The Waste Not, Want Not fund was established last year, following the adoption of Council’s Waste management and Minimisation Plan 2022 – 2028. The fund is a share of waste levies from the Ministry for the Environment and it is not a direct cost to ratepayers. There was $29,000 available last year, but that has increased to $70,000 in 2023.

The categories for allocation of waste levy grants are Community, Innovation, and Business Waste Reduction. People can apply in any of these categories for already established waste minimisation initiatives, or for totally new initiatives.

There were four initiatives set up following the first round of funding in 2022, the Feilding Repair Café, a recycling education programme run by Manawatū Community Trust, a feasibility study from Precycle NZ looking for potential solutions to commercial and demolition waste, and the Rethink Waste group who are hoping to help, inform and educate the public regarding the benefits of zero waste through public meetings .

Council’s General Manager - Infrastructure Hamish Waugh says that these initiatives have demonstrated that there’s people with great ideas out there to help with waste minimisation.

“Reducing waste to landfill is a priority for Manawatū District Council, and we’re very encouraged by the success of the four initiatives that were established last year. They all have added value to our waste minimisation goals, and we’re excited to see some new ideas coming through in this next round,” says Hamish.

The closing date for the application process is Monday, 31 July. Applications can be made via here.