Recycle for Greater Manchester Community Fund banner image open 8th April to 31st May.


Applications for 2024 open on Monday 8th April

The application window is opening soon, and you can register on the Greater Manchester Environment Fund website now. 

REGISTER HERE

Important information for applicants:

Every year, we receive far more applications than we can fund. For this reason, we’ve taken the decision to limit applications to only organisations who have not successfully received funding in any of the previous years (2021-2023). This way, we hope to be able to give new projects a chance to succeed. If you have previously applied and been unsuccessful, you may still apply this year.  





Sign up to an online workshop

If you want to find out if the Community Fund is right for your project, sign up to one of our online workshops. We’ll talk through the application process, key dates, and answer any questions you may have.  

Choose a workshop…

MARCH 28TH APRIL 16THMAY 8TH











About the fund

The Recycle for Greater Manchester Community Fund is a joint R4GM and SUEZ UK initiative, administered by the Greater Manchester Environment Fund, to support Greater Manchester community and voluntary sector groups.

Money that is raised via the ‘Renew’ shops and online market goes directly into the fund. Every year, £220,000 is available for projects that help to reduce waste and encourage reuse and recycling.  

Since 2021, a total of £660,000 has been awarded to 66 local groups. These projects contribute towards preventing, reusing, or recycling household waste; promoting the sustainable use of waste and resources; and generating wider social benefits for the community of Greater Manchester. 

For the full list of successful projects, visit the Greater Manchester Environment Fund website.  






Frequently Asked Questions

When does the fund open?

The fund is open from Monday, 8th April to Friday, 31st May 2024.  

How do I apply?

You can register and apply on the Greater Manchester Environment Fund website here. 

Which areas of Greater Manchester are eligible for funding?

The fund supports projects operating in Bolton, Bury, Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Stockport, Tameside and Trafford. As Wigan operates outside of the Greater Manchester waste disposal contract, projects that operate solely within Wigan are not eligible for funding.  

How much funding is available?

A total of £220,000 grant funding is available for distribution in two grant pots: 

Community grants for a maximum of £10,000 each. A total of £180,000 is available for projects operating within one district of Greater Manchester.  

Regional grants for a maximum of £20,000 each. A total of £20,000 is available for projects operating within two or more districts of Greater Manchester.  

What kinds of projects are eligible for funding?

Your project must focus on any one or more of the following activities: 

  • Recycling  
  • Re-use 
  • Waste prevention 
  • Reducing contamination 

Additionally, they must demonstrate wider outcomes such as: 

  • Education 
  • Community engagement 
  • Volunteering 
  • Training or employment opportunities 
  • Additional environmental impacts 
Who can apply?

Applications are welcome from organisations which are a: 

  • Registered Charity (charity number must be provided) 
  • Not-for-profit organisation (defined as a registered legal entity that does not make a private profit for directors, members, or shareholders) 
  • Non- Registered Community or Voluntary Group – with a constitution and a group bank account 
  • Faith group delivering community work 
  • School, College or University 
Who makes the decision?

We will consider each application on merit and will be judged by a panel made up of Recycle for Greater Manchester, Greater Manchester Environment Fund and Suez colleagues.  













Meet our successful applicants from last year…

Securing between £875 and £20,000, each of the successful groups was recognised for their commitment to sustainability and delivering social value for their communities.

With around half of the projects funded in this round continuing from the previous year, the fund has been able to support organisations to grow and develop their offering.



Keep Daisy Hill Re using and Recycling – Bolton

Community project will be a themed extension of our extremely popular Keep Daisy Hill Smiling and Walking project. Engaging over 120 local families in reusing their household waste mainly toys, textiles, paper, plastics. Families will also actively participate in a food waste prevention campaign.

Student Committee Recycling Project – Bury College 

Training and education activities in partnership with Wheeldon Brothers and carrying out community litter picks across Bury in partnership with Bury Litter Picking/Clean Teams.

Reuse, Re-read, Re-wear – Fair Futures CIC – Bury

Collect and reuse unwanted books and textiles, to sell, redistribute to local families in need and repurpose for educational and social support activities. The project will also create training and volunteering opportunities for disadvantage and vulnerable groups and develop education on waste reduction.

Refugees Bike and Bike Maintenance Training -Platt Fields Bike Hub, Manchester 

The project aims to tackle social exclusion among refugees by providing free bicycles, basic bicycle maintenance training and opportunities for social engagement during our organised rides and social events.

Nourish with Rubbish! – Manchester Environmental Education Network (MEEN)

MEEN will work with young volunteers in six Manchester schools to tackle waste both in school and their communities. School teams decide whether to focus on food, paper and card, cans and plastics, textiles.

