Today, Handelens Miljøfond opened an application form and announced 100 million new plastic bags. – We strongly believe in a circular economy, and expect aquaculture and fisheries to provide many good applications this year, said Sjur Kvifte Nesheim, analyst at Handelens Miljøfond.
Handelens Miljøfond receives revenue from the sale of plastic bags and distributes funds to projects that help solve plastic environmental problems. Last year they introduced a separate call for proposals for circular and reuse solutions, and this year they sharpened the call for proposals. The marine sector is one of the industries they want more applications for, along with textiles, construction and agriculture.
– We rely on a transition to a circular economy for plastics, which also means reducing plastic use, and there is potential in several industries. We have some good examples, such as GRIN, which has created technology for the smart collection of reusable and recyclable plastics, and Looping, which has created reusable packaging for building materials. We want more of this, said Sjur Kvifte Nesheim, analyst and responsible for the circular announcement at Handelens Miljøfond.
Reuse and recycling provide huge emission reductions
By reusing, you can avoid major climate emissions. Nesheim gave an example by pointing to the reduction in emissions as a result of replacing plastic bags with shopping nets.
– In the fishing and aquaculture industries, there is also great potential for recycling plastic in a closed circuit, says Nesheim.
Forms open before summer
This year, the application form at Handelens Miljøfond has been opened from 15 June. Nesheim hopes this will have an impact on the application stack.
– Applicants get access to the forms earlier and thus have a better time to think wisely before the September 11 deadline. “Hopefully this will lead to a lot of good applications,” he said.
Plastic bag crown works
So far, 500 environmental projects have secured more than 600 million plastic bags from Handelens Miljøfond.
– Nothing makes us more satisfied than going on a project visit trip and seeing the effect of plastic bag crowns in practice. The money goes towards everything from using recycled plastic in packaging to cleaning up ghost stones on the ocean floor and turning plastic waste into school desks in Mali, just to name a few. “We are now looking forward to a new round of applications, it will be interesting to see what happens next,” said Nesheim.
Funds can be applied to this category in:
- Circular solutions and reduced plastic use
- Increased use of recycled plastic
- Technology for cleaner seas
- Knowledge of environmental effects and environmental solutions
- Reduce plastic waste internationally
- Voluntary cleaning and precautions
