Circular Economy Business Support Fund – Stream 1: Identification grants – Funded projects
Stream 1 of the Circular Economy Business Support Fund supports businesses, industry groups and associations to develop circular economy business models or practices with the potential to avoid waste in Victoria.
These grants are funded through the Victorian Government’s circular economy policy, Recycling Victoria: a new economy. To stay updated on future grant rounds, subscribe to our grants and funding alert email list.
These diverse projects will create business-led solutions for our circular economy and focus on waste prevention, reuse, repair, remanufacture, and recycling. They will support Victorian businesses to identify their next steps to become more sustainable and to create value for our environment, society and economy.
Round 2 Fund recipients
Announcement date: 19 October 2022
Six recommended projects received a total of $737,235.
Australian Furniture Association
This project will support development of a new industry-led sustainable furniture procurement scheme that reduces the waste generation of commercial furnishing products. It will focus on undertaking baseline research, convening key stakeholders in workshops, and developing and accessing circular solutions for the industry. A final report will highlight the path forward to establish a more circular commercial furnishing industry.
Funding: $200,000
Cathedral Cherries
This project will focus on transforming on-farm cherry ‘waste’ into new food and drink products for the domestic and international market. It will develop a ‘mobile processing’ plant which could be leased to other local farms to expand the reach of the waste avoidance solution.
Project partners: The Trustee for Samuel Bate Family Trust
Funding: $79,735
ConnectOne Club
The project will develop and demonstrate a robust demo for a digital B2B platform focused on reducing on-farm waste and increasing profits. The platform will provide a range of tools to inform, promote collaboration, and boost organic waste commercialisation, through the schedule of future harvests, business partnerships, donation actions, and quality control.
Project partners: Food and Fibre Gippsland Inc, Rocket Seeder, and Adroit Minds
Funding: $100,000
D5 Building Group
Villette is an affordable housing system that takes the best global learnings in modular, circular design to proactively design out waste from the construction industry. The project will focus on designing, testing and demonstrating a new modular housing system that can be assembled in a variety of layouts, disassembled and reused again.
Funding: $200,000
The Frank Wild Company
This project will develop a new circular business model that avoids glass waste in the events industry. It will focus on creating a new reusable keg service for wine at events in place of traditional wine bottles, which generate significant waste in Australia.
Project partners: No Offence Wines, and Circular Economy Victoria
Funding: $65,000
Southern Cross Recycling Group (SCR)
SCR will investigate the feasibility of permanent ‘Homecycle Smart Centres’ which will receive, sort, test, repair, resell or recycle a variety of household, commercial and potentially industrial goods. This centre would provide recyclers and re-users of these goods a more cost effective and sustainable opportunity to recover and divert these goods from going to landfill. It would also provide a direct-to-consumer resale market.
Funding: $92,500
Round 1 Fund recipients
Announcement date: 15 July 2021
Ten recommended projects received a total of $1.35 million to identify and develop new circular economy business models, products, services, and stewardship schemes.
Stream 2: Implementation grants
Run in parallel to Stream 1, the Stream 2: Implementation grants program seeks to support business to implement evidence-based circular economy business opportunities and approaches in Victoria.
To view the funding recipients, view the Recycling Victoria Business Support Fund – Stream 2: Implementation grants – Funded projects.
More information
Grants Support Representative
Sustainability Victoria