Waste Warriors: Joining hands for a sustainable future. Womens Voices CIC – Manchester 

Raise awareness and understanding amongst Black Racially Minoritised (BRM) women in Manchester about the 3 R’s, reduce, reuse, recycle to cut down on the amount of waste we currently throw away. This will equip and empower them to take responsibility for the environment and become ambassadors.

The Green Superheroes: To Manchester and Beyond – Future Directions CIC – Manchester 

Our project involves working with people with learning disabilities, autism, and other complex support needs to promote the importance of recycling. Our Green Superheroes will provide training sessions about how to reduce, reuse and recycle. We will also provide arts and craft sessions and organise litter picking walks.

Caritas Compost Club – Caritas Diocese of Salford  – Manchester 

Encouraging increased environmentally responsible disposal of household food waste using council collections or home composting by providing a practical and engaging example at our community allotment, where we will recycle food waste produced by local schools and from our own charity to produce compost for the allotment.

Project R- Mahdlo Youth Zone – Oldham

A programme of workshops and activities for young people across Oldham, including visits to woodlands, reservoirs, and recycling centres to heighten awareness of the impacts of climate change, waste and contamination. This will be the inspiration for young Recycling Champions to create projects from recycled materials and reduce household waste.

Sunshine Salvage Garden – Vintage Worx Community Development Trust – Rochdale 

The project will build a community garden aimed at families with young children, home schooled children and SEND Adults. Using materials otherwise destined for landfill, the garden will help people create their own recycled garden and offer activities on recycling, preventing food waste, composting, climate change causes and biodiversity.

Cleavley Community Repair Café – Incredible Education CIC – Salford

Based in the new workshop facility at Cleavley Community Forest Garden in Eccles. The repair café will help the local community, where they can bring items for repair or attend upcycling skills workshops to prevent items from going into landfill.

MakeGood – Make, Build Grow CIC -Stockport 

is a project to up skill local people in how to repair, re-use and re-purpose, to save them money, bring joy, and a sense of achievement. The project aims to reduce isolation, improve wellbeing and promote personal development through creative projects, skill sharing and upcycling

Repair Café – Sustainable Living in the Heatons – Stockport 

A community cafe where local people can bring a variety of items that may have been thrown away. Volunteers with expertise in different disciplines will encourage learning, repair, reusing and promote social cohesion. It is free, everyone is welcome even if only for a coffee and chat.

Fashion Flip – Stitched Up Community Benefit Society Ltd – Trafford 

is a sustainable fashion programme for young people aged 8-14 in Trafford, who will examine the impacts of fast fashion, be inspired and empowered by the creative ways they can take action and gain life skills in sewing, clothes repair and upcycling.

The ARRRRT Project – Starling – Trafford

will work with 30 young people and their families in Old Trafford (Sharon Youth Centre,M16), to reduce, repair, recycle and reuse discarded household waste (plastic, fabric, food and card/paper) through educative, creative activities and online resources, run by creative facilitators with backgrounds in environmental preservation and protection.

The Little Green Sock Project – Manchester, Salford, Trafford 

We’re a children’s clothing & baby bank providing free clothing and essential equipment for families in crisis, by reusing children’s clothing & items donated by the local community. We’re creating a sustainable positive change in public behaviour towards a more circular economy for social benefit.

Community Computers – Renewal North west – Manchester, Stockport and Trafford

exists to reuse, repair and refurbish unwanted technology within Greater Manchester to tackle digital exclusion, support employment, save carbon emissions and prevent electronic waste from landfill. Working in partnership with Stockport Council and Manchester Council, we now reuse 2000+ items each year and supports 400+ families get online.

Our Community Grocers on-wheels – Humans MCR – Bury, Manchester, Rochdale, Salford, Stockport and Trafford

uses food destined for landfill to provide clients in Greater Manchester a full weekly shop of their choice – they shop from an emailed, extensive stock list which is designed to represent the supermarket shelves in every way other than one – price.

Precious Plastic – Sow the City – Bolton, Bury, Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Trafford

We are applying to start a ‘Precious Plastic’ hub – a well-established and proven model for community-based plastic recycling www.preciousplastic.com. The project will allow us to purchase machinery and equipment to create our own miniature community recycling company at the Boiler House in Moss Side.





The 2 projects below were awarded the innovation grants available for projects working across Greater Manchester in more than one district or for new innovative projects. Up to £20,000 was available in this funding pot.



Community Cookery Champions – Bounceback Food CIC

Building on our Food Waste Workshops pilot last year, we’d now like to train a network of Community Cooking Champions in each borough of Greater Manchester so that they can turn food waste into delicious free community meals on a weekly basis.

Creative Composting Club -Permanent Education CIC

The Creative Composting Club works with Primary schools in Greater Manchester to reduce waste through the art of composting. Children, teachers and parents learn through collaborative, outdoor workshops about soil, how it is made, and its important role in biodiversity and sustainability.









COMMONLY ASKED QUESTIONS