A Herefordshire company is using pedal power to launch a new glass recycling scheme for the city – with help from a grants programme supported by the Marches Local Enterprise Partnership.
Hereford Pedicargo will use its fleet of specially-designed bikes to collect glass from businesses across the city before turning it into sand to use in sandbags to help prevent flooding.
The company – which already runs a successful trade waste recycling service which collects thousands of tons a year – has now been awarded just over £8,000 from the Small Equipment Grant scheme to help buy a hammer mill to grind the glass down to sand.
The grant scheme, which is part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund and supported by the Marches Local Enterprise Partnership and Marches Growth Hub, is part of a £3million funding package which also includes the Marches Building Investment Grant.
Will Vaughan, from Pedicargo, said the grant would help it develop a new sustainable, hyperlocal glass recycling service – which would be carbon positive because it used cargo push bikes to collect the waste.
“We aim to collect waste glass from businesses and turn it into sand for use in local flood prevention sandbags, this is an extension of our existing licensed trade waste recycling programme.
“We needed an 11kw hammer mill at our depot to process the glass into sand, which is where the Small Equipment Grant comes in – helping us to purchase the mill and turning the scheme into reality.”
The grant will also help the company to expand its cardboard waste recycling, increasing its overall volumes.
Programme manager Caroline Cattle said Pedicargo’s environmental credentials and vision for growth made it a perfect candidate for the grant.
“This grant will help create a new recycling service for businesses across Hereford in a scheme which creates zero emissions because it used bikes to collect the glass, and which will allow Pedicargo to continue to grow and expand.
“The Small Equipment Grant can help a whole range of companies to purchase the machinery they need to grow and we would urge any business in Herefordshire, Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin which meets the criteria to investigate how it can help them.”
Grants of between £1,000 and £10,000 are available under the programme, which is open to small and medium-sized companies across Herefordshire, Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin.
The grant is available as a contribution of up to 50 per cent and primarily covers B2B companies. Items purchased must exceed £500 in value and have a life expectancy of three years. Eligible projects must lead to the creation of at least one part-time job within six months or the creation of a new product or service to be used by other businesses.
Because of restrictions imposed by the ERDF, the scheme is not available to retail businesses, restaurants, drinking establishments and fast food takeaways, online retail or rental businesses, farms involved in primary production, or local social welfare facilities.
Details of the scheme are available through the Marches Growth Hub.
The Marches Growth Hub Herefordshire can be contacted at business@herefordshire.gov.uk
The Marches Growth Hub Shropshire can be contacted at marchesgrowthhub@shropshire.gov.uk
The Marches Growth Hub Telford & Wrekin can be contacted at enterprisetelford@telford.gov.uk
Herefordshire Council is the accountable body for the scheme. Full details are available from the programme team on seg@herefordshire.gov.uk or by calling 01432 261511.
