The Centre for Waste Management - Project and Services

The Centre for Waste Management project was launched in 2004 by the University of Central Lancashire as a two year project funded by the European Union. Its purpose was to help small and medium sized businesses in ERDF-eligible areas of North & Western Lancashire.

Based on the success of this programme, which came to an end in December 2006, UCLan and its partners launched a successor project called the North West Centre for Waste Management. This is now operational and can provide support, advice and hands-on assistance to SME businesses in specific parts of Lancashire, Cumbria and Greater Manchester.

Businesses can check whether they are in an eligible area by entering their postcode in the Objective 2 on-line checker, which can be found here. Companies must be in an area deemed 'Fully Eligible' in order to claim free support through the North West Centre for Waste Management.

The North West Centre for Waste Management project is allied to but distinct from UCLan's Centre for Waste Management, which is part of the School of Natural Resources within the Faculty of Science & Technology. If you are interested in the courses offered by the Centre for Waste Management, you can visit UCLan's Centre for Waste Management website here.

Services:

The North West Centre for waste Management project can help businesses in a number of different ways:

• Assistance with technical innovation, research and development work
• Assistance in the development and implementation of environmental policies
• Assistance in the development and implementation of environmental management systems
• Specialist environmental/waste scoping activities, audits, reviews and assessments
• Student placements to assist with new developments, use of IT and knowledge transfer
• Development and delivery of support programmes and assistance materials through the internet that take into account the specialist needs of SMEs.
• Development and delivery of an innovative piece of 3D software to support the understanding of waste minimisation within businesses
• IT and technical support

More information about the individual services available through the Centre for Waste Management at UCLan can be found here.

In addition, one of the project's most beneficial services is the Waste Awareness Certificate (WAC) course from the Chartered Institution of Wastes Management. The Centre’s staff are fully accredited to teach the one day course, which enables participants to understand the true cost of waste, the need for effective waste management and the basic legal responsibilities relating to waste. Find out more here.

The project is supported by Nimtech, the University of Manchester, Edge Hill University and the North and Western Lancashire Chamber of Commerce. It is part funded by the European Union's European Regional Development Fund. More about the project's funding can be found here.