Welsh Environment Minister Hannah Blythyn has announced that a £6.5m Circular Economy Capital Investment Fund that will be prioritise plastics recycling. Addressing an Environmental Summit at the Volvo Ocean Race, the Minister said that the fund will help Welsh businesses manufacturing plastic products to increase the recycled content of their products. This will keep resources in circulation locally instead of being exported for recycling, used as fuel or ending up in landfill. Don’t forget to book your place at Secondary Commodity Markets Conference 2018. Intelligence subscribers automatically get a £75 discount – make sure you are logged in when booking your ticket. Book here The Minister also announced that free public access to drinking water will be available at key communities along the 870-mile Wales Coast path, under new Government plans to help reduce the use of single-use plastics. This path will be the first location for the roll out of a refill scheme for Wales, as part of the Welsh Government’s ambition to become the world’s first refill nation. The Welsh Government will work with towns, villages and food and drink businesses to sign up to become refill points, with those taking part being visible to walkers through window stickers and listed in a bi-lingual refill app. Hannah Blythyn said: “Wales is the first country in the world to have a dedicated footpath that stretches the entire coastline and we as a Government are very much looking forward to working with the communities along these 870 glorious miles to curb the use of single use plastic. “This is just the first step in our ambition to become the world’s first ‘Refill nation’.”
Welsh plastics manufacturers will get help to increase the recycled content of their products after Environment Minister Hannah Blythyn announced a £6.5m ($8.7m) Circular Economy Capital Investment Fund. The fund is designed for companies that are looking at ways they can reduce waste and boost recycling rates.