any individual employed by Zero Waste Scotland or Scottish Enterprise.
What kind of projects can be funded?
Priority projects are those which add value to materials/products in Scotland and make a significant contribution to the overall objectives of the fund listed above.
Projects which divert materials for energy recovery, for example contaminated plastics to oil facilities will be considered, but these will be lower priority. Applications for energy recovery projects will, as a minimum, need to provide evidence that they target only those materials that cannot be economically recycled higher up the waste hierarchy.
Some simple examples of eligible projects are as follows:
• Separation and reprocessing of plastic from waste electrical equipment into new products
• Enhancing reprocessing of plasterboard to produce recycled material suitable for inclusion in plasterboard products or other applications (such as road surfaces)
• Setting up a WEEE reuse and repair facility
• Installing an anaerobic digestion facility at a dairy to process the effluent and generate renewable energy
• Developing a new remanufacturing facility for diesel engines
What are the terms of the loan available?
• Applicants will be eligible to apply for one loan per project.
• The extent of any loan offered will be subject to the specific circumstances of the applicant, and in any event will be for a minimum of £50,000 and a maximum of £1.9m. The maximum loan term is five years.
• Loan applications will be considered on a case-by-case basis and charged a commercial rate of interest.
• ZWS will work with companies to identify potential projects which meet the fund objectives and, where appropriate, refer to Scottish Enterprise for their consideration for funding.
• Scottish Enterprise will have responsibility for administering the fund and undertaking the
• commercial transactions including: assessing loan applications, undertaking due diligence, making loan decisions and awards and managing repayments.
How can you apply?
Please follow the link to access the Expression of Interest Form and Zero Waste Scotland will contact you within five working days to discuss your proposed project.
http://www.zerowastescotland.org.uk/content/scottish-recycling-fund-eoi
Loan funding is not the only support available to businesses wishing to develop a project. Both Zero Waste Scotland and Scottish Enterprise can offer additional support to help you progress your project. This could include helping you to shape your funding proposition, providing technical advice, or potentially offering small grants.
Albion Environmental Consultancy
Albion Environmental Ltd provides a comprehensive service to assist clients in gaining grants and support funding. Depending on the area and size of the company grants can be secured for capital expenditure, operational costs and to provide assistance with staff training. For more information about our services, please don’t hesitate to contact us, we will be happy to help.