EPA grants worth $22.3 million are now available to NSW councils, private industry and not-for-profit organisations to support the construction of new large scale recycling infrastructure.
Environment Department Acting Resource Recovery Director Amanda Kane said the Major Resource Recovery Infrastructure grants are part of the NSW EPA’s $802 million Waste Less Recycle More initiative.
“The funding is aimed at accelerating and stimulating investment in waste and recycling infrastructure, to help NSW reach its target of 75 per cent diversion of all waste from landfill by 2021,” Ms Kane said.
“The capital costs of major infrastructure can be a significant barrier to the construction of new recycling facilities. This grant seeks to attract investment in major resource recovery infrastructure by reducing the pay-back period on new facilities.”
Ms Kane said earlier program rounds had already provided $51 million to projects to receive and recycle a range of resources including timber, plastics, aggregates, rubber, glass and metals.
“This includes $5 million to ResourceCo for a new facility at Wetherill Park, to recover metals and timber to produce refuse-derived fuel for use in energy generation,” Ms Kane said.
“Boral Cement successfully secured a $4 million grant from the EPA to upgrade its plant at Berrima, and replace up to 20 per cent of the coal it uses to generate energy with refuse-derived fuel, including from ResourceCo, reducing coal use and emissions.”
According to Ms Kane, five facilities supported through the program are already increasing the state’s processing capacity by 340,000 tonnes a year.
“More than 500,000 tonnes of additional processing capacity is expected to come on line over the next two years as further projects are completed,” Ms Kane said.
Environmental Trust Director Grants Tina Bidese said the grants are funded by the Environmental Trust and delivered through a partnership between the trust and the NSW EPA.
“Working together, the trust and the EPA are offering a major opportunity for co-funded investment in infrastructure to recover more household and business waste,” Ms Bidese said.
“In doing so, we’re reducing the environmental impacts of waste in landfill, making the most of valuable resources and creating new jobs for the people of NSW.”
The EPA is hosting an information session in August 2019 to assist potential applicants.
Applications close 27 August 2019.
Related stories: