For the first time, the 2024/25 North London Community Fund has been split into two stages. Fourteen groups have already been awarded small grants of up to £5,000 and medium grants of up to £15,000 towards waste prevention activity. Following a thorough evaluation process, North London Waste Authority (NLWA) has awarded large grants to The Restart Project, in collaboration with ReLondon, and Octopus Community Network.
The concept of the large awards presents an opportunity for NLWA and the successful organisations to work in a more collaborative way, employing a strategic approach together to shape the projects and their outcomes.
Project inspiration
We want to encourage collaboration between not-for-profit organisations of all shapes and sizes, with national bodies having the opportunity to partner with north London based groups. NLWA hosted two Q&A networking webinars to facilitate and support these collaborations.
Projects had to either be intervention-based with a behaviour change focus, or aim to reach communities not currently participating in pro-environmental behaviours.
The successful projects
Octopus Community Network: upcycling food
Image
Octopus Community Network (Octopus) will deliver a behaviour change intervention focussing on reducing food in residual waste and establish two community powered composting sites.
Octopus is a well-established community group based in Islington, with a large network of community hubs around the borough. The organisations project will target food waste reduction on two estates where food waste recycling participation rates are typically low.
Octopus will incentivise resident engagement in the ‘upcycling food’ campaign through produce from the community gardens. The intervention will upskill residents with composting techniques through experiential and educational workshops.
The Restart Project with ReLondon: Repair voucher scheme
Image
The Restart Project, working with ReLondon and local repair groups, will trial a repair voucher scheme. The voucher will help residents access repair services by reducing the cost of repair by 50% (up to £50) at participating high street businesses.
Residents across north London will be able to sign up to a repair voucher, that can be redeemed in businesses within Enfield, Hackney, Haringey and Waltham Forest. The project will provide a feasibility study and enable the study of a voucher as an incentive to repair.
