Grants open to NSW businesses to help them avoid and reduce waste
By Nicholas Scaltrito 21 December 2022
The NSW EPA’s Bin Trim Networks Program has announced it will offer $6 million in grants to support businesses within NSW avoid and reduce waste.
The Bin Trim Network Program, formerly known as Bin Trim, has been updated to align with the NSW Government’s Waste and Sustainable Materials Strategy to help businesses transition to a circular economy.The new program will put a greater focus on waste avoidance and provide businesses with the tools and resources necessary to reduce waste and emissions, develop new partnerships, and find sustainable models for existing business practices.
The formerBin Trim program has supported over 38,000 businesses, diverting more than 260,000 tonnes of waste from landfill. This new round of funding will offer between $150,000 to $500,000 in grants to facilitate this move into more sustainable business practices. The NSW Government hopes the program will help the state reach its goal of recovering 80 per cent of materials from waste streams by 2030.
The Bin Trim Network Program provides grants to businesses of all sizes, from cafes looking to divert food waste to wholesalers and manufacturers that would like to design out plastic waste and unnecessary packaging. It’s all about creating networks between member businesses and industry based on location, supply chain, or specific waste materials to create more sustainable solutions. According to the NSW EPA, businesses that participated in the former Bin Trim program saw an increase in recycling rates of up to 15 per cent.
Aligning with the NSW Waste and Sustainable Materials Strategy, the first round of grants will prioritise projects that focus on food waste, textiles, and plastics with high avoidance/reduction/recycling outcomes.
The first round of applications is open from 12 December 2022 until 24 March 2023.
More information about the Bin Trim Network Program can be found on the NSW EPA website.
Nick joined Planet Ark in 2021 coming from a background of graphic design and marketing communications. A self-described “jack-of-all-trades’, Nick likes to channel his helpful nature and enthusiasm for change in all aspects of life from his social life and work to his community volunteering.
