We’ve been awarded a $349,413 grant to enhance the circular economy and reduce waste within the community.
This funding, part of the NSW Government EPA’s Local Government Waste Solutions Fund (LGWS), supports NSW councils and regional waste groups in delivering innovative recycling projects.
Running from August 2024 to March 2026, the project aims to help councils reduce their material impact by collaborating with suppliers and exploring lower-impact alternatives. Building on phase one, which laid the groundwork for circular procurement, phase two will implement these practices in daily operations and foster engagement between councils and local circular suppliers. The 10 member councils of the Hunter JO are committed to reducing the need for new materials by finding innovative ways to reuse and minimize their environmental footprint.
Minister for the Hunter, Yasmin Catley, praised the initiative, highlighting its potential to equip councils with tools to reduce waste and strengthen the circular economy. “This is an innovative project that will give councils across the Hunter more tools and processes to reduce waste and strengthen our circular economy,” she said. “We all have a role to play when it comes to the goods we consume and how we consume them, and here we have our local councils leading the way.”
Through the collective buying power of the ten member councils, which exceeds $500 million annually, the project has the potential to foster local markets for circular products, by enabling councils and suppliers to better understand each other’s needs, to identify and address the current barriers to better uptake of circular and sustainable alternatives.
The company Soft Landing in Lake Macquarie provides an example of effective circular economy practices, where thousands of mattresses each year are dismantled and recycled, demonstrating what can be done when local government joins forces with companies and organisations that have circular economy principles entrenched in their day-to-day operations.
The NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) has awarded nearly $1.9 million in grants in this round, funding 10 projects across 25 local government areas. Round 3 of the LGWS fund is scheduled to open in September 2024, with individual councils eligible for up to $200,000 and groups of councils for up to $400,000.
For more information visit www.hunterjo.com.au/projects/hunter-circular/