WLRM Circulate Industrial Ecology Grants now open
By Adi Prasad, MRA Consulting Group
The NSW EPA has opened round 3 of its $2.5M Circulate Industrial Ecology (CIE) under the NSW Government Waste Less Recycle More initiative (WLRM).
The new grants provide an opportunity for the establishment of viable industrial ecology relationships to divert valuable resources from landfill. The program supports projects that will recover materials (otherwise sent to landfill) to be used as feedstock for other commercial, industrial or construction processes.
Table 1 – WLRM Industrial Ecology Grant summary
| Applicant type | Project requirements | Funding per applicant | Closing date |
| Private corporations, NFPs, Industry associations, NGOs, Government agencies | Projects must:
|
Between $20,000 and $150,000, depending on scale, duration and likely impact.
What will be funded? Staff time, consultant time, Sampling, testing and monitoring, transportation (first 20% of tonnes), equipment hire (short-term), and equipment purchase (50% co-contribution required). What will not be funded? |
N/A, Applications are ongoing until the funds are exhausted or 30 October 2019.
Applications will be reviewed on a quarterly basis. |
The following projects are not eligible for funding:
- The diversion of asbestos or asbestos-containing products
- The diversion of inert material (including VENM and ENM)
- The diversion of municipal waste
- The diversion of liquid or gaseous wastes
- Interstate transport of waste
- Waste to energy projects
Table 2 – Minimum tonnes diverted and maximum funding per tonne
| Material type | Minimum project tonnes diverted | Maximum $/tonne of funding |
| Glass | 100 | $200 |
| Gyprock | 400 | $50 |
| Metals | 400 | $50 |
| Masonry | 400 | $50 |
| Organics | 80 | $250 |
| Plastics, hard/rigid | 80 | $250 |
| Plastics, soft/flexible/polystyrene | 20 | $1,000 |
| Textiles | 20 | $1,000 |
| Timber/wood | 400 | $50 |
MRA has submitted more than 140 WLRM grant applications to date, winning more than $40m in funding for our clients.
If your organisation is interested in any of the above grant programs, please contact us at info@mraconsulting.com.au or on (02) 8541 6169.
MRA can provide a one-stop shop to maximise your chances of success.
As always, I welcome your feedback on this, or any other topic on ‘The Tipping Point‘.
