Methane production from food, garden and textile waste accounts for 3.1 million tonnes of CO2-e generated each year from landfills in NSW, accounting for 56% of landfill waste emissions. The National Food Waste Feasibility study identifies that the cost of food waste to the Australian economy is $36.6 billion a year. NSW produces 1.7 million tonnes of food waste per year with the hospitality, retail and institution sectors sending the most food waste to landfill.

The NSW Government’s Waste and Sustainable Materials Strategy 2041 (WaSM) proposes new requirements for large food wasting businesses in these sectors to source separate their food waste from 2025. The requirements aim to reduce organics waste in landfill, where it generates methane, a potent greenhouse gas, and instead create a clean stream of a valuable resource that can be processed into compost, used to generate energy or be converted to animal feed.

Source separating food waste from businesses also supports the NSW Government’s Net Zero Plan Stage 1 goal for net zero emissions from food, garden and textile waste landfilled from 2030.

The Business Food Waste Partnership grants are complemented by a range of supporting EPA programs, including:

• Bin Trim Networks Program
• Bin Trim Rebate Program
• Food Donation program
• Love Food Hate Waste
• NSW EPA Partnerships program

Applications are open to industry peak bodies, sector leaders, councils and relevant organisations. Eligible applicants must:

1. be an organisation with an Australian Business Number (ABN)
2. be operational in NSW
3. demonstrate experience in project delivery with the target audience
4. be an owner of an active network and/or have ongoing engagement with  large food waste generating businesses or institutions targeted in the project
5. demonstrate the project is a new activity that can be incorporated into, or build on, existing activities, programs or other initiatives
6. provide evidence, such as a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), detailing the clearly defined roles and responsibilities for each party involved in the delivery of a joint project
7. demonstrate shared values or organisational goals aligned with the NSW organics waste and emissions targets
8. deliver education and communication that aligns with the EPA position statement on what can be recycled through Food Organics and Garden Organics (FOGO) or Food Organics (FO) bins
9. be submitted using SmartyGrants by 4pm 14 November 2024.

Applications that do not satisfy these conditions will be deemed ineligible and will not be funded.

The grants support activities that raise awareness and empower food businesses with knowledge and skills in food waste reduction and source separation. Projects must integrate with or build upon existing activities delivered with the target audience. Eligible activities for a project include, but are not limited to:

• raise awareness of the requirements for businesses to source separate food waste and actions to help them transition
• educate or upskilling business owners, managers and staff to source separate food waste well, minimising contamination and maximising recovery
• help businesses or institutions reduce food waste by increasing skills and knowledge, changing practices, procedures and behaviours
• support franchise businesses, institutions or hospitality service providers delivering food waste training to equip staff, tenants and cleaners on how to reduce food waste generation and maximise food waste recycling
• support hospitality education institutes incorporating food waste prevention and recycling content into existing hospitality courses to increase awareness and empower attendees with knowledge and skills
• support councils and food waste collection companies engaging their existing customers or local food businesses to maximise food waste recycling and minimise contamination
• support peak bodies, councils and education institutions providing capacity building training courses via webinars and workshops to upskill their members or high waste generating businesses on how to reduce and better manage their food waste
• support training institutions or councils hosting events and activities to create collaboration opportunities for local businesses or sectors to maximise food waste diversion from landfill.

Costs of preparing and applying for the grant are the sole responsibility of the applicant. Items or projects that will not be funded include:

• projects that focus on the research or the production of resources and training on using equipment
• any applicants, like waste consultants or contractors, who apply on behalf of the network owners like food franchise businesses or peak bodies
• activities that have already started or are carried out before the grant is offered and accepted
• activities happening outside NSW
• operational costs such as rent, IT equipment, electricity, insurance, etc. that are part of standard business operation
• attendance at workshops or participation in the project activities – for either the grantee or their audiences
• activities (or part of activities) that are funded by other EPA programs such as Bin Trim Network or Rebates programs
• ongoing activities that occur once the grant is completed, such as app licencing (beyond the grant period)
• equipment to source separate food waste that could be funded by the Bin Trim Rebate program like commercial composters and dehydrators
• waste assessment and advice may be included as a project activity, however only in the context of awareness-raising, education and capacity building to avoid duplication with other EPA programs, such as Bin Trim
• projects or activities that require funding to build a new, or expand an existing, channel or platform, like apps or websites.

