Community Recycling and Economic Development Programme (CRED)

The CRED Programme is now closed.

The CRED programme was launched at the beginning of 2003 with the aim of supporting community waste projects.

The £36.5 million programme was funded by the Big Lottery Fund through its Transforming Waste initiative and managed by The Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts. Grants of between £50,000 and £300,000 were available to community based recycling, reuse and composting initiatives in England.

CRED closed to new applicants in August 2005 and projects had to complete their funded work by the end of 2007.

By the end of 2007, more than 200 community projects had received support and benefited from CRED funding.

To read the CRED End of Programme evaluation, click here.

The RSWT Grants Unit currently manages two major funds, Biffaward and Local Food.

Recognised as one of the most respected schemes under the Landfill Communities Fund (formerly the Landfill Tax Credit Scheme), Biffaward has, to date, distributed more than £90 million to environmental, community, cultural and recreational projects throughout the UK. www.Biffaward.org

A £50 million programme aimed at making locally grown food accessible and affordable to local communities. Local Food works in partnership with the Big Lottery Fund and awards grants to projects using funds from its Changing Spaces programme. www.localfoodgrants.org