Keele University, in partnership with Stopford Energy and Environment, is supporting a local start-up waste management business in its aim to reduce the amount of household waste reaching landfill.

Utter Rubbish Ltd, based in Keele, Staffordshire, is looking to improve the rate and quality of recycling through the implementation of application-based technologies. It has already launched a smartphone app that provides households with easy access to recycling and waste collection information, and is also involved in a national fly-tipping prevention online reporting service.

Now, through its participation in the University’s Smart Energy Network Demonstrator (SEND)* project, Utter Rubbish is looking at ways in which household waste could potentially be used to create new sources of energy.

Elliott Lancaster, Managing Director, said: “At Utter Rubbish, we are passionate about the environment and sustainability and, thanks to our work with Keele University and Stopford, we have been able to gain a much more detailed insight into the types of waste collected by local authorities.‌

“This new knowledge, coupled with the support of Keele and Stopford, has given Utter Rubbish a new approach to the way in which we tackle the lifespan of waste, and we are very excited about the possibilities that this may have on energy generation in the future.”

Through the SEND project, Keele University aims to transform the UK’s largest university campus into a living laboratory researching, developing and testing the latest energy efficient technologies. Alongside this, more than 200 local businesses from a range of industries are being provided with access to expert consultancy to help them to identify development opportunities in low carbon and smart energy markets.

The fully-funded consultancy services, provided by Stopford at no cost to participating businesses, aim to boost sustainable supply chains across Staffordshire and enable the county to benefit from the expected growth in the low carbon economy over the coming years.

If you are a Stoke-on-Trent or Staffordshire SME and are interested in finding out more about the opportunities available through the SEND programme, please contact Stopford Energy & Environment on 0151 357 7740, email SEND@stopford.co.uk or visit www.keele.ac.uk/send.

For details of other business support opportunities available to local businesses, please contact Keele University’s Business Gateway on 01782 733001 or email business.gateway@keele.ac.uk.

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*The Smart Energy Network Demonstrator project (ref: 32R16P00713) is part-funded from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds England Growth Programme 2014-2020. It is also part-funded by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS).‌