Resource Recovery and Circular Economy Grants
The Resource Recovery and Circular Economy Grants support successful applicants to decrease the amount of waste sent to landfill through innovative activities, and increase the recirculation of resources. Future waste targets and actions will encourage the transition to a circular economy.
Application status - CLOSED
Applications for funding opportunities through the Resource Recovery and Circular Economy Grants are currently closed.
University of Tasmania is a previous grant recipient.
Background
Background
A total of $145,000 was available under the 2023/2024 Resource Recovery and Circular Economy Grants which supported successful applicants for eligible project costs associated with:
- circular economy initiatives
- projects that reduce waste going to landfill
- procuring innovative recycling infrastructure
- educational materials necessary to improve waste management practices in the northern Tasmanian area.
Grant recipients - 2023/2024
The theme for Round 1 of the Resource Recovery and Circular Economy Grants was ‘Turning trash into treasure’. Six organisations were awarded funding to support innovative concepts focusing on upcycling, repurposing and rehoming goods while reducing items going to landfill, as well as impressive projects supporting sustainable practices.
George Town - The Great Giveaway 2.0
George Town - The Great Giveaway 2.0
The “Great Giveaway 2.0" is an innovative program spearheaded by the George Town Neighbourhood House, designed to transform unwanted items into treasures for the community. At its core, it's a large-scale garage sale brimming with furniture, bric-a-brac, clothes, utensils, tools and more, all generously donated by individuals and businesses. The event offers a vibrant atmosphere where community members can discover items they need, want, or wish to share with their families and friends.
Thanks to the Resource Recovery and Circular Economy Grants totaling $7,490, the project has undergone significant enhancements. This funding facilitated the acquisition of a shipping container, shelving units, and containers, enabling the establishment of a structured and efficient system for organising, sorting, and presenting items during "The Great Giveaway" events.
Prior to this grant, operational challenges plagued the initiative. Limited space and lack of organisation led to clutter and inefficiency, with donations overflowing into other areas, including program sheds and staff offices. Moreover, seasonal factors like pests posed additional hurdles to maintaining a clean and orderly environment.
More than one hundred locals made the most of the Great Giveaway in George Town.
A lack of storage space made organising goods problematic and inefficient.
With the aid of the grant, the George Town Neighbourhood House was able to address these issues effectively. The dedicated shipping container provides ample storage space, ensuring items are stored securely and appropriately. Additionally, the implementation of best practice guidelines for sorting and setup has streamlined operations, enhancing the overall experience for both volunteers and attendees.
By leveraging the Resource Recovery and Circular Economy Grants, the George Town Neighbourhood House has not only revitalised "The Great Giveaway" program but has also strengthened its commitment to sustainability and community empowerment. The initiative follows a circular economy model, encouraging participants to repurpose and reuse items, fostering a culture of resourcefulness and sustainability within the community.
Who: George Town Neighbourhood House – The Great Giveaway 2.0
What: rehoming donated goods
Landfill diversion: 150 tonnes
City of Launceston - Launceston Repair Café
City of Launceston - Launceston Repair Café
On the third Saturday of every month, a team of volunteer repairers (including certified electricians) are onsite at Launceston’s Repair Café to teach people how to fix everything from clothing and furniture to bikes and electronics.
The project’s Alison Roush from City of Launceston said beyond repairing and reducing waste, it’s an opportunity for community members to connect and pass on valuable knowledge.
“It’s an opportunity for our community to embrace a ‘repair economy’ and prevent items needlessly ending up in landfill, while saving money, connecting with others, and learning valuable skills along the way.”
The first of its kind in northern Tasmania, Alison said the Repair Café offers participants cost saving benefits, builds important habits and long-term behaviour change. Repair Cafés globally now divert over 350 tonnes of waste from landfill annually.
Volunteers at the Launceston Repair Café.
Experts on hand to fix even the most obscure items, instead of them being discarded as landfill.
Launceston’s Repair Café secured $3,400 in Round 1 of the Resource Recovery and Circular Economy Grants, which has been used to purchase valuable equipment including an industrial sewing machine (capable of repairing tougher fabrics such as camping and hiking equipment), a bike stand, an iFixit laptop, and a phone repair kit. Alison said without this equipment, the Repair Café would be far more limited in capability to repair the range of items which may be brought in, and everything purchased will last for many years to come.
Who: Repair Café
What: repairing goods for reuse
Landfill diversion: 2 tonnes
City of Launceston - Reusable Nappy and Sanitary Product rebate
City of Launceston - Reusable Nappy and Sanitary Product rebate
In another waste-reduction initiative by the City of Launceston, the Reusable Nappy and Sanitary Product rebate falls at the top of the ‘Waste Hierarchy’ – avoid.
The idea behind this project is to provide incentive for community members to invest in more sustainable and environmentally conscious choices of sanitary products (reusable pads, period cups, LBL underwear etc.) and reusable nappies. The Council’s Cassandra Jackson said by providing financial compensation, residents can align their choices with their ethical beliefs.
