Plastic-free period products, biorecycling, and installation of water refill sites among projects to secure funding
Waitrose has unveiled the winners of its £1m plastic pollution grant initiative, selecting five diverse projects tackling issues ranging from bio-recycling and plastic-free period products to fishing gear recovery technology and water refill stations.
Working with environmental charity Hubbub, the supermarket sifted through 150 applications before selecting five winning projects for the share of £1m, with each organisation receiving between £150,000 and £300,000 to test and scale up their ideas.
Funding for the grant programme, which was first announced in January, was raised from the sale of 5p plastic carrier bags from Waitrose stores, prior to the firm's recent decision to remove them from sale altogether.
Winners include the Women's Environmental Network, which is collaborating with non-profit City to Sea on an "environmenstrual" campaign to promote plastic-free period products, while the Youth Hostel Association has secured support to install 60 water bottle refill stations at its sites across England and Wales.
In addition, Biotechnology firm Biohm and community organisation Onion Collective CIC have won funding towards a new plastic biorecycling facility in Somerset that will use fungus-like bacteria mycelium to break down synthetic plastic waste and turn it into new products. The process is designed to entirely eliminate petrochemical plastic, Waitrose explained.
Plymouth Marine Laboratory has also been given support to test the use of beds or rafts of mussels in estuaries and coastal sites to filter out microplastics from the water, while the Blue Marine Foundation plans to use its grant to help develop its 'Safegear' initiative, which helps fishing vessels to monitor and track their plastic gear at sea by attaching beacons to buoys.
Tor Harris, head of CSR, health and agriculture at Waitrose and Partners, said it was important for the retailer to tackle unnecessary plastic in the wider wold, not just within its own stores. "All these inspirational projects have the ability to create real impact in tackling environmental issues and encouraging behaviour change so we can collectively achieve our goal of reducing plastic pollution," Harris said.