Waste Minimisation Grants opening soon

Ideas on how to avoid or reduce the creation of waste could get a funding boost from Nelson City Council’s second round of Waste Minimisation Grants.

Round Two of Council’s Waste Minimisation Grants trial opens on Monday 22 February and closes on Friday 19 March with a pool of $14,000 available. The maximum grant size is $2,000 (minimum grant size $500). The purpose of the trial is to test ways to support community-led waste minimisation projects.

Round One of the trial, which was run late last year, used a match fund approach, where applicants were invited to put a value on their contributions to match the grant requested from Council. The successful applicants were Mutu, the Chia Sisters and Cupcycling, with a total of $6,000 allocated.

For Round Two, while preference may be given to those organisations who take a match fund approach through demonstrating that they are also contributing to the project (eg, through volunteer hours, donations, etc), it is not an application requirement.

Applicant guidelines and criteria are available on the Waste Minimisation Grants page of the Council website. Projects should lead to measurable waste reduction outcomes, provide longer-term benefits and take place in Nelson or be for the benefit of Nelson residents. 

Examples of ideas Council might support include repair cafes, workshops and education programmes, materials and equipment, project implementation costs or feasibility studies.

For more information or to apply, go to the Nelson City Council website or contact rethinkwaste@ncc.govt.nz with any further questions.