$12 Million boost for food and garden waste collection
More household food and garden waste will be kept out of landfill, thanks to $12 million in grant funding for councils across the State.
Environment Minister Matt Kean said the funding supports the NSW Government’s commitment to halve the amount of organic waste sent to landfill and reach net zero emissions from organic waste in landfill by 2030.
“Each year more than a third of waste sent to landfill in NSW is food - with the average NSW household throwing away $2,500 worth, ” Mr Kean said.
“We don’t want this waste to languish in landfill, we want to support councils to divert food and organics waste at the kerbside and turn it into valuable resources.”
The funding, available through the Organics Collections program, can be used to upgrade existing kerbside garden waste collections, establish new organics collection services or conduct trials of food-only collections in unit blocks. It can also be used to support the purchase of new infrastructure such as wheelie bins and kitchen caddies, or for community education campaigns.
Since 2013, more than $26 million has been awarded to 62 projects through the program, providing new or improved organics collection for more than 700,000 households and businesses across the State.
“This is a proven program, with more than 185,000 tonnes of food and garden waste successfully diverted from landfill so far,” Mr Kean said.
Individual grants of up to $1.3 million are up for grabs, with eligible councils, regional waste groups, regional organisations of councils and joint organisations encouraged to apply via the Environmental Trust.
For more information visit: https://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/funding-and-support/nsw-environmental-trust/grants-available/organics-collections