WRAP funds sliced almost in half
Budget cuts. The government’s Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) has had its budget slashed by 40% (see The next step ). As part of continued public spending cuts, it will only have £18 million to play with in 2014/15 and £15.5 million the year after. This compares to its current budget of £25.7 million.
The big squeeze. This isn’t the first time WRAP has had its budget cut. Plus, it has now assumed overall responsibility for helping businesses, especially smaller ones, reduce their environmental impact - in 2009 WRAP swallowed up six other green quangos, including Envirowise.
Reduced impact? While it’s in the process of discussing with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which areas of work will be lost, it’s likely that big funding initiatives for anaerobic digestion will be some of the first to go. It may also scale back work on industrial symbiosis, which helps marry up businesses that can make use of one another’s waste.
The future? WRAP is often the first port of call for businesses looking for advice on how to reduce their waste and environmental impacts. It has also launched a number of loan funds - some useful, others not so - and advice tools. This is likely to continue, but inevitably on a reduced scale.
For a link to the WRAP website, visit http://tipsandadvice-environment.co.uk/download (EN 08.05.08).
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