Apply now for Marine Litter Capital Grants 2021

Deadline: 27-Sep-21

Applications are now invited for the Marine Litter Capital Grants.

These Grants are being provided by the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs through the Live Here Love Here collaborative partnership, involving DAERA, ten Local Councils, Northern Ireland Housing Executive and Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful.

Objectives

Proposed projects must meet one or more of the following objectives:

Enhance the environmental management and quality of a local area by preventing litter and plastics from directly entering the sea
Enhance the environmental management and quality of a local area by preventing litter and plastics from entering rivers, water courses, drains, etc. that lead, ultimately, to the sea
Improve the health and wellbeing of communities and marine biodiversity whilst helping to improve and/or maintain public spaces
Contribute to a strategic approach to reducing litter pollution in their rivers and seas (e) Design and create new, aesthetically appealing or engaging, innovative assets for deployment
Demonstrate collaborative working.

What is Marine Litter?

In relation to this grant programme the main sources of marine litter are defined as:

Land-based
- Littering of beaches and coastal areas
- Litter entering rivers and streams
- Floodwaters
- Discharge from storm water drains
Sea-based
- Fishing and aquaculture
- Illegal or accidental dumping at sea from shipping (e.g. tourism)

Funding Information

Financial support of between £500 and £40,000 will be available to constituted groups, businesses and statutory bodies meeting the eligibility criteria.

Eligible Cost

The Marine Litter Capital Grants will support organisations and groups to purchase items to:

Prevent litter and plastic pollution from entering the marine environment
Enhance the environmental management of a local area to reduce marine litter
Improve the health and wellbeing of communities and marine biodiversity recovery by helping to improve and/or maintain the quality of public open spaces
Improve the quality of their local environment by changing behaviour through creative concepts to reduce the incidence of littering.

Eligibility Criteria

The Live Here Love Here Marine Litter Capital Grants are open to any organisation with responsibilities for managing free to access public open space, including:
- Youth, community and volunteer groups (whether constituted or not)
- Registered charities and NGOs
- Sports clubs, tenants and residents associations and religious groups
- Third level education organisations and schools
- Local Councils
- Businesses
To be eligible:
- Your organisation is likely to be responsible for managing and/or owning free to access public open space, or if not, will have a clearly defined role in managing the local environmental quality of such space and this will be formally agreed with the land owners.
- Your project must be located on free to access public open space or, for creative concept ideas, must show how it is applicable to free to access public open space
- You must clearly demonstrate how the project will decrease the amount of litter and plastic entering the marine environment.
- You must clearly demonstrate commitment and the ability to provide for the ongoing management of any physical assets (eg regular and timely emptying of bins) purchased as part of the project.
- Funding must only be used for the purchase and installation of eligible capital items.
- Schools must demonstrate how they will use any assets purchased in an educational context.