BMRA member, EMR Metal Recycling, has pledged more than £5,000 to seven projects helping schoolchildren and local communities protect nature, clean up green spaces and learn more about their environment.

As part of EMR’s ongoing commitment to creating a positive environmental impact in the communities in which it operates, the Environment Fund grants will give young people in one urban area of Lincoln access to a new wildlife space. This will boost outdoor learning for those with little access to the natural world. It will also fund the refurbishment of an overgrown pond area at a primary school near Leeds, which will then be used to improve science lessons for pupils. 

Litter-picking groups and local campaigns against single-use plastic have also been awarded grants from the Environment Fund. The schools, projects and organisations are all located in communities close to EMR sites.  

The fund is part of EMR’s commitment to environmental protection, recently demonstrated its support for the ‘Get Nature Positive’ campaign, an initiative by the Council for Sustainable Business which encourages UK companies to positively increase biodiversity as a result of their operations. 

Alongside helping schools and communities to create and improve green spaces, EMR has also provided Cardiff Rivers Group with £1,000 to provide equipment to tackle fly-tipping in the waterways around the city. 

Ian Sheppard, Managing Director of Metal Recycling at EMR said: “Everyone at EMR is pleased and proud to use our Environment Fund to support so many great nature-positive projects from across the UK. As a leading recycling company we know that we have a big role to play in creating a more sustainable and environmentally-conscious world that we can pass on to the next generation. 

“Part of this role means working hard to reach our ambitious net-zero target by 2040. Yet, this funding also shows how EMR and other companies in our sector can play a leading role in improving biodiversity, environmental education and access to green spaces in the communities where we operate right now.” 

The full list of the groups supported by EMR’s Environment Fund include: Middleton St Mary’s CE (VC) Primary School; Headstart Nursery; Birchwood Junior School; Plastic Free Lincoln; Clean our Patch (Plymouth); Kingsbury and Cliff Residents’ Group and Cardiff Rivers Group).