Advance London, a three-year support programme from the London Waste and Recycling Board (LWARB), was launched in earlier this year with the aim of helping small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) to ‘go circular’.

Officially launched in April 2017 at London’s Living Room in City Hall, the scheme is jointly funded by the European Regional Development Fund and the LWARB – a statutory board established by the GLA Act 2007 and chaired by the Mayor of London.

The LWARB defines a circular economy as ‘one in which we keep resources in use for as long as possible’, with users extracting maximum value and then recovering and regenerating products and materials at the end of their life.

A circular economy is more efficient and environmentally friendly than a traditional linear economy, where resources are made, used and then disposed of. It’s something that Skip It is proud to be part of, recycling and reusing as much of the waste we collect as possible.

According to the LWARB, the many benefits businesses can expect to gain from taking advantage of the scheme include exploring new markets and revenue streams, increasing business resilience to volatile material prices and turning waste challenges into business opportunities.

What does the scheme offer?

Offering fully-funded advisory support to SMEs, Advance London provides:

  1. Circular economy guidance that includes technical research, market and customer research, sustainability accreditations, business model development and innovation workshops.
  2. Investment guidance in the form of preparation support and signposting to grant and investment funding.
  3. Collaboration opportunities, such as access to supply chain networks, peer-to-peer knowledge sharing and bespoke circular economy training.

Councillor Bassam Mahfouz, board member and circular economy lead at LWARB, commented: “As more and more businesses ‘go circular’ new opportunities will emerge for SMEs to be innovative in the way that they tackle market challenges, and this programme will help a number of businesses through the transition.

“We believe London can be a real world leader in nurturing circular economy businesses and become a genuinely resource-efficient global city.”

The scheme’s eligibility criteria define SMEs as enterprises with fewer than 250 persons and an annual turnover not exceeding 50 million euros (£44 million) and/or an annual balance sheet total not exceeding 43 million euros.

Businesses who wish to take part must have a trading address or head office in one the 33 London Boroughs and be incorporated with the relevant body.

If your business is a part of London’s circular economy, get in touch to see how skip hire and wait and load services from Skip It can help you reach your recycling goals.