Norwich is set to be one of two UK cities leading a pioneering trial to become a greener city by reducing waste.

The city’s business improvement district (BID) has joined the European ‘Interreg 2 Seas’ project, which will see it work with businesses to upcycle 20pc of their waste.

The programme will run over three years, and aims to support SMEs in reducing their running costs by handling and transforming their waste into new resources for the community.

The project is entirely free for businesses to participate in.

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Stefan Gurney, executive director of Norwich BID, said: “We’re pleased to be able to offer SMEs in the city ways to save money and time when it comes to handling their waste, but – more than that – we’re exceptionally proud to move the city further towards a more sustainable future.

“This project is the first of its kind here in Norwich, and has ambitious targets for the future. Over the next three years, we want to help our businesses create new systems for waste management that will keep resources working within the community for years to come.”

The project will work in three phases. The first will see the BID interview businesses to establish what would make it easier for them to participate in the project, and what challenges they might face when it comes to re-purposing their waste.

The second phase of the project will take place in the autumn until early 2021 and will analyse the types of waste offloaded by the business.

The third phase in 2022/23 will see methods put in place to continue this in the future.

Norwich BID projects officer Victoria Nieto Felipe said: “Over the past four months we’ve seen some powerful examples of how our community can pull together in the face of big challenges. As Norwich – along with lots of towns and cities – plans for the future, we want to do everything we can to make sure the way we use our city is sustainable. I’m excited to be working on such a meaningful initiative and encouraged that other cities across the world have seen really positive results from projects like this one.”