Circular Economy Communities Fund – Funded projects
This fund is now called Circular Economy Communities Fund. Round 1 of this fund was called Recycling Victoria Communities Fund.
These are the details of the grant recipients and their projects. The grants supported local community initiatives that engage the community in local circular economy solutions.
For background, view:
Round 1 fund recipients
Announcement date: 15 July 2021.
Stream 1
Acres and Acres Co-op Ltd
Establishing a community commercial-scale worm farm using organic waste collected from local businesses and other facilities (2 short term jobs).
Funding: $49,500
Antiochian Community Support Association (ACSA)
Repairing and upcycling donated uniforms and clothing, which will be donated to second-hand clothing distributors (0.5 short term job).
Funding: $48,600
Circular Economy Victoria Inc
Supporting the City of Hume community in transitioning to more circular ways of living by making changes at a local government, industry, and community level (1 short term job).
Funding: $58,562
Cultivating Community Inc
Establishing a sustainability hub to support community education through activities such as composting and worm towers.
Funding: $59,000
Fixable Pty Ltd
Establishing a website comprising: a directory of local repair businesses, repair amateurs and hobbyists a marketplace to buy, sell, rent, lend, borrow and give away spare parts, tools and repaired items a community channel to make repair and reuse easier for residents, businesses and organisations.
Funding: $48,040
Geelong Sustainability Group Inc
Engaging around 300 participants in an 8- to 12-week mobile app-based competition during Geelong Design Week (March 2022).
Funding: $58,880
Leadership Great South Coast Inc
Repurposing, refurbishing and distributing donated children's goods (such as nursery items, prams, car seats, clothing, toys and books) to families in need in the Port Fairy area.
Funding: $45,644
Maker Community Inc
Purchasing industrial woodworking tools for the community repair café.
Funding: $58,980
Neighbourhood Collective Australia Ltd
Establishing an op-shop and a ‘slow fashion hub’ (2 short term jobs).
Funding: $55,969
Shanghai Rebel/Assembled Threads
Establishing a community manufacturing hub to make high-visibility industrial uniforms from recycled PET plastic and deliver them in bio-degradable compostable bags.
Funding: $58,330
Span Community House
Expanding their current community composting program to include a range of reuse, recycling and repairing initiatives (0.6 short term job).
Funding: $57,912
Upper Goulburn Landcare Network
Dehydrating and composting organic waste from local hospitality businesses, a florist, and a fruit and vegetable shop (0.1 short term job).
Funding: $58,820
Western District Employment Access (WDEA)
Repairing and recycling clothing and household items to sell through The Big Shed (1 short term job).
Funding: $59,000
Whittlesea Community Connections
Establishing a repair cafe at Mernda Community House – this will be the first repair cafe in the City of Whittlesea (0.4 direct short term jobs).
Funding: $45,848
Wholefood Unwrapped Collective
Reducing the amount of packaging being used in the hospitality and food service sector by creating reusable containers (such as tubs, crates and insulated bags) for food transportation.
Funding: $58,640
Yarra Valley ECOSS
Establishing a ReCycle Repair hub where youth can receive training on how to recycle old bicycles (4 short term jobs).
Funding: $57,657
Stream 2
Big Group Hug
Collecting and upcycling pre-loved items for children (from newborns to teens). Distributing the items to families experiencing hardship, in Western Melbourne and surrounding areas.
Funding: $235,472
Living Learning Pakenham Inc
Building a network of community composting hubs.
Funding: $249,606
OzHarvest
Expanding their food rescue service by adding a new van to collect and distribute food in greater Melbourne.
Funding: $230,000
Reground Pty Ltd
Expanding their current coffee grounds collection service to serve another 19 local government areas and 100 businesses.
Funding: $170,000
St Vincent de Paul Society Victoria Inc
Equipping Vinnie’s 111 stores in Victoria with the resources to: resell donated electrical items; upskill staff and volunteers in testing and tagging electrical donations.
Funding: $249,820
Tangaroa Blue Foundation
Expanding their current ‘Strain the drains’ project by installing 158 additional litter traps across 7 local government areas. This includes sharing findings on the Australian Marine Debris Initiative Database, analysing and mapping pollutant locations, and holding events to change littering behaviour in the community.
Funding: $202,890
The Hub Foundation
Establishing 10 neighbourhood compost hubs in the backyards of participating households (2.2 short term jobs).
Funding: $59,098
Round 2 fund recipients
Announcement date: 19 September 2022.
Stream 1
Access Australia Group
Establishing a community ‘Share and Repair Shed’ including a repair café, tool library, and recycling collection point.
Funding: $59,000
Albury Wodonga Regional FoodShare
Increasing access to rescued food to be distributed to schools, individuals, and families across the Albury Wodonga region. This region has been significantly impacted by COVID-19 and a series of natural disasters in the past few years.
Funding: $58,000
Assembled Threads Pty Ltd
Expanding the current ‘Towards Circular High Visibility Apparel’ project by recycling hi-vis vests at end of life and creating recycled fibre medical scrubs using recycled bottles and textile waste.
Funding: $58,944
Ballarat East Neighbourhood House Inc
Delivering a hands-on course for householders to enable them to confidently address waste and recycling issues.
Funding: $38,017
Banksia Gardens Community Services
Diverting organic waste and transforming it into nutrient-rich soil to be used to regenerate their community services spaces.
Funding: $55,343
Boots For All Inc
Reducing waste generation and diverting from landfill by salvaging sporting goods and redistributing to those in need across Banyule and Whittlesea. In addition to prolonging the life of these items, this project aims to increase participation in community sport.
