Tasmania establishes resource recovery fund

A new Waste Innovation and Resource Recovery Fund has been established to support waste reduction projects, improve resource efficiency, and create new products, markets and jobs across Tasmania.

The fund has been implemented to accelerate the state’s transition to a circular economy and follows Tasmania’s Levy Reinvestment Program to reduce landfill use, which was established as part of the state’s Waste and Resource Recovery Act in 2022.

“Levy reinvestment is delivering critical infrastructure and peak-industry partnerships to schools, regional support programs and community initiatives,” said State Minister for Environment Madeleine Ogilvie.

“Every dollar reinvested reduces pressure on landfill, recovers valuable materials and strengthens Tasmania’s circular economy.

“This new fund, an ongoing collaborative work with the Waste and Resource Recovery Board, will drive innovation, build capacity, create opportunity and support long-term economic resilience.”

The state’s levy reinvestment will continue to support a list of strategic priorities, including:

High Priority Infrastructure projects to improve recycling and recovery pathways;
schools’ initiatives that build awareness, capability and future skills;
peak-industry partnerships that strengthen sector-wide innovation and collaboration;
regional waste organisations that coordinate local solutions and build regional capacity;
statewide education and behaviour change campaigns delivered through ReThink Waste; and
community programs that drive practical waste reduction and resource recovery outcomes.

Alongside these investments, the board will progress a set of forward‑looking initiatives designed to build capability and accelerate delivery across the system.

This includes:

Formalising Tasmania’s Reuse and Repair Strategy;
expanding scholarship and education pathways to support long‑term sector capability; and
completing the next Waste and Resource Recovery Strategy 2026-31, to be published later this year.

Waste and Resource Recovery Board Chair Pam Allan said Tasmania’s waste and resource recovery sector is increasingly central to the state’s economic and environmental future.

“As we enter the final year of the current Waste and Resource Recovery Strategy, our focus is to consolidate progress and accelerate delivery,” she said.

“The fund represents a major step forward, enabling industries and sectors to transform waste into high‑value products, new markets and strong regional jobs.

“These efforts all support the board’s vision of Tasmania – a place where nothing is wasted.”

Ogilvie said the State Government is delivering this next phase of waste reforms through strong governance and collaborative working relationships.

A targeted skills‑based renewal process for the Board will also get underway. This process will introduce strengthened expertise, including in industry, economic development and legal and commercial risk management, ensuring the Board is equipped to oversee delivery and provide robust, independent technical advice.

More information on Tasmania’s Levy Reinvestment Program is available here.