£25,000 of Funding Announced To Support Waste Reduction in Communities

Published on: 26 Nov, 2025
Updated on: 28 Nov, 2025

Community groups, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), charities, parish and town councils and schools can now apply for a Waste Prevention Grant worth between £200 and £2,500, to develop or create initiatives that reduce waste.

£25,000 is available to support initiatives such as repair cafes, clothes swaps, upcycling events, refill shops, community fridges and baby clothes libraries.

Each year, Surrey households produce around 500,000 tonnes of waste. Communities are already playing a key part to help reduce waste with some successful projects including:

Guildford Library of Things – an award-winning community project enabling residents to borrow items such as tools, games and camping equipment.
Farnham Repair Care – helping residents extend the life of belongings by repairing instead of replacing.

Cllr Marisa Heath

Marisa Heath (Con, Englefield Green), Surrey County Council Cabinet lead member for Environment, said: “Reducing waste is more than just recycling. It’s about reducing and reusing as we go about our daily lives and is something everyone can play a part in.

“By upcycling second hand furniture, repairing items rather than replacing with brand new and re-using items, we can save money as well as reduce waste. There are already some impressive projects happening around the county, and I hope this funding encourages more communities to get involved.”

Cllr Angela Goodwin

The new money has cross-party support. Cllr Angela Goodwin (Lib Dem, Guildford South West) said: “”We Liberal Democrats support this initiative. Projects like ‘The Library of Things’ at Guildford Library are positive for the community and the environment. We should all want to reduce waste and sharing rarely used tools helps reduce demand on our planet’s resources and save money.

“This extra money will allow new initiatives.”

Sam Peters

And Sam Peters, who has stood in local elections as a Green Party candidate, said: “The Green Party is pleased this funding is available to continue the excellent work being done by community groups, schools and others across Surrey.

“Besides reducing waste, many projects have additional benefits including saving residents money, building community, teaching new skills, and more. From experience of our members and councillors, we know even small grants can be instrumental in building, maintaining or expanding such community initiatives. We look forward to seeing the results in due course.”

Cllr Natalie Bramhall

Natalie Bramhall (Con, Redhill West & Meadvale), Surrey County Council Cabinet lead member for Property, Waste and Infrastructure, added: “Surrey is the joint second-best performing area in England for recycling compared to 28 other similar authorities and we continue to make every effort to reduce waste further. I encourage communities to apply for this grant which will help to significantly reduce waste as well as make financial savings.”