Circular Plastics Program
Expressions of Interest for Circular Plastics Round 1 grants are now closed.
Program snapshot
Grant Fund: Circular Materials Fund
Grant program: Circular Plastics
Amounts: Round 1 - up to $5 million
Eligible applicants: Small to medium manufacturers with fewer than 200 full-time equivalent staff. Businesses must be involved at the ‘make’ phase of the product lifecycle which is the initial manufacturing phase of a product. Full-time equivalent staff includes all employees working for the business, including those involved in interstate and overseas operations.
Application process: Applications shortlisted from the EOI Stage will be eligible to participate in Stage 2 – Detailed Application.
Status: Closed
Contact: Waste and Recycling Infrastructure Unit by email at infrastructure.grants@epa.nsw.gov.au
Aims
The Circular Plastics Program provides new grant funding opportunities under the $10 million Circular Materials Fund (CMF). The CMF was created to support businesses in the transition to better plastic products and increase the recycling rate of plastics in NSW. This transition is a key action of the Waste and Sustainable Materials Strategy 2041 and NSW Plastics Action Plan. The objectives of the CMF are to:
- reduce the amount of virgin plastic used
- reduce the amount of hard-to-recycle plastics used
- increase the amount of recycled plastic in products
- catalyse partnerships between producers, end users and the resource recovery sector.
Information session
An online information session was held at 10:30am on 11 October 2022.
Available funding
A total of $5 million was available under Round 1. Funding was available through two streams:
|
Funding stream |
Funding cap per project |
|---|---|
|
1. Sole Applicant |
$100,000 – $500,000 |
|
2. Collaborative Partnerships |
$250,000 – $750,000 |
Stream 1 has been designed for individual manufacturers to apply for funding for projects involving new product design and/or processes in the manufacturing of plastic products.
Stream 2 has been designed for projects which involve strong and collaborative partnerships, with manufacturers as the lead applicant, to work across the plastic product lifecycle.
Further information about the requirements under the different streams is available in the Guidelines for Applicants (PDF 611KB).
Applications from both stream 1 and 2 will be competitively assessed for a share of the same $5 million funding pool. There is not separate funding available for each stream.
Lessons learned from the EOI process and Round 1 will inform the design of future funding rounds. Further details are available in the Future Funding Opportunities below.
Application process
Before applying, applicants should review the Guidelines for Applicants to determine whether their proposed project meets project eligibility requirements.
The Circular Plastics Program application process will be conducted in two stages:
Stage 1: Expression of Interest
Applicants submitted an EOI through the SmartyGrants platform outlining the proposed project, including activities to be delivered and outlining the commercial viability of the project. Applications will be assessed by an independent Technical Review Committee (TRC) who will then recommend a shortlist of projects to progress to stage 2.
Stage 2: Detailed applications
Shortlisted applicants from stage 1 will be invited to progress to stage 2. In stage 2, applicants will have eight weeks to develop their final grant application, formalise partnerships, and complete a detailed budget and cost-benefit and financial analysis. The TRC will then assess the final applications and accompanying documents against the program guidelines and assessment criteria, to recommend projects to the EPA to be funded.
Future funding opportunities
Further funding will be offered through the Circular Plastics Program following assessment and evaluation of Round 1 projects. Priorities for future funding rounds will be informed by lessons learned from Round 1. Applications for future grant funding will not be restricted to organisations that have applied for or received funding under Round 1.
The EPA invites interested parties to contact the Waste and Recycling Infrastructure team to discuss future proposals for Round 1 of the Circular Plastics program. This may include:
- discussing your project needs and how they align with the EPA’s goals and priorities
- clarifying eligibility of projects or project activities
- determining whether your project is more appropriate for Stream 1 or Stream 2 funding.
Please note that EPA staff are not able to provide detailed advice or assistance on how to respond to EOI form questions or budget templates and are not technical plastics experts.
More information
Contact the Waste and Recycling Infrastructure Unit by email: infrastructure.grants@epa.nsw.gov.au
Background information
NSW generates approximately 800,000 tonnes of plastic waste every year and only approximately 10% of that is recycled. The remaining 90% ends up in landfill or the natural environment, with a small proportion used to create refuse derived fuel. This represents a significant loss of materials from the productive economy.
The NSW Government identified this issue and has set targets under the NSW Waste and Sustainable Materials Strategy 2041 and the NSW Plastics Action Plan including to triple the recycling rate of plastics by 2030.
This issue isn’t unique to NSW. CSIRO’s National Circular Economy Roadmap identified a lack of market demand for products made from recycled materials as a key challenge in the transition to a circular economy for plastics.
The Plastics Plan outlines a comprehensive suite of actions to address plastic at all stages of its lifecycle including to accelerate the transition to better plastic products through the $10 million Circular Materials Fund.
