Waitrose and Partners has partnered with environmental charity Hubbub to launch a £1 million initiative to help tackle plastic pollution.
Plan Plastic – The Million Pound Challenge will award money over one year to projects that can demonstrate an impact on plastic pollution now and in the future.
The £1 million fund has been raised from the sale of 5p carrier bags, and grants will range from £150,000 to £300,000.
Applications for Plan Plastic are open until 24th February and will be welcomed from a range of organisations including charities, academic bodies, social enterprises and school and colleges.
The initiative has a number of project areas, including plastics in the community, education, public behaviour change, food, agriculture and farming and microplastics.
Tor Harris, Head of CSR, Health and Agriculture for Waitrose and Partners said: “We hope the fund will help find new and effective way of accelerating action to rethink how we all use and dispose of plastic, now and in the future. We take this issue very seriously, and are making progress all the time, but we’re determined to maintain our momentum as well as supporting others to do the same.”
Trewin Restorick, CEO and Founder of Hubbub, said: “Waitrose’s new grant fund is tremendously exciting as it will support innovative thinking on how to combat the issue of plastic pollution. We’ll be on the lookout for entries that really demonstrate a tangible impact and that will have a longer-term legacy beyond the grant funding stage.”
Organisations can apply via the Plan Plastic website at www.planplasticfund.com