The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is inviting businesses with projects targeting food waste, among other causes of waste, to respond to its latest call for proposals.
This week, the EPA launched its €625,000 funding opportunity for Irish enterprises to innovate, demonstrate and implement circular economy approaches in their business models.
Speaking about the Green Enterprise: Innovation for a Circular Economy funding call, Laura Burke, director general of the EPA said that circular businesses reduce costs and environmental impact by reusing, repairing and recycling materials already in use.
Business-ready projects targeting food waste
“These approaches can advance the green transition, accelerate digital transformation and can deliver new jobs and skill,” Burke added.
“The EPA is inviting business and industry applicants from across Ireland’s economy with business-ready innovative projects targeting the areas of food, plastic, construction and demolition waste and resources and raw materials.”
The types of projects being targeted include:
- Use of eco-design to develop sustainable products;
- Innovation to reduce the use of raw materials in product manufacturing;
- Development and implementation of circular production processes (designing out waste, life-cycle analysis);
- Recycling, reuse and repair activities in the business and industry sector;
- Circular services and business models (to transform consumption patterns, logistics and to foster reuse and repair).
Mary Frances Rochford, programme manager at the EPA Office of Environmental Sustainability said the circular economy is “shaping national and international business models as a viable market response to environmental and climate challenges”.
“Moving to a circular economy is critical for Irish business as Ireland positions itself as a market leader in the provision of goods and services, while protecting the environment, protecting the economy, and protecting local jobs,” she added.
The deadline for submission of proposals for Green Enterprise funding is July 29.
Green Enterprise has funded 16 projects to date, including an industrial symbiosis project to reduce food waste by using surplus bakery bread as a secondary raw material in brewing beer, and evaluating the potential to recover and use the biomass generated in fruit and vegetable supply chains to produce new food fibre ingredients.
Circular Economy Bill 2021
This comes as the government this week announced that it is to draft new legislation to implement a circular economy, which will involve a “radical change” to production and consumption.
The Circular Economy Bill 2021 is designed to implement actions in the government’s Waste Action Plan for a Circular Economy and the forthcoming Circular Economy Strategy, and will put that strategy on a statutory footing.
The bill will introduce measures for CCTV and drones to be used in tackling illegal dumping, along with prohibitions on the exploration and extraction of coal.
It will also place a National Food Loss Prevention Roadmap on a statutory footing, along with streamlining the processes for end-of-waste and by-products decisions.