“These choices will reduce the amount of waste being generated and the purchase of cloth nappies establishes a second-hand market, promoting the circular economy.”
Cassandra said reducing the amount of waste going into the council's landfill site would help extend the lifespan of the facility and reduce overall emissions.
"… it's estimated that by switching to cloth nappies, one third of a tonne of waste would be diverted from landfill per child every year, and on average, a single person would be capable of diverting over 2 kg of waste annually by switching to reusable sanitary products."
The City of Launceston initiative was awarded $5,000 through Round 1 of the Resource Recovery and Circular Economy Grants. The council hopes the rebate will help reduce waste, support the needs of the community, and help progress towards the goal of zero waste to landfill.
Who: Reusable Nappy and Sanitary Product Rebate
What: compensation for purchase of reusable nappies and sanitary products
Landfill diversion: 2.5 tonnes
Tamar Valley Steiner School - Organic Waste Management
Tamar Valley Steiner School - Organic Waste Management
The Tamar Valley Steiner School is aiming to strengthen their green footprint by adding to existing composting facilities at the school in St Leonards.
The school said $3,076 received through Round 1 of the Resource Recovery and Circular Economy Grants has gone towards a large compost tumbler and two rodent-proof worm farms that can handle a greater volume of waste. They’ve also invested in a FOGO bin to dispose of paper towel, which previously went to landfill. Miriam Horsley from the Tamar Valley Steiner School said they are committed to educating students about nutrient cycling and sustainable waste management practices.
“Through our school program, the students learn about composting and worm farming, and learning to do these things for themselves at school and at home.”
The grant has allowed the Tamar Valley Steiner School to purchase a composting tumbler and two worm farms.
The Tamar Valley Steiner School has invested in more sustainable practices including two worm farms.
Miriam said educating young students equips them with skills for life.
“We believe we are educating students to become thoughtful and responsible citizens within our community … they learn to embody routines that they can carry with them throughout life, not only while they are at our school.”
With a focus on sustainability, the school is continuously seeking ways to divert and minimise waste going to landfill. As a relatively small school, Miriam said it’s a good time to put things in place that will direct how we manage waste now and into the future.
Who: Tamar Valley Steiner School
What: expanded composting system
Landfill diversion: 650 kgs
Flinders Island - Earth Global Consulting Worm Farms
Flinders Island - Earth Global Consulting Worm Farms
In a place known for its raw beauty, pristine waters, and rugged ranges, it’s no surprise that Flinders Island residents are keen to keep it that way. However, given the remote location and challenging climatic conditions, locals largely depend on food from external sources which means bringing in products by sea or air. As this can be unreliable, community and industry consultation identified the need to increase food security and reduce organic waste. Combined with the island’s vision for zero-waste, residents are being encouraged to grow their own produce, while utilising high quality vermicast obtained from worm farms processing the organic waste.
The local council has offered support for the project by providing of suitable location for the worm farm and development of community education, while many volunteers showed interest in maintenance of the farm.
Residents are encouraged to grow their own produce using vermicast created by worm farms that process waste.
Dr. Magdalena Steffens-Bartrim said supporting locally grown food is of great importance to islanders.
Dr. Magdalena Steffens-Bartrim is the Director of Earth Global Consulting Pty Ltd, who coordinated development of the worm farm project and has been originally contracted by NRM North to manage the grant. She said the necessity of waste reduction while assisting locally grown food is considered of great importance to all islanders.
“The project will benefit the community indefinitely through waste management awareness and sustainability. This will not only reduce the landfilled volume of organic waste, but also add value to the variety and quality of food grown on the island.”
The Resource Recovery and Circular Economy Grants has awarded $12,800 to go towards the installation of a trial farm. The three units are capable of processing up to 60 litres of organic waste a day, resulting in nearly 9,000 litres of microbe-rich vermicast available to food growers every year. The units have been installed at the Flinders Council main waste facility at Whitemark.
Who: Earth Global Consulting Pty Ltd
How: using food waste to enrich productive soils through worm farms
Landfill diversion: 22 tonnes/year
The Organic Grocery Store - Shop, and farm waste recycling
The Organic Grocery Store - Shop, and farm waste recycling
The team behind the Organic Grocery Store typically grow and sell enough to supply customer demand. Inevitably though, there is waste. Despite surplus good food being donated to charities, and selling some products in bulk, the retail outlet in Launceston generates 30-50 kg of food waste a week, and about 50-80 kg at their farm and egg production in Westbury.
With plans to enhance existing composting capabilities and worm farms, store owner Mark Bennic said $1,360 awarded through Round 1 of the Resource Recovery and Circular Economy Grants will help a lot.
“We wish to expand the worm farms from two to seven over the next 12 months and to have three composts working. Increasing the amount of worm farms and composting units will allow a closed loop waste recycling situation.”
Mulching and composting supports rich soils to grow fresh produce for the Bennic’s Organic Grocery Store.
