Nature Recovery

Our Nature Recovery theme covers a variety of living things and includes all species of plants and animals, along with the habitats and natural processes that support them. It is important that species and habitats are protected and restored, that there are functioning natural processes, and that the environment can adapt to threats such as climate change.  

Your organisation must be a fully constituted, charitable or not-for-profit with no share capital. We do not accept applications from local authorities, councils, nurseries, food banks, hospices, hospitals, day-care centres, rehabilitation units, residential care facilities, allotments, and schools/colleges.   

Habitat improvement work will not be funded on any land on where the applicant plans to sell biodiversity units, and we are unable to fund research.  

The project must be eligible for registration with the scheme’s regulator, and must meet the following criteria:   

• Application value must be between £10,000 and £75,000  

• Total project costs or its phases must not exceed £200,000 including VAT. Standalone elements of a wider project costing less than £200,000 are also excluded 

• The project site must be within 15 miles of a significant Biffa Operation or active Biffa Landfill Site (check the project postcode using the Postcode Checker below and save the address as you will need this to make an application) 

• The project site must ALSO be within 10 miles of a licensed landfill site (click here to check landfill eligibility and save the address as you will need this to make an application) 

• A Third Party Contributor should be identified to fund 10% of the application value  

• The project must not cross over different themes 

• 75% of any shortfall funding must be secured if Biffa Award is not being asked to fully fund the project 

• The project must directly reintroduce or improve a habitat or species and be working to meet commitments within your country’s Environmental Improvement Plan, legally-binding targets from the Environment Act 2021, or priorities identified within Local Nature Recovery Strategies 

• The organisation must have the support of key agencies, and have relevant experienced partners involved in project delivery 

• There must be a strong element of public access or inclusion, such as volunteer involvement 

• There must be a comprehensive biodiversity management plan in place for the site  

• If the organisation does not own or lease the project site, a signed landowner agreement with at least eight years remaining must be in place  

• If planning permission is required, it must have been granted before you submit an Expression of Interest  

Biffa Award is unable to fund retrospectively, so you should only apply for funding for work that will take place in the future.

Please note you cannot re-apply for funding on the same site of a previous Biffa Award grant within one year of receiving your final payment.

We can only accept a maximum of two Full Applications per financial year from any one organisation, and only one application per organisation will be considered at any Board meeting.

To find out more download our  Guidance Notes. Please note that these might have changed if you have applied for funding before.