Community waste reduction projects share in $1.4 million

• $1.41 million in grants provided to waste reduction and education programs
• Funding boost for businesses, not-for-profits, local governments and community groups
• Builds on $6 million in grants since 2017 to minimise waste and improve recycling

21 Western Australian businesses, not-for-profits, local governments and community groups will share more than $1.4 million in community and business-based grants from the McGowan Government as part of its commitment to reduce waste in WA.

Announcing the successful recipients, Environment Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson said she was pleased to see the money go to such a diverse range of infrastructure and education-based projects.

The WasteSorted Grants - Infrastructure and Community Education 2021-22 (WasteSorted Grants) support investment in local recycling infrastructure with grants of up to $250,000 and waste education programs with grants of up to $50,000.

The funding has been made available through the Waste Authority to businesses, charitable recycling organisations, local governments, regional councils, peak industry bodies, not-for-profit organisations, and research and educational institutions.

The grants awarded include $250,000 to the City of Karratha to process composted food and garden organics into mulch and soil conditioner, $150,000 for the City of Busselton's Reuse Shop and more than $220,000 to WA Recycling.

Since 2017, the McGowan Government has provided $6 million in grants for WA projects which improve the recovery and reuse of focus materials including plastics, construction and demolition waste, textiles, food organics and garden organics.

Comments attributed to Environment Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson:

"The WasteSorted Grants present a fantastic opportunity to support projects that address the McGowan Government's waste management priorities and help Western Australia become a more sustainable low waste community.

"This program is just one way we can support industry and the community, create jobs and bring some of the best waste projects to life.

"Congratulations to all successful funding recipients in this round. I look forward to seeing the outcomes of your projects and initiatives."

Minister's office - 6552 5900

Recipients of the WasteSorted Grants - Infrastructure and Community Education 2021-22:

Infrastructure Stream:

City of Karratha - Organics Landfill Diversion and Compost Manufacturing ($250,000)

The City of Karratha will purchase a mechanical screen to process composted food and garden organics into mulch and soil conditioner at the existing landfill site.

Resource Recovery Group (Southern Metropolitan Regional Council) - Increasing FOGO processing capabilities with procurement of larger trommel ($250,000)

The Resource Recovery Group will purchase a new trommel with greater capacity. This will facilitate the processing of over 100,000 tonnes of food and garden organics per year.

City of Armadale - Championing Food Waste at the Champion Centre ($6,193)

The City of Armadale will purchase worm farm and vertical garden infrastructure to create an onsite recycling option for food waste from unused food donations and activities at the Champion Centre. The project will use the resulting soil nutrients on the Champion Centre Community Garden and Vertical Garden Tower.

WA Recycling - WA Recycling Resource Recovery Centre Improvement Project ($224,250)

WA Recycling will construct a new processing line for the removal of non-ferrous metals from the construction and demolition waste stream. This will increase quantities of construction and demolition recycled product for reuse by approximately 112,500 tonnes per annum and improve the quality of the product for reuse.

C-Wise Holdings Pty Ltd - Cocoon Composting System ($100,000)

C-Wise will construct three enclosed controlled composting cells to produce tailored high performance products that generate market demand.

City of Kalamunda - Cardboard Compactor ($18,740)

The City of Kalamunda will purchase a cardboard compactor for the Walliston Transfer Station. This will enable clean cardboard to be compacted for recycling rather than sent to landfill because of a lack of storage space.

City of Busselton - Reuse Shop at Busselton Waste Transfer Station ($150,000)

The City of Busselton will construct a building to house a Reuse Shop as the final phase of the Busselton Waste Transfer Station redevelopment.

Green Skills Inc - The Denmark Green Skills Tip Shop Infrastructure Improvement Project ($16,785)

Green Skills will develop infrastructure to expand undercover receiving, storage, processing and dispatch space on site.

Hastie Waste - Waste Less in the South West ($250,000)

Hastie Waste will develop additional infrastructure to integrate with and build on the current processing capabilities, to increase the throughput volumes of construction and demolition waste in the South-West.

Community Education Stream:

WA Community Gardens Network - Gathering and Growing - Community Gardens and Waste ($5,955)

WA Community Gardens Network will undertake a waste focussed event in January 2022 that will explore how organic and other waste can be repurposed at a number of levels through a series of expert facilitated panels, presentations and workshops.

Adventure Kids Entertainment - Regional tour of Patti the Pig "It's Not All Rubbish" Kids Show (auspice: Shire of Augusta-Margaret River) ($6,089)

Adventure Kids Entertainment, in partnership with the Shire of Augusta-Margaret River, will deliver the Patti the Pig "It's Not All Rubbish" Kids Show, targeting primary school children aged 4-7.

Serpentine Jarrahdale Community Resource Centre Inc - Turning our household food wastes into black gold for our gardens ($6,594)

Serpentine Jarrahdale Community Resource Centre Inc will provide three workshops to educate householders in the skills of using at-home compost and worm farming equipment, including a social media campaign.

City of South Perth - Sorting out Recycling on the South Perth Foreshore ($2,373)

The City of South Perth will expand the current trial of recycling bins in public places to facilitate the source separation of recyclables in public open space waste and to minimise contamination in public recycling bins via a public advertising campaign.

City of Armadale - Reducing Waste at the Source through Education Workshops ($17,130)

The City of Armadale will run a total of 12 workshops over a year (on the first Saturday of every month) covering three topics:

1. Cloth Nappy Workshop (with The Nappy Guru);
   
2. Worm Farming Workshop and Rebate (with the Worm Shed); and
3. Composting Workshops (with Waste Is My Resource).

City of Cockburn - Cockburn GREAT Sorts Waste Education Program ($16,500)

City of Cockburn will use a suite of waste education materials incorporating the 'Be a GREAT Sort' toolkit to provide waste education to the City's community, particularly those from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds via multilingual waste education kits and games, waste education videos, and material recovery facility and landfill tours using virtual reality headsets.

REmida Perth Inc - GREAT with Purpose ($23,520)

REmida Perth Inc will deliver a community-based education project that teaches people hands-on, practical strategies for minimising their waste footprint by embedding the GREAT (Gift, Recycle, Earth-cycle, Avoid, Take) principles within a range of strategies. The project will be split into three streams, working with school aged children and educators, the wider community and businesses.

Australian Association for Environmental Education WA Inc - Reusable & modern cloth nappy waste pilot project in early childhood centres in WA ($17,033)

Australian Association for Environmental Education WA Inc will trial a supported behaviour change processes for the use of reusable and modern cloth nappies within two representative childcare services in WA in collaboration of Little Green Steps WA and the Nappy Guru.

Repair Cafe Bassendean - Share Shed Bassendean ($6,500)

The Repair Cafe Bassendean will establish the Bassendean Share Shed, which will promote a culture of sharing through lending useful items.

North Midlands Project Incorporated (The Geraldton Project) - Geraldton Repair + Create Lab ($19,219)

North Midlands Project Incorporated will conduct a series of weekly Adult Repair+Maker Labs alongside a series of Youth Creative+Reuse Workshops over the first six months of 2022.

City of Bayswater - Cloth Nappy Rebate ($10,000)

The City of Bayswater will offer a Cloth Nappy Rebate, which will involve a 50 per cent rebate of up to $100 for the purchase of modern cloth nappies for a maximum of 150 households. The scheme will be complimented by a series of workshops.

Eastern Metropolitan Regional Council - Circular Economy in the Community ($20,000)

The Eastern Metropolitan Regional Council seeks funding to hold workshops and events that target the focus materials of food waste, single-use plastics and textiles.