Circular Economy Innovation Fund – Funded projects

Last updated: 17 November 2023
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Number of recipients to date: 18
Total funding awarded to date: $3,710,452
All projects to be completed by: December 2024
Prior to 1 July 2022, this fund was named the Recycling Victoria Innovation Fund

The $2.9 million Circular Economy Innovation Fund supports collaborative projects between:

  • individual businesses
  • industry groups and associations
  • charities and/or research institutions.

The projects may also include government or local government organisations or other not-for-profit organisations including community groups and associations.

These grants are funded through the Recycling Victoria policy.

To stay updated on future grant rounds, subscribe to our grants and funding alert email list.

Round 3 fund recipients

Announcement date: 17 November 2023.

All projects to be completed by: 15 December 2024.

This funding round aims to support projects that focus on the research and development of innovative market solutions that apply circular design.

These projects prevent, minimise, or eliminate waste and pollution, while keeping products and materials in use for longer at their highest value.

Projects must improve the environmental outcomes of products, services, industries, supply chains, or systems, and contribute to Victoria's transition to a circular economy.

Bellevue Orchard Pty Ltd

Half of all apple production in Australia takes place in Victoria, with 30% of the apples being used for juice manufacturing. Most of the pomace by-product, which makes up about 20% of the dry biomass of apples, goes to landfill. To address this issue, Bellevue Orchard will collaborate with the Deakin BioFactory to conduct pilot-scale bioprocessing of pomace using a biorefinery approach. This approach enables the production of multiple products, with a focus on cellulose as the primary product. The cellulose will then be tested for its applications in textiles and textile additives. This project aims to reduce organic waste sent to landfills while simultaneously creating new products.

Funding: $185,307.

Lotus Energy Recycling

This project will develop Australia's first 'Solar-PV REUSE Protocols' to determine whether a decommissioned solar panel can be reused or repurposed. The protocols will involve a visual inspection, thermal and luminescence scanning, and judgment of the solar panels based on voltage and current outputs, resulting in a Pass or Fail outcome. These protocols will be used to create the course curriculum and materials for a National Accredited Training Program. The program will be piloted with 3 cohorts of participants, followed by a post-delivery evaluation. This project aims to increase the readiness of the solar-PV industry for its inevitable transition to a circular economy.

Funding: $399,554.

Rendine Constructions Pty Ltd

The project aims to design and produce a prototype modular building using obsolete building components from the Victorian School Building Authority's Relocatable Building Program. These components, which would otherwise contribute to waste and recycling, come from decades of manufacturing and deploying relocatable classrooms. The resulting building will serve as a display model, showcasing the application of circular economy principles such as waste reduction and keeping materials in use, at their highest value, for as long as possible. Additionally, the project will explore future adaptations of the building, such as using it as temporary facilities following natural disasters (fire and flood), as pop-up community facilities, and as circular economy demonstration labs for schools.

Funding: $227,100.

RMIT University

The Refashioning: Accelerating Circular Product Design at Scale​ project will develop, pilot, and evaluate a series of open-source guides to help product development and design teams in implementing circular design and systems change. These guides will provide actionable and measurable criteria for implementing circular design and assessing its long-term impact. The guides will undergo commercial validation by multiple brands within the Country Road Group. This approach maximises the potential adoption of circular design and reduces perceived risks associated with its implementation in the Australian fashion and textile industry.

Funding: $165,175.

RMIT University

In partnership with Brickworks and The University of Newcastle, this project, the first of its kind in Australia, aims to develop a new mortar design with tailored adhesion that allows easy debonding from demolished bricks. By using this innovative mortar, whole bricks can be reused in their highest value, thereby extending their useful life, reducing the need for virgin materials, and decreasing greenhouse gas emissions in the construction sector. A significant amount of waste is generated from construction and demolition activities, with a large portion being bricks. Very few bricks are reused in their original, and most valuable, form. Instead, they are typically downcycled and used as road base or fillers. The main challenge in reusing demolished bricks lies in the difficulty and cost of removing the mortar that binds them together, without causing damage.

Funding: $300,000.

Swinburne University of Technology

The project is a feasibility study on converting aquaculture by-products into collagen. This collagen can be used to create a range of high-value products, including cosmetics, food, and pharmaceuticals. Aquaculture production generates significant waste in the form of by-products such as heads, tails, guts, skin, and scales. These by-products are typically disposed of in landfills, causing environmental pollution, including greenhouse gas emissions and leachate contamination. The research team at Swinburne University of Technology developed an economically and environmentally friendly method to produce collagen protein from aquaculture by-products. This approach presents an innovative model for reducing waste in the fish industry, creating high-value products, and eliminating the need for other animal-based sources to manufacture collagen proteins.

Funding: $264,971.

Round 2 fund recipients

This funding round aimed to support circular economy projects that design out waste to improve environmental and economic outcomes for Victoria.

Announcement date: 14 May 2022.

All projects to be completed by: October 2023.

There were 2 funding streams:

  • Textiles Innovation: focused on preventing textile waste.
  • Collaborative innovation: focused on preventing waste from multiple organisations in a specific supply chain, sector or region.

Round 1 fund recipients

Announcement date: 15 July 2021.

There were 2 funding streams:

  • Food innovation: Collaborative partnerships that identify opportunities and apply innovative circular economy business models and practices for food waste or for the food sector.
  • Collaborative innovation: Collaborative partnerships that identify, develop and/or scale-up innovative circular economy business models and practices. The projects need to address systemic barriers with innovative thinking and practice.

Want to know more? Contact us

Grants Support Representative
Sustainability Victoria