Barnet community groups can now apply for waste-cutting grants of up to £20,000 from a £250,000 pot. Applications close on 16 February 2027.
Community groups in Barnet can apply for grants of up to £20,000 to cut household waste. The North London Waste Authority reopened its North London Community Fund on 5 November. There is £250,000 to share for projects running in the 2027-28 financial year.
Applications close on Tuesday 16 February 2027.
Barnet is one of the seven boroughs that make up the authority, with Camden, Enfield, Hackney, Haringey, Islington and Waltham Forest. Groups from all seven can apply.
What the grants are worth
Groups choose the size of grant they ask for. The fund’s page sets out three sizes:
| Grant | Most you can ask for | Project length |
|---|---|---|
| Micro | £1,500 | 1 year |
| Small | £5,000 | 1 year |
| Medium | £20,000 | 2 years |
The authority says past grants have paid for food waste workshops, repair cafes and bike mending schemes. Funded groups also get help with publicity and ongoing guidance.
“Whether it’s £20k or a few hundred pounds, our grants empower north Londoners by letting them decide the best way to make their neighbourhoods more sustainable,” said Councillor Jacob Cable, the authority’s chair and a Hackney councillor.
What Barnet groups did with the money
Four projects based in Barnet won grants for 2026-27, according to the authority. It named two of them:
- the Clitterhouse Farm community hub, which runs low-waste and zero-waste cooking workshops
- Elimination Change UK, based in Barnet and Camden, which helps parents with early toilet training to cut nappy waste
A third, Creative Sensemaking, is based in Haringey and Barnet. It is making board and card games about reusing and recycling.
The authority’s list of funded projects records what one Barnet group delivered the year before. Living Way Ministries ran clothes repair and upcycling workshops in 2025-26, plus monthly food waste sessions. It held 23 events across nine Barnet wards, with 184 people taking part.
What it means for you
If you run or volunteer with a local charity, club, faith group or residents’ association, this is money you can bid for. The rules on the fund’s page say:
- the group must be a legally constituted not-for-profit, such as a charity, a community interest company or an unincorporated association
- the project must take place in at least one of the seven boroughs, but the group does not have to be based there
- the project must clearly cut household waste, such as rubbish and recycling
- schools, councils, profit-making businesses and research projects cannot apply, and nor can projects that only cut business waste
- every applicant must fill in the authority’s application spreadsheet and send it with the online form
The authority has published a guidance document and an example application. Paper forms are available on request.
A panel of authority staff and people from north London community groups scores the bids anonymously, with advice from borough officers.
For more on what happens to Barnet’s rubbish once it leaves your bin, see our story on the Summers Lane tip.
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