What is the fund?
NLWA established the fund to support waste prevention initiatives in north London. The fund plays an important role in delivering our Joint Waste Strategy (JWS) by enabling local communities to take action on waste reduction.
In total, £250,000 is set aside each year in grants for community-based (non-profit-making) organisations. The funding on offer is split into micro, small, medium, and large-sized grants to support projects across the seven north London boroughs.
Along with funding, we provide communications support and ongoing guidance for the projects. We also offer outreach activities that help engage residents with waste prevention initiatives and provide practical opportunities to learn about sustainable behaviours. These include visits to Eco Park House, nature connection activities and food waste prevention workshops.
In 2024/25, funding was awarded to 16 organisations across north London, engaging over 3,500 residents. Our 2024/25 Impact Report shows with the support provided, these projects delivered 349 workshops and events. Please find our Impact Reports from previous years below:
Impact Reports
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What funding is available?
Micro grants
- Up to £1,500
- 1-year delivery timeframe
- Payments in 1 instalment
Small grants
- Up to £5,000
- 1-year delivery timeframe
- Payments in 1 instalment
Medium grants
- Up to £20,000
- 2-year delivery timeframe
- Payments in 2 instalments
North Community Fund 2026/27
After careful consideration, 23 community groups will receive grants of up to £20,000. The funding will support projects that tackle a wide range of waste streams including food, plastics, textiles, electricals and household items. These successful projects represent all seven north London boroughs - Barnet, Camden, Enfield, Hackney, Haringey, Islington and Waltham Forest - and will help drive positive environmental and social action at a grassroots level.
2026/27 Recipients
Age UK Waltham Forest
Age UK Waltham Forest supports older people to live fulfilling, independent lives. The organisation will create a community‑driven repair and reuse hub in Waltham Forest. Delivering repair cafés, public upcycling and training sessions, regular textile, small‑electrical and furniture‑repair workshops, donation‑diversion campaigns, sustainable‑wardrobe events and weekly social sewing sessions.
Arachne Greek Cypriot Women's Group
Arachne is a community-rooted charity supporting women facing multiple social disadvantages. The organisation will deliver practical sustainability workshops where residents will learn about food‑waste reduction, clothing repair and small electrical fixes, alongside wider community engagement through a street‑party awareness event.
Bernie Grant Arts Centre
Bernie Grant Arts Centre is a multi-arts space for diverse artists, audiences and cultural businesses in Haringey. The group will host a culturally rooted intergenerational reuse programme focusing on free repair and swapping-based cafés.
Clitterhouse Farm
Clitterhouse Farm, a vibrant and creative community hub based in north London, offers a space for residents to meet and learn about arts, culture, sustainability and wellbeing. The organisation received funding to deliver a series of workshops which focus on preventing food waste at its source by building residents’ confidence and skills.
The Community Hub
The Community Hub is devoted to empowering women throughout their life journeys, addressing distinct challenges at each stage. The organisation will deliver a series of workshops teaching practical food waste prevention skills using leftover ingredients from local caterers.
The Community Worlds (UK)
The Community Worlds supports educational development, social integration and emotional wellbeing of residents in their community. The organisation received funding to deliver free, practical repair and reuse workshops both online and in person. Residents in Enfield and Barnet will develop skills to fix household items, learn basic repair and connect with local reuse services.
Creative Sensemaking CIC
Creative Sensemaking CIC engages, informs and educates the community in ways that promote social cohesion with a focus on environmental protection. The group will create circular economy themed board games and card games which look to support residents to adopt behaviours which reduce waste and make more sustainable choices.
Eat Club
Eat Club’s mission is to tackle food access inequalities, promote wellbeing, and create employment opportunities for disadvantaged young Londoners. Eat Club will deliver workshops led by professional chefs, built around sustainable cooking, using whole ingredients, proper storage, and low‑waste food preparation.
EC UK
EC UK aims to share practical knowledge and childcare techniques that support babies in developing early continence, while helping parents apply these methods confidently and effectively. The project will offer a mix of in‑person and online guidance for parents, provide specialist equipment, and include free access to the EC Babies app.
