BDR Waste Partnership

Funding boost for community projects

Communities across Barnsley, Doncaster and Rotherham will benefit from a funding boost to local schemes that support people and the environment.

Thousands of pounds have been made available from the Renewi Corporate Social Responsibility Fund - developed to support communities around the award-winning waste treatment facility at Manvers.

Eligible projects within 3.5km (as the crow flies) of the Manvers facility could apply for £3,000 and up to £1,000 if they are further away but still within Barnsley, Doncaster, or Rotherham council areas.

The projects selected were:

• Mexborough Food Bank will receive £3,000 to assist with the continued operation of the food bank in the Mexborough area including the collection of ‘waste’ food from supermarkets. They will use the funding to help improve knowledge about food labelling – such as Best Before and Use By dates and work with other organisations to encourage grow your own food projects and healthy cooking sessions.
• Sean Gibbons, Mexborough Food Bank Manager, said: “We want to not just provide emergency food parcels to help alleviate current poverty and hardship but also to teach people essential life skills which will help them eat better on a budget moving forward and also reduce food waste through increased awareness and education.”
• Darton East Community fridge in Barnsley will receive £1,000 to introduce a second community fridge. The community fridge is open to everyone in the community - without any need to be referred or having to prove eligibility - to access fresh food that would otherwise have gone to waste.
•  Yorkshire Bike Shack in Doncaster will receive £1,000 to run training sessions to repair and recondition old bikes to safe, road-worthy condition, run in-school bike maintenance sessions and promote sustainable travel.
• Community Connect in Rotherham will receive £1,000 to increase accessibility to their community sensory garden to increase their provision to people with mobility issues.

Renewi Community Education Liaison Officer, Abi Reid, said: “We want to support projects that are working to improve the lives of people in our local communities and are having a positive environmental impact that benefits everyone. The projects chosen this year will help reduce food waste and support families, promote sustainable travel, and help vulnerable people to access the benefits of being outdoors.

“At Renewi we are committed to making more from waste and are pleased to support projects that are looking at ways to make the best use of precious resources and avoid preventable waste.”

Note to Editors:  The waste treatment facility at Manvers processes around a quarter of a million tonnes of leftover waste a year from 340,000 homes across Barnsley, Doncaster, and Rotherham, turning it into useful products rather than sending it to landfill.

Picture details: Volunteers working with Mexborough Food Bank which has been awarded £3,000 from the Renewi Corporate Social Responsibility Fund.

For further information contact Abi Reid or Rebecca Wilson on 07814 302297 or abi.reid@renewi.com or rebecca.wilson@renewi.com