Pursuant to section 38 of the Waste Minimisation Act 2008, I, the Honourable Penny Simmonds, Minister for the Environment, set the following criteria for approving funding of a project under the Waste Minimisation Fund.

Purpose of the Fund

The purpose of the Waste Minimisation Fund is to boost New Zealand’s performance in waste minimisation. There is considerable scope to reduce waste and increase the recovery of useful resources from waste.

Fund Objectives

The primary objective is to promote or achieve waste minimisation, as required under the Waste Minimisation Act 2008.

The secondary objectives are:

• Lifting performance in recovering economic value from waste
• To provide environmental, social and cultural benefits
• To reduce the risks of harm from waste
• To enable transition to a low emissions and low waste circular economy

Eligibility criteria

1. Only waste minimisation projects are eligible for funding. Projects must promote or achieve waste minimisation. Waste minimisation covers the reduction of waste and the reuse, recycling and recovery of waste and diverted material.

2. Projects must promote or achieve new waste minimisation activity, either by implementing new initiatives or a significant expansion in the scope or coverage of existing activities.

3. Funding is not for ongoing financial support of existing activities, nor is it for running costs of existing activities of organisations, individuals, councils or firms.

4. Projects should be for a discrete timeframe after which the project objectives will have been achieved and, where appropriate, the initiative will become self-funding.

5. Funding can be for operational, or capital expenditure required to undertake a project.

6. Funding must support projects where private capital is not available at the level required to enable the project to proceed, or where the project is high-risk, and/or where there is high public benefit which might not otherwise be realised.

7. For projects where other Government funds are available (such as from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment and Ministry of Primary Industries), applicants should seek early advice from the Ministry for the Environment to ensure that the project fits with the fund.

8. The applicant must be a legal entity.

9. In general, the fund will not cover the entire cost of the project. Applicants should seek part-funding from other sources and, if obtained, must have commitments in place for this funding at the time of application.

10. The minimum grant for research and development, or innovation projects (including business cases, feasibility studies and pilots) will be $100,000. The minimum grant for all other project types will be $250,000. Exceptions to the minimum grant may be given to projects that are eligible for any funding packages made available by the Ministry for the Environment from time to time (if any).

Scope

11. The scope of the fund includes, but is not limited to:

1. Infrastructure: new or expanded resource recovery and processing facilities including materials recovery facilities, transfer stations and onshore recycling/processing facilities.
2. System change: supporting the design and implementation of product stewardship or container return schemes.
3. Innovation: developing new or scaling up existing technologies and approaches such as new options for treated timber or hard to recycle plastics.
4. Community solutions: community, charitable or sector initiatives that bring a collaborative approach to a key problem.
5. Education and behavioural change: nationally driven and centrally supported programmes delivered by regional or sector partners, e.g. better recycling or litter prevention programmes.

Assessment criteria

Project benefits

1. Preference will be given to projects that help achieve the strategic outcomes and waste priorities identified by the Ministry for the Environment from time to time.
2. Preference will be given to projects that collectively provide the largest net benefit over time. The assessment of the effectiveness of projects will include the extent to which the projects can demonstrate:

1. likelihood of success;
2. reduction of harm to the environment;
3. reduction in the volume of waste disposal;
4. economic, environmental, social or cultural benefits;
5. long term benefits after completion of the project;
6. alignment to waste minimisation activities with outcomes consistent with the circular economy concept;
7. consideration of climate change impacts arising from waste-related activities;

3. Projects will be assessed for their strategic value in achieving the purpose and objectives of the fund. Strategic value means the likely ability of projects to act as catalysts that enhance and extend the uptake of waste minimisation.

4. The degree of partnership and cross-sectoral or regional collaboration will be considered in assessing the strategic value of proposals.

5. The degree to which a project may impact any competing activities, programmes, or businesses that are already operating or doing something similar will be considered in assessing the additionality of proposals.

6. In general, co-funding is required. Preference will be given to projects that meet any co-funding framework as identified by the Ministry for the Environment from time to time (if any).

Project delivery

7. The applicant must demonstrate:

1. clear understanding of the problem their project aims to solve
2. clear project governance, as well as the ability and expertise to deliver the project, (or, as part of the project scope, resources are allocated to enable delivery)
3. how the project will achieve its goals including an aligned project budget
4. how the project effectiveness will be monitored, evaluated and reported
5. if and how the project will benefit the wider public if and how the project’s identified benefits will continue after funding ends.

The criteria for the Waste Minimisation Fund published in the New Zealand Gazette, 8 October 2009, No. 148, page 3585, then in the New Zealand Gazette, 14 April 2016, No. 31, Notice No. 2016-go2098, the New Zealand Gazette, 1 April 2019, Notice No. 2019-go1460, and the New Zealand Gazette, 16 September 2022, Notice No. 2022-go3927 are revoked.

This notice takes effect the day after the date of publication in the New Zealand Gazette.

Dated this 16th day of September 2024.

Hon PENNY SIMMONDS, Minister for the Environment.