Food waste is put to good use, generating valuable compost with the help of worms.
The Bennics mulch and compost as much as possible on the farm, and their waste recycling is composed of worm farms which produce reusable worm tea and worm castings that are placed back into the soil on their farm. In store, most products are sold in compostable packaging, glass or cardboard and they’ll soon be asking shoppers to bring food scraps in for composting.
“Recycling food scraps and green waste allows us to increase the 'liveability' of the soil and maintain a good healthy structure on-farm for food production for customers to buy.”
Mark said the project will divert about 4 tonnes of food scraps and green waste from entering landfill.
Who: The Organic Grocery Store, shop and farm recycling
What: enhancing existing composting and worm farm capabilities
Landfill diversion: 4 tonnes
Grant recipients - 2020/2021
Recipients of the 2020/2021 Resource Recovery and Waste minimisation grants program allocated $70,000 towards funding eligible organisations in northern Tasmania who demonstrated innovation towards decreasing the amount of waste sent to landfill.
The program responded to financial pressures associated with meeting landfill management, environmental and rehabilitation standards, as well as the need to reduce the strain on landfill airspace and the environment by recycling and reusing materials.
The 2020/2021 Waste Minimisation Grants Program closed on 1 December 2020 with financial support being provided across 12 projects to help fund costs associated with procuring infrastructure or educational materials necessary to improve waste management practices in northern Tasmania. The total value of these projects once completed is over $287,000 and is estimated to divert more than 128 tonnes of waste from landfill per annum.
Fork it Farm - Lebrina
Through the grants, the pig farm applied to purchase a kiln that processes bones to create biochar. The biochar is then used to create a nutrient rich soil. As an added bonus, this process also reduces the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
Westbury Primary School - Westbury
The school received funding to set up a recycling hub onsite. The hub is open to students, staff, and the wider community and has allowed the recycling of nonrecyclable items, such as batteries, printer cartridges, and coffee pods, through kerbside recycling collection. This initiative has diverted hundreds of kilos of waste from landfills.
University of Tasmania – Inveresk Campus
The grants allowed the University to develop an on-site FOGO Waste Management System as part of their community food garden. This system means their food and garden waste can be made into compost, which is then used to nourish their community gardens.
Have been granted funds to help establish a new student enterprise initiative that is focused on diverting plastic waste from landfill by turning plastic into planters. Bottle lids will primarily be used as a raw material as they are currently unable to be recycled. The College will not just collect, sort and recycle the plastic but close the loop on this recycling stream by creating a sustainable, marketable product in these planters which will be sold in the colleges new retail space “The Cell” and other local small businesses. This project aims to demonstrate the profitability of a sustainable product and the ability of students to design, manufacture, market, and sell 100% recycled products.
Have received waste minimisation grants to construct a recycling hub trailer for the collection of items that are not recyclable through the kerbside recycling collection such as CD’s, bread tags, coffee pods etc. The trailer will be taken to schools and community events to increase awareness of recycling including the new and emerging waste streams and will encourage the community to recycle these items rather than them ending up in landfill.
Have been granted funding to provide their Rotarians with two battery recycling boxes to place in their workplaces and their partner’s workplaces to encourage staff and customers to deposit used batteries for recycling. The boxes will be brought to weekly Rotary meetings in which the batteries will get placed into a bigger collection container to be taken to the local recycling depot. The aim of the project is to increase the awareness about the need to divert used batteries from landfill and the harmful effect on the environment and safety issues they pose to collection contractors and landfill operators.
Have been granted funds to build a trailer to take out to the Lilydale Waste Transfer Station once a week to allow the Lilydale community to bring in their recyclable items for recycling. The initial phase of the project is to offer cardboard, e-waste, commingled and household battery recycling with plans to expand the project and establish a mobile recycling hub if the trailer is the initial phase is successful. When the trailer is not in use at Lilydale there is capacity to utilise the trailer at schools and at events and festivals around the Launceston municipality.
Have been granted funds to purchase a compost tumbler so the school can improve their carbon footprint and recycle the food waste that comes from their commercial kitchen. The first stage of the waste minimisation grants project will be to set up a compost team to lead to the school-wide waste audit in the first term of 2021, the school advisory group will then be charged with educating the school community about composting. This project will also involve teaching the students about the science of composting with a hands on learning opportunity that will be integrated into the school curriculum.
Have been grated funds to establish sustainable waste management receptacles at the Panorama Resort St Helens. The project will involve purchasing recycling bins for glass, paper, plastic and aluminium and produce educational material for the guests on how to recycle.
Have been granted funds to help establish a school orchard and chicken coop for their food and garden waste that they compost onsite. The project involves the purchase of multisort bins for the school and wicking beds for the garden.
Partners
Circular North is supported by the Tasmanian Government, through the Tasmanian Waste and Resource Recovery Board.
Partners
Circular North is supported by the Tasmanian Government, through the Tasmanian Waste and Resource Recovery Board.