Litter Prevention Grants Program – Australia

Deadline: 17-Apr-23

NSW Government is seeking applications for Litter Prevention Grants Program.

The NSW Government has opened the Waste and Sustainable Materials Strategy 2041 (WASM) Litter Prevention Grants Program for councils, community groups and other key stakeholders to deliver litter prevention projects and develop strategic plans to address litter in their local environments.

Objectives

The objectives for each initiative funded through this Litter Prevention Grants Program are:

contribute to the new NSW litter reduction targets:
- 60% reduction in litter items by 2030 – NSW Waste and Sustainable Materials Strategy 2041
- 30% reduction in plastic litter items by 2025 – NSW Plastics Action Plan
build organisational ownership and leadership to plan and carry out local, regional or statewide litter prevention initiatives
base litter prevention on good evidence and sound approaches – NSW Litter Prevention Strategy 2022–30
include activities that increase the capacity to carry out litter prevention in strategic and sustainable ways, in particular beyond the grant funding period
work productively with the authority (or authorities) that manage the public land (e.g. local council) where on-ground litter prevention projects and strategic initiatives will be delivered or where infrastructure will be located
work productively and collaboratively in partnership with others to implement litter prevention initiatives
consolidate achievements across the State, build on existing stakeholder organisation capacities and expand networks to encourage cross-sector collaboration to achieve new litter prevention targets.

Funding Streams

Funding is provided under 3 streams:

Stream 1: Small-scale, on-ground projects, including a dedicate cigarette butt litter program
Stream 2: Strategic development and capacity building
Stream 3: Own It and Act strategic implementation

Funding Information

A total pool of $10,000,000 is available for on-ground projects and strategic initiatives across three streams over several intakes of funding to 2027.
You can apply for multiple projects within Stream 1 and multiple initiatives in Stream 2. Applicants may apply for a higher stream in subsequent intakes. It is expected that applicants will apply for only one stream per intake.
Applicants can apply for a maximum of $500,000 across multiple streams and intakes available up to 30 June 2027.

Eligible Projects

Stream 1: Small-scale, on-ground projects, including a dedicate cigarette butt litter program
- This stream is designed for a council, community group or collaboration between organisations:
  - who want to act on a locally identified litter issue at one or more locations (litter hotspots)
  - who have limited or no experience in delivering a litter prevention project, or are at an early stage in their litter prevention journey.
- Projects in this stream will use EPA-proven litter prevention methods to reduce litter.
- Projects will not duplicate or replicate current or past efforts at an identified hotspot.
Stream 2: Strategic development and capacity building
- The NSW EPA’s vision is that the OIAA framework will help develop new leaders in the field of litter prevention and facilitate networking and partnership opportunities with key stakeholders, to reduce litter for the long term. As a requirement for Stream 2 funding, applicants must demonstrate commitment to building organisational capacity for their council, community group, regional waste group and/or group of organisations, to deliver long-term litter prevention outcomes.
- Applicants must involve key stakeholders – including community-based organisations (e.g. NGOs, local groups) and land managers (e.g. local councils) – in the development of plans or strategies.
- Where initiatives are planned for which another organisation is the land manager or owner, that organisation must provide written approval and/or endorsement of their involvement.
- Councils must involve staff who play a role in litter (e.g. waste clean-up and collection, waste education, infrastructure planning, economic development and tourism, sustainability, and/or environment) as well as members of the executive leadership team.
- Grantees in this stream will engage proactively with the NSW EPA, both as the grant program manager and as a collaborating partner.
Stream 3: Own It and Act strategic implementation
- Initiatives in this stream will focus on the dissemination and implementation phase of statewide, regional or local litter prevention strategies that were developed using the Own It and Act framework, and that have organisational and/or member endorsement, as well as the EPA’s endorsement.
- Initiatives must clearly articulate how key stakeholders – including community-based organisations (e.g. NGOs, local groups) and land managers (e.g. Local Councils) – are to be involved. All nominated stakeholders who are responsible for delivery, must provide a letter of commitment to the provision of necessary resources (e.g. human and/or financial).
- Organisations applying for funding must develop a roadmap with the NSW EPA detailing how they intend to deliver Stream 3 outcomes, and have an existing strategy or plan that does the following:
  - explicitly lists litter prevention as a goal
  - incorporates learnings from the OIAA framework with supporting actions that address the key enablers (leadership, permission, commitment and process)
  - outlines the roles and responsibilities of any partners or stakeholders involved in delivery
  - has organisational and/or member endorsement.
- Grantees in this stream will engage proactively with the NSW EPA, both as the grant program manager and as a collaborating partner.

Eligibility Criteria

To apply you must meet the following eligibility criteria:
- be a local council, regional waste group, community organisation or an alliance or State Government agency located in NSW. Businesses are eligible to apply for cigarette butt litter and clean-up projects only. Schools may apply for clean-up grants.
- have a project/initiative that is geographically located in NSW
- be able to deliver an initiative that is in line with the program objectives, as determined by the TRC
- be able to maintain reliable financial records and separately account for grant funds
- Community organisations must:
  - be a non-government, not-for-profit organisation
  - have their own constitution and be incorporated under the law of a state or territory as an incorporated association, company or cooperative society
  - hold an Australian Business Number (ABN)
In Streams 2 and 3, each applicant must meet the following additional criteria:
- Community-based organisation:
  - be a reputable environmental community organisation OR a reputable organisation focused on delivering community-based outcomes with influence over multiple sites and/or multiple related organisational units (e.g. river catchment groups)
  - be overseen by suitably qualified and/or senior representatives of the partner organisations (i.e. a steering group) who are committed to meeting regularly and able to make timely decisions to keep the project progressing as planned. For Stream 3, this must include the organisation/s managing public land on which proposed initiatives are to be located.
  - be able to provide a certified account for grant fund expenditure with the final report.
- Council:
  - have cross-departmental and executive leadership support to embed litter prevention as business-as-usual processes
  - be overseen by a steering group (or similar) made up of cross-department representatives (including senior executives) that is committed to meeting regularly and able to make timely decisions. If an applicant elects to use an existing group (or groups) to undertake governance and communication roles, an outline of the organisational structure must accompany the application
- Regional waste group:
  - have member endorsement to participate (signatures) and have agreement (commitment to act) from any member(s) responsible for delivering an initiative
  - have demonstrated success in delivering previous Regional Litter Plans through the LRIP Program.
- Alliance or group of organisations:
  - have a written agreement (e.g. MOU or Compact) that outlines the purpose of the alliance or group, and the roles and responsibilities of all participating organisations/members
  - have endorsement (signatures) and agreement (commitment to act) from any organisation responsible for delivering upon a plan/strategy or action
  - have ability and credibility to lead multiple organisations to realise deliverables
  - be overseen by a steering group that is committed to meeting to an agreed schedule and is made up of suitably qualified representatives of the partner organisations, including the organisation/s managing public land where proposed initiatives will be located.

For more information, visit NSW Government.