Circular Economy Infrastructure Fund: Hazardous