Ecosurety Exploration Fund offers £150,000 for UK packaging innovators improving resource efficiency

08 Jun 2021 --- UK producer compliance scheme Ecosurety is offering £150,000 (US$212,255) in funding for organizations working to create solutions for the negative environmental impacts of packaging and other forms of waste.

The Ecosurety Exploration Fund is an award-based financing scheme now entering its second phase, following the success of a 2019 round that saw £500,000 (US$707,000) awarded to four innovators from a pool of over 50 applicants.

Academic institutions, businesses, charities, not-for-profits and public sector organizations working in relevant fields are encouraged to apply as the fund launches today.

Speaking to PackagingInsights, an Ecosurety spokesperson explains the financing system for the fund is circular in nature.

“The funding is sourced from our producer responsibility compliance schemes; in this way, we are ensuring that money paid by producers is directly invested in reducing the environmental impact of the materials they place on the market.”

Call for packaging innovators
There is a vital need to improve resource efficiency and shift to a more circular economy, says Will Ghali, Ecosurety’s CEO. The Ecosurety Exploration Fund is calling on any UK-based innovation and research projects that are working across the full lifecycle of packaging, batteries or electronics to reduce environmental impacts.

This could, for example, include a focus on altering production techniques, use and collection processes or end-of-life treatment and reuse. Therefore, applications could be for technological innovations, awareness campaigns, processes and material development, or research into system or behavior change.Ecosurety CEO WIll Ghali.

“Over the last few years, we’ve witnessed a fantastic increase in awareness of the negative impacts that packaging, batteries and waste electronics have on the environment. However, financial support for projects seeking to innovate, rethink or redesign existing systems for the better is still in woefully short supply,” says Ghali.

“Without funding, solutions simply can’t flourish. The launch of our second Ecosurety Exploration Fund will act as a vital springboard for original research and innovation projects tackling some of the most pressing environmental issues caused by packaging, batteries and electronic waste.”

2020 winners
Ghali says Ecosurety learned from its first Exploration Fund that it is “sometimes the simplest ideas that offer the biggest potential impact.”

Last December, independent judges selected four innovation and research projects of the first round of the Exploration Fund for their originality, viability, and potential long-term impact.

The projects tackled a diverse range of issues, including the low recyclability of post-consumer plastic film, the high level of electricals going to landfill, the low levels of recycling on urban housing estates and the need for innovative technological solutions in the lithium-ion battery recycling sector.

Ecosurety driving UK progress
Recently, Ecosurety joined UK-based environmental charity Hubbub to launch the Flexible Plastic Fund, an initiative aimed at making flexible plastic recycling economically viable for recyclers and easier for consumers.

The duo has already raised £1 million (US$1.4 million) in backing from Mars UK, Mondelēz International, Nestlé, PepsiCo and Unilever.

The fund intends to improve flexible plastic recycling and reduce plastic pollution by giving the material a stable value, which will, in turn, increase the supply of recycled plastic and meet the future UK plastic packaging tax requirements.

In March, Ecosurety’s policy manager Robbie Staniforth spoke with PackagingInsights about the UK’s recently concluded consultation period on deposit return and extended producer responsibility schemes. He criticized the consultations for lacking discussion on the inconsistent waste collection systems in the UK.

By Louis Gore-Langton

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