FUNDING for community projects in Gloucestershire from a scheme set up by a recycling and waste firm has now reached the £1 million mark.

Established in 1997, the Biffa Award scheme sees grants given to community projects based near landfill sites, aiming to support communities in the area.

Grants are donated to projects which fit into one of three themes: community buildings, recreation, or rebuilding biodiversity.

Each project must benefit the wider community around it.

One the schemes to have received funding in Gloucestershire is Westonbirt Arboretum, which was awarded a grant of £500,000 in order to build a brand new visitor at the site.

The project has enabled Friends of Westonbirt Arboretum to tell visitors about the site’s cultural significance and allow visitors a space in which to learn about the vast collection of trees on site.

Rob Jones, group environment and sustainability manager at Biffa, said: “Biffa Award are always on the lookout for projects to support locally, so we encourage any groups with upcoming work planned to head to the website and apply for funding.”

For more information on the Biffa Award scheme visit biffa-award.org