Waste Not Want Not Fund
Round opens 1st June - 30th June annually.
The amount available for distribution in 2027/28 has yet to be confirmed.
The Waste Not Want Not fund aims to increase the range, scale and number of waste minimisation activities in the Manawatū rating district. The fund supports ideas that encourage reusing, recycling, and recovering materials to create less waste and protect the planet.
The funding is open to community groups, businesses, researchers, and others who want to make a difference by finding new ways to reduce waste. Projects that show how to use resources again or recycle them instead of throwing them away are encouraged to apply through one of the three applications categories; community, innovation or business waste reduction.
Council wants to support the implementation of the Waste Management and Minimisation Plan (WMMP) by allocating waste levy funding to the community to increase the scale, range and number of waste minimisation activities in the Manawatū rating district.
Funding rounds are held June 1-30 annually.
The grant budget available in each financial year will be set by Council, as guided by the WMMP.
The Waste Not Want Not Fund does not support:
- Projects that focus on waste disposal, the treatment of waste prior to disposal, or clean ups (with the exception of marine or waterway waste clean-ups when attached to a community education initiative/programme).
- Projects that are inconsistent with Council’s WMMP and the guidelines for this fund (PDF file, 305.6 KB).
- Projects that do not involve waste generated from within the Manawatū rating district.
- Subsidising the cost of waste to landfill.
- Debt servicing.
- Retrospective projects (where the funding sought is for work already completed).
Projects, initiatives or programmes which demonstrate promotion or achievement of waste minimisation by promoting a circular economy for waste, and/or by supporting reuse, recycle and recover principles.
Funding is only available for projects, initiatives or programmes partially or wholly taking place within the boundaries of the Manawatū rating district.
Applicants can be individuals, businesses or groups. Applications from individuals should be for a maximum of $15,000 per application.
Applications over $10,000 may have funding distributed via milestone payments rather than one lump sum, at the sole discretion of the Waste Levy Grant Assessment Panel.
Funding can be for operational or capital expenditure.
In some cases, multi-year funding may be awarded, with milestones and reporting requirements throughout the funded period.
Funded projects, initiatives or programmes include but are not limited to:
- Educational or behavioural change approaches that promote waste minimisation activity to the public or a particular target audience;
- Infrastructure that helps divert resources from landfill;
- Projects focused on understanding existing waste quantities and composition, behaviour or economic incentives, as a precursor to effectively reducing waste and/or increasing reuse, recycling and recovery of waste materials;
- Design of product stewardship schemes or other solutions that promote and achieve waste minimisation;
- Other initiatives that contribute to the actions and strategic priorities of the Manawatū District Council WMMP.
Following the annual application closing date applications will be assessed against the funding criteria and recommendations made to the Waste Levy Grant Assessment Panel.
Membership of the Waste Levy Grant Assessment Panel will be as follows:
- 1 x Elected Member
- Utilities Manager
- 1 x Council officer
- Waste levy grant administration officer.
Further evidence to support applications may be requested throughout the grant allocation process.
The conditions of receiving funding are:
- Manawatū District Council must be acknowledged as a partner and funder and be acknowledged as a separate entry within the organisation’s accounts or in the organisation’s annual report.
- Recipients of funding will be required to submit six and twelve monthly accountability rep that reports against funding criteria.
- Recipients of funding for one off projects or initiatives will be required to submit an accountability report within two-months of completion.
Funding Categories
There are three categories that applicants can apply under. These are:
Previous Successful Applicants To The Fund
Eligibility: Community Category
This category exists to support practical waste minimisation projects, initiatives or programmes that encourage community participation and education and/or are of benefit to the community of the Manawatū rating district.
Applications in the Community category will be assessed against the following key criteria:
- Will lead to long term waste minimisation actions and behaviour change by participants;
- The likelihood of the project becoming self-sustaining;
- Must be able to demonstrate how success will be measured (quantifiable) in terms of waste reduction and skills learnt;
- The breadth and scale of community involvement in the project;
- The ability of the applicant to deliver the project;
- A comprehensive budget that:
- Gives details of the estimated costs and funding sources;
- Includes all costs, not just the costs the applicant is seeking a waste levy grant for;
- Is accurate in all budget calculations and projections.
- The likelihood of the project becoming self-sustaining.
Eligibility: Innovation Category
This category exists to provide seed funding to encourage innovation and partnership by individuals, community groups and organisations in the creation of opportunities for waste minimisation and economic development.
Applications in the Innovation category will be assessed against the following key criteria:
- Evidence that access to necessary waste streams is secured;
- Assumptions around waste stream costs, projected revenue, current and projected operating costs and end-use markets;
- Provision for contingencies and structured response to rising waste resource costs and/or end-use market failure;
- Estimates of performance post Council or other subsidy (will the project become self-sustaining);
- Estimates of the scale of performance in terms of waste minimisation, and proposed methodology to measure this;
- Clear indication of benefit to the local and/or regional economy, to the wider Manawatū rating district community, and the environment;
- A comprehensive budget that:
- Gives details of the estimated costs and funding sources;
- Includes all costs, not just the costs the applicant is seeking a waste levy grant for;
- Is accurate in all budget calculations and projections.
- For pilot programmes and trials an outline of:
- a programme and process for testing;
- a programme for business development of the end product/results of the project/trial.
Eligibility: Business Waste Reduction Category
This category exists to encourage businesses within the Manawatū rating district to implement measures that will lead to long term and measurable minimisation of the waste resulting from the businesses’ operations.
Applications in this category can be made for up to 50% of total project costs.
Applications in the Business Waste Reduction category will be assessed against the following key criteria:
- The project will lead to long term and measurable waste minimisation;
- The project proposal shows how success will be measured in terms of waste reduction. Success must be quantifiable and reported back to the Council;
- The project proposal provides an estimate of cost savings resulting from the project, if any. Priority will be given to projects where expected savings are not sufficient to cover project costs;
- A comprehensive budget that:
- Gives details of the estimated costs and funding sources;
- Includes all costs, not just the costs the applicant is seeking a waste levy grant for;
- Is accurate in all budget calculations and projections.