MONDAY 20TH JUNE 2005
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WRAP CAPITAL COMPETITION OPENS TO STIMULATE HIGHER
VALUE RECYCLED AND SECONDARY AGGREGATES
WRAP (the Waste & Resources Action Programme) has announced a new
Capital Grant Competition to stimulate the production and use of recycled and
secondary aggregates through fixed and mobile plant in England and
Scotland.
The aim of the competition, the fourth to be run by WRAP for this sector, is to
address the key challenge regarding the availability of economic, consistent
and high quality recycled and secondary aggregates in the marketplace.
WRAP is working to tackle this barrier by offering support to stimulate the
necessary investment in processing infrastructure, with a particular emphasis
on added-value processing involving greater segregation and washing
facilities.
“By supporting new capacity that delivers cost effective production and higher
quality end products, WRAP’s capital grants ensure that recycled and
secondary aggregates can make a valuable contribution to the overall
objective of sustainable aggregates use,” explains WRAP’s Head of
Aggregates Mike Watson.
It is anticipated that several facilities will be supported and a wide range of
waste streams will be considered, including CD&EW, china clay waste,
industrial and metallurgical slag, colliery spoil, asphalt waste and waste tyres.
The funding from WRAP will be made available by means of a competitive
procedure, and the level of support will be a proportion of the total project
value, not exceeding 30% of the eligible costs.
The new facilities will be expected to be operational by March 2007, and
successful proposals will demonstrate both a sustainable source of material
and an end market. Tenders must also demonstrate that the viability of the
proposed investment is dependent on WRAP funding support.
The closing date for tender submissions is 12.00pm Wednesday 17th August
2005 and full Tender Invitation Documents can be obtained from the WRAP
website at www.wrap.org.uk or by written request, quoting AGG0083, to Vicki
Meredith, Aggregates Programme Administrator, e-mail:
vicki.meredith@wrap.org.uk
To assist those interested in tendering, WRAP will be holding a Capital
Support Seminar to aid the application process on Wednesday 6th July 2005 in
Banbury. Places on the seminars, which are free of charge, can be booked by
completing the registration form on the WRAP website at www.wrap.org.uk
and returning it by 1st July 2005 to secure a place.
ENDS
Notes to Editors:
1. WRAP (the Waste & Resources Action Programme) is a major UK programme
established to promote resource efficiency. Its particular focus is on creating
stable and efficient markets for recycled materials and products and removing
the barriers to waste minimisation, re-use and recycling.
2. A not-for-profit company in the private sector, WRAP is backed by substantial
Government funding from Defra and the devolved administrations in
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
3. WRAP is currently running fifteen programmes. Twelve are focused on
market development, and comprise nine material streams (Paper, Plastics,
Glass, Wood, Organics, Aggregates, Tyres, Plasterboard and Batteries) and
three generic areas (Business & Finance, Procurement, and Regional Market
Development). Three further programmes relate to the wider resource
efficiency remit - Collections, Communications and Awareness, and Waste
Minimisation.
4. The WRAP Aggregates Programme in England has been funded since 2002 by
Defra through the Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund. The Aggregates Levy
was set up by the Government to reduce impact on the environment from the
extraction of aggregates such as crushed rock, sand and gravel used in
construction. The WRAP work, which is being funded for a further three years
from 2004, has the aim of reducing demand for primary aggregates by
encouraging greater use of recycled and secondary aggregates. Some of the
revenues from the Levy are also channelled back to communities affected by
aggregates extraction through the Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund in
England and the Sustainable Action Fund in Scotland.
5. WRAP has set a target for its Aggregates Programme to increase the
production capacity for recycled and secondary aggregates by up to 3 million
tonnes a year by March 2006. Recycled aggregates can be produced by
reprocessing materials - such as concrete, brick, asphalt, unbound sub-bases
- previously used in construction. Secondary aggregates are typically byproducts of other industrial processes not previously used in construction,
such as china clay waste, foundry sand, glass, tyres, and plastic.
6. In March 2003, The Scottish Executive commissioned WRAP to implement a
£1m Aggregates Programme for Scotland, which was extended in 2004 with
the approval of a further £1.4m from the Sustainable Action Fund and
£1,177,573 from the Strategic Waste Fund for a second phase. In November,
Ross Finnie MSP,the Minister for the Environment, also launched a new
Quality Protocol published by WRAP to boost market confidence in the status
of construction aggregates processed from inert waste in Scotland.
7. WRAP’s AggRegain service (www.aggregain.org.uk) provides information on
materials, specifications, case studies and suppliers for all recycled and
secondary aggregates and their applications.
8. More information on all of WRAP’s programmes can be found at
www.wrap.org.uk
Contacts:
Pat Jennings, Media Relations Manager
Office: 01295 819928 Mob: 07950 923260
E-mail: pat.jennings@wrap.org.uk
Vicki Meredith, Aggregates Programme Administrator,
Office: 01295 819945
E-mail: vicki.meredith@wrap.org.uk