Projects must include a robust process for monitoring, evaluating and reporting on outcomes, including gathering supporting evidence.

Applicants are encouraged to use the EPA’s Bin Trim App as a tool to collect waste data and monitor changes in food waste diversion. As well as assisting project participants to leverage funding for equipment through a Bin Trim rebate, it provides consistent, comparable data for broader program evaluation.

Successful applicants are required to provide at least three reports – a project start, mid-point and final report. See the 'Key dates and timeframes' section (below) for more information.

A Funding Deed detailing reporting requirements and an Activity Schedule identifying tasks to be completed, documents required and reporting dates, are both issued to successful applicants. The Funding Deed is tailored for each project.

Reports must be submitted using the EPA templates provided.

Successful applicants are also required to participate in bimonthly Partnership meetings, coordinated by the EPA. These meetings aim to create a platform for partners to share experiences and lessons learnt, identify opportunities for collaboration and maximise their project success.

Grants of up to $200,000 excl GST are available for projects lasting up to two years. The Funding Deed signed on approval of the grant sets out a payment schedule, aligned to activities, targets and milestones.

GST

Applicants should not include any GST in the application budget. The EPA will add 10 per cent GST to the grant payment unless the applicant advises that they are GST free organisations.

Co-contributions

• Co-contributions are not required, however, the more an applicant can demonstrate additional value in their project from their contributions, the higher the project will rank under the ‘value for money’ criterion. Co-contributions can be cash or in-kind.
• In-kind contributions include using existing resources (such as venues or equipment), the promotional activities (such as social media posts), staff or volunteer time – and can come from the applicant or project partners.
• Applicants can include or seek other funding to supplement their project delivery and, if so, are required to detail the funding source. Non-EPA funding can be included as the applicant’s co-contribution.
• Funding from other EPA grants or programs cannot be included as a co-contribution. However, it can be used to fund additional activities that will supplement your Business Food Waste Partnership Grants project.

Tax invoices

A tax invoice is required for the amount of each milestone payment of the grant. The invoice should include GST as a separate component if applicable.

Broadly, funding will be delivered as follows:

• 30% on signing of the funding agreement
• 40% on submission of a mid-term milestone report that demonstrates the project progress and achievement of targets
• 30% on project completion, demonstrated by submission of a final report detailing outcomes achieved, how the funding was used and confirmation of results.

In addition to eligibility requirements, successful applicants will need to sign and return a Funding Deed. This confirms their commitment to comply with the conditions of the funding, including:

• compliance with the eligibility criteria for the length of the grant agreement or paying back the funding
• reporting as described in the 'Monitoring and reporting' section (above)
• holding appropriate insurance and public liability coverage for the duration of the grant
• acknowledging the support of the NSW Government on publications relating to the project, in accordance with the Funding Deed; and
• inviting a NSW Government representative to any launch or public event associated with this funding.

A copy of the template Funding Deed (PDF 650KB) is available.

Applications undergo an initial eligibility check before being reviewed by an independent Technical Review Committee (TRC) using the criteria set out below. The dot points provide additional information on the types of considerations relevant to each criterion.

The EPA Organics Unit is available to help applicants develop their projects. Please email us at organics.grants@epa.nsw.gov.au for assistance.

The EPA has published several food waste-related reports, sector toolkits and social research including:

• Food Smart Business toolkit- Café and Restaurants
• Aged care toolkit
• Food Smart School educations resources
• Childcare Centre toolkit
• Find out about research on FOGO
• Fact sheets and report: Emissions of food waste recovery technologies
• Food organics in hospitals (PDF 420KB)
• Fact Sheet: Carbon credit income from FOGO (PDF 240KB)x
• Cool Compost