Waste Minimisation and Innovation Fund Review

We are proposing to update the guidelines and processes for the Waste Minimisation and Innovation Fund.

The fund is a contestable grant scheme that was established as one of the key initiatives of our Waste Management and Minimisation Plan.

What the Waste Minimisation and Innovation Fund does

The fund supports initiatives to help achieve the Waste Management and Minimisation Plan's:

• vision
• targets
• strategic objectives.

The fund focuses on funding the early stages of new initiatives, including developing business and community-based resource recovery centres and programmes.

Who can apply for Waste Minimisation and Innovation Funding

The fund is open to:

• community groups
• businesses
• mana whenua
• mataawaka
• educational institutions
• other Auckland organisations.

How funds are distributed

The fund has $500,000 to distribute annually.

There is one funding round per year for grants over $5,000.

There are two funding rounds for grants of $5,000 and under.

Our proposed changes

• prioritising three or more waste areas each grant round, for example construction and demolition waste, organic waste etc.
• implementing Te Ao Māori and Te Reo Māori into the fund. This includes adding Maori principles into the application, Kaitiakitanga into the assessment and Te Reo into the application
• merging the April and September grant rounds into a single one to be run in August. This will align with other regional grants available through council
• increasing the minimum funding amount from $250 to $1000:
  • small - $1,000 to $5,000
  • medium - $5,000 to $25,000
  • large - $25,000 to $50,000
• removing multi-year applications and providing more defined guidelines to allow recipients to return for additional funding to cover project expansions
• reviewing the assessment criteria to ensure funded applications align with:
  • Waste Management and Minimisation Plan 2018
  • the intended purpose of the Waste Minimisation Innovation Fund
  • Te Tāruke-ā-Tāwhiri: Auckland's Climate Plan
  • Māori Outcomes
• updating our guidelines to ensure applicants meet consenting requirements, health and safety, composting standards, traffic management plans, and standard operating procedures
• asking applicants to think creatively and send us a video or interactive presentation rather than a report.