Funding: $59,000
Brunswick Neighbourhood House Co-operative Ltd
Creating a community-based education resource that will demonstrate how to grow one’s own food and incorporate closed loop agricultural practices through composting and worm farming.
Funding: $59,000
Carlton Neighbourhood Learning Centre
Providing a recycling collection point for batteries, e-waste, soft plastics, lightbulbs, and plastic tags and delivering a recycling education program targeting migrants and refugees.
Funding: $58,372
Cire Services Inc
Delivering workshops to re-purpose unusable clothing donations and divert textile waste from landfill. This project will provide support to vulnerable women, upskilling them and providing financial security and repurposed textile items will be donated to the homeless.
Funding: $40,200
Darebin Information, Volunteer and Resource Service Inc
Reducing organic matter going to landfill by re-purposing through food rescue and other community initiatives such as the ‘Darebin Fruit Squad’ – volunteers harvesting excess fruit from backyard trees in 100 households for use in emergency relief packages.
Funding: $58.742
Darley Neighbourhood House and Learning Centre
Developing the ‘Bacchus Marsh Circular Economy Community Hub’ through a repair café, borrowing service, and shared learnings workshop space.
Funding: $42,026
Enable Social Enterprises Ltd
Expanding their tech recycling service to repurpose items and provide employment and education to young people from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Funding: $25,000
Garage Sale Trail Foundation
Delivering a series of pop-up circular economy hubs for multi-unit dwellers within the City of Melbourne featuring reuse markets and swap and repair workshops.
Funding: $29,000
Jesuit Social Services
Partnering with Precious Plastics to repurpose plastic bottle lids and providing education and job readiness programs for those with different abilities and the long-term unemployed.
Funding: $59,000
Kensington Neighbourhood House (KNH)
Transitioning Kensington to a circular economy through repair cafés, community compost hubs and an educational campaign.
Funding: $47,844
Kororoit Creek Neighbourhood House Inc
Establishing a volunteer-led repair café in Brimbank to support the community to gain skills in repair, re-use, and re-purposing.
Funding: $38,400
Lalor Neighbourhood House
Creating an interactive arts, permaculture, recycling, and waste reduction precinct drawing on the skills of migrant residents.
Funding: $59,000
Milparinka
Implementing a sustainable and accessible circular compost system, converting organic waste into useable compost.
Funding: $46,300
Morwell Neighbourhood House and Learning Centre
Encouraging sustainable household practices through the Free Store – redirecting useable items from landfill to those in need, and the repair café – extending the life of items.
Funding: $54,500
No More Butts Ltd
Capturing and recycling cigarette butt waste and transforming it into useable items such as packaging through the process of mycology.
Funding: $57,835
Northern Community Church of Christ
Diverting organic material from landfill, converting it into fertiliser to be used on site, and educating the community on food recycling and the circular economy.
Funding: $32,720
Open Table Inc
Providing food sharing initiatives through the establishment of surplus food collections, community lunches, composting, and community education.
Funding: $58,000
Outer East Foodshare Inc
Partnering with Feed One Feed All to increase surplus food collection and repurposing it through food charities and school breakfast programs.
Funding: $58,247
OzFish Unlimited
Diverting shells from landfill to use in biodiversity restoration activities in local waters.
Funding: $58,950
Rethink Recycling Co-op Ltd
Setting up a mobile education trailer to educate on plastic waste re-manufacturing.
Funding: $59,000
Richmond Community Learning Centre
Providing fixing and mending services and educating and upskilling community members.
Funding: $54,422
Sustain: The Australian Food Network
Expanding on the activities at the Oakhill Food Justice Farm to become a centre of sustainability, resource recovery and composting.
Funding: $59,000
The Bicycle Recycle Shed
Educating and upskilling community members in bicycle maintenance, upcycling, and re-purposing with a particular focus on female-identifying residents.
Funding: $30,400
The Scout Association of Australia, Victorian Branch
Implementing food waste recycling at Gilwell Park campsite to divert food waste from landfill and educate the community.
Funding: $41,000
Ultima Landcare Group
Collecting and recycling grain bags to divert agricultural plastic waste from landfill across the Mallee Region.
Funding: $58,552
Stream 2
Brainwave Australia
Partnering with Mercedes-Benz, Good Cycles and 99 Bikes to recycle used bicycles in Melbourne.
Funding: $74,750
Diamond Valley Community Support Inc
Diverting organic material from landfill and facilitating access to food relief through food rescue and donation.
Funding: $140,320
Reground Pty Ltd
Expanding their existing project to provide ‘Remote Reground’, a coffee collection service reaching more businesses and redistributing coffee waste to be repurposed across Victoria.
Funding: $250,000
Soap Aid Ltd
Establishing a soap repurposing centre in Melbourne to divert soap from landfill and redistribute to community groups and vulnerable Victorians.
Funding: $248,938
Sustain: The Australian Food Network Ltd
Providing farmers with reusable packaging and creating more sustainable and efficient shipping of fresh produce around Victoria.
Funding: $158,266
Tangaroa Blue Foundation
Expanding on their existing programs to collect and repurpose recreational fishing and packaging items through an innovative repair, reuse and recycle framework.
Funding: $249,625
The Trustee for The Salvation Army (Victoria) Property Trust
Expanding their electronic Test and Tag services to increase the accessibility to reuse of electronic goods across Victoria.
Funding: $112,000
West Welcome Wagon Inc
Expanding the collection and redistribution of unwanted goods and rehoming them with new residents in the western suburbs of Melbourne.
Funding: $191,000
More information
This grant program is closed, but you can email us if you have any queries.