Vince Cable plans £80 million investment in small-scale waste infrastructure

Business secretary Vince Cable has announced that he is planning to invest £80 million in small-scale waste infrastructure, pumping a much-needed boost into the waste management sector.

In what has been called a ‘landmark investment’, fund managers will have control of assets which are set to climb up to £80 million. They will be responsible for investing the money in infrastructure such as waste recycling and reprocessing facilities, pre-treatment and energy-from-waste plants. The initial money will be managed by Greensphere Capital and Foresight Group.

This is the first amount of money to be invested by the UK Green Investments team, which is looking over the investment in green projects until the Green Investment Bank receives state aid approval. Once set up, the bank has a remit of supporting a wide variety of green projects such as commercial and industrial waste processing and recycling.

Business secretary Vince Cable said: “These first investments are a landmark moment. They represent a great opportunity to unlock substantial commercial investment in green technologies and infrastructure. The government has committed to setting the UK firmly on course towards a green and growing economy and today is another important step in that direction.”

Posted by Claire Manning