Ten projects will be the first to receive funding under the government’s Circular Economy Innovation Grant Scheme, sharing a grand total of €490,000.
The idea of the ‘circular economy’ is to eliminate waste in the production process as far as is possible, with ‘waste’ and waste products being reintegrated into production or used in production in a different industry.
Creating a circular economy is part of the move towards a sustainable future, with a focus on reducing and eliminating waste and keeping resources in use for as long as possible. The purpose of the CEIG is to help communities make this transition.
The quality of applications to the first round led the government to doubled the initial funding from €250,000, The projects selected will support the drive to develop the circular economy in areas such as sustainable fashion, marine plastics, reusable food packaging and construction. They are:
- AM Acoustic Materials
- Community Resources Network Ireland
- Cork Environmental Forum
- Everlend
- GIY Ireland
- Irish Green Building Council
- Marine Applications, T/A Verifact
- Novelplast Teoranta
- PACE Organisation
- Thriftify Technologies.
Funding offers are conditional on satisfying due diligence and other requirements.
In Association with
Beyond the CEIG, the first All of Government Circular Economy Strategy is expected to be published in September, alongside the Circular Economy Bill.
Government says the new legislation will involve radical change to production and consumption, limiting single-use products and clamping down on littering and dumping, among other measures.
The Bill will implement many of the actions in the Waste Action Plan for a Circular Economy and will put the forthcoming Circular Economy Strategy on a statutory footing.
Grant recipient Thriftify.ie enables charities to sell donations via smart tech whereby a charity shop uploads a photo or a barcode of an item and Thriftify will price it and sell it across several different online sales platforms.
CEO Rónán Ó’Dálaigh commented: “Now is a crucial time for sustainable innovations to not only get the funding that they need but to also get the prestigious recognition of governmental awards such as this. It shows that we're serious about addressing climate change.”
Photo: Timur Negru and Ronan O'Dalaigh (right) of Thriftify (Pic: Philip Magowan)