Edmonton Community Partnership
Edmonton Community Partnership is a network of local schools in Edmonton and Ponders End, Endfield, that works closely with the community to provide children and young people with additional opportunities beyond the classroom. The group will deliver sessions which teach participants how to turn everyday household waste into useful or creative items, while encouraging long‑term habits around repurposing, reducing waste, understanding correct disposal, and recognising the financial benefits of reuse.
Fashion for Future
Fashion for Future is a community-led clothing exchange and creative hub tackling overconsumption and textiles waste. The organisation will deliver a programme of free, community‑led clothing repair and reuse workshops, including monthly workshops, repair events and hands‑on activity, engaging with participants in mending, altering, stain removal, upcycling and creative reuse activities led by local designers specialising in reclaimed materials.
Footprint for Good
Footprint for Good recognises the urgent need to empower marginalised communities in the face of the climate crisis. To address this, the group will deliver a fully mobile upcycling programme that brings activities into schools, parks and community spaces. The sessions will support furniture‑upcycling, therapeutic table activities, youth‑led market opportunities and green work‑experience pathways.
Holborn Community Association
Holborn Community Association creates spaces and opportunities for individuals, groups and the wider community in Holborn to thrive. The organisation will host a series of drop‑in community repair hub events. The sessions will support residents to repair clothing and textiles, electronics and bicycles.
Islington Climate Centre
Islington Climate Centre is a vibrant community hub, supporting residents to build resilience and adapt for a sustainable future in Islington and beyond. The group will deliver community repair events, that bring together partners to repair or upcycle electricals, clothes, furniture, toys and bikes.
London DJ & MC Academy CIC
London DJ & MC Academy empower people from marginalised backgrounds through music, creative arts and community engagement. The organisation will deliver pop‑up repair sessions using an existing DJ van as a mobile base across Enfield, to provide free repairs for small electricals, textiles, bikes and furniture. In addition, the group will collect additional items for off‑site repair and run jewellery‑making workshops using reclaimed metals.
The Parent House
The Parent House is a community-based charity supporting parents facing multiple disadvantages to overcome barriers, strengthen family relationships and improve outcomes for children. The organisation will deliver a free community clothing‑reuse event offering high‑quality pre‑loved adult clothing, children’s clothes support, food bank vouchers, debt and housing advice, access to food, wellbeing activities, and practical clothing‑repair sessions.
South Hampstead and Kilburn Community Partnership
Dedicated to supporting residents and young people living in an area of high deprivation, SHAK will deliver a resident‑led textile waste prevention and upcycling programme. Participants will learn how to transform unwanted clothing into useful items, building confidence and practical skills whilst encouraging long-term sustainable habits around clothing use and reuse.
Natural Gardeners Club
Natural Gardeners Club is a practical skills hub teaching gardening, carpentry and textiles-based skills aiming to build confidence and reduce waste. The group will deliver sessions that support residents to learn practical upcycling and repair techniques, beginner sewing, composting and food‑waste management, and arts‑based repair such as turning broken sensory beads into jewellery.
Up 'N Away
Up ‘N Away is a Hackney based charity supporting socially isolated and economically disadvantaged young people. The organisation will deliver a wood repair and upcycling programme offering weekly practical workshops and monthly family repair days.
Unity of Migrant Workers
Unity of Migrant Workers is a user-led charity supporting migrant workers, refugees and low-income families. The group will deliver bilingual parent‑child craft workshops in Hackney with a short “Recycling 101” for adults building recycling confidence and everyday repair and reuse skills; strengthening connections to local repair services and fostering sustained behaviour change at home.
Up To Earth CIC
Up To Earth is dedicated to advancing environmental sustainability education for adults and children. The organisations will deliver circular economy collage workshops across alongside repair cafés and upcycling sessions.
Your Bike Project CIC
Your Bike Project is a community-led, non-profit organisation specialising in bicycle reuse, upcycling, and cycle maintenance training. The group will run structured workshops to teach practical maintenance and upcycling skills whilst refurbishing bikes for redistribution to individuals experiencing financial hardship.
Didn't find what you were looking for? Feel free to email us at wastepreventionteam@nlwa.gov.uk.
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