Compliance firm Ecosurety has invested £1 million ($1.3m) in a UK innovation and research fund for projects that seek to reduce the negative impact of packaging, batteries and waste electrical and electronic equipment on the environment.

The Ecosurety Exploration Fund will be spread across three years, with individual grant applications of up to £150,000 being accepted each year and judged by an independent panel of experts. Projects must be completed within 12 months and offer measurable impacts and tangible solutions.

The fund is also open to projects that tackle packaging, battery or electronic waste across the full life-cycle of the products – from production, use and collection through to their end-of-life treatment or reuse.

Applicants will be judged by a panel of five major producers and five independent experts from industry, non-governmental organisations and businesses. The panel includes Peter Maddox, director at WRAP, Libby Peake, senior policy advisor at Green Alliance and Mike Barry, sustainable change maker at Marks and Spencer (all pictured).

“We are just waking up to the problems caused by our throwaway society in the UK and the inadequacy of our recycling systems,” said Libby Peake. “It’s the start of a journey that will hopefully see considerable changes in how we think about and use resources. Finding new solutions to the old problems associated with waste packaging, batteries and electricals will prove absolutely vital – and I look forward to seeing what ideas are out there.”

Peter Maddox added that “the move to a circular economy for packaging, e-waste and batteries requires innovative and bold new thinking. Harnessing new designs, technologies and ideas will ensure that our own recycling infrastructure continues to develop whilst solutions to minimise the wider environmental impacts of these products are also found. The Ecosurety Exploration Fund will provide a much-needed springboard for pioneering ideas in this sector, and I’m excited to be a part of the panel.”