In an effort to reduce the amount of food and garden waste heading to landfill, the NSW Environment Protection Authority has opened its Organics Infrastructure grants to councils, waste companies and not-for-profit organisations.
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Bucketts Way Neighbourhood Group (BWNG) was a successful applicant for last year's grant receiving $32,129 for its Community Kitchen Trailer.
According to BWNG's Erin Lute, the trailer is a towable fridge/freezer that will be used to store food that local retailers would normally throw out due to damaged packaging or nearing expiry dates.
Through the organisation's training facility, Blueprint Kitchen, the food will be repurposed to help feed Gloucester families in times of need. Some of it will be made into meals for the Community Kitchen which provides a free meal and a social environment on Tuesday and Thursday's from 4.30pm to 6.30pm. While the rest of it can be turned into frozen meals that can be provided to families when times are tough.
In this next round of funding, a total of $13.3 million is available in the Organics Infrastructure grants as part of the EPA's $802 million Waste Less Recycle More initiative.
The EPA is inviting applications across the following five different grant streams:
* Organics Processing Infrastructure - up to $3 million for new organics facilities or facility upgrades to process more NSW food and garden waste.
* Onsite Business Recycling - up to $500,000 for infrastructure and equipment for on-site processing or pre-processing of source separated food and garden waste.
* Food Donation Infrastructure - up to $500,000 to not-for-profit organisations for equipment to collect, store and redistribute quality surplus food to people in need.
* Product Quality - up to $500,000 for equipment to improve recycled organics product quality.
* Transfer Stations - up to $500,000 for infrastructure to establish new or upgrade existing transfer stations to receive food and garden waste.
Applications close on Thursday, August 29. For more information, visit www.epa.nsw.gov.au/wastegrants/organic-large-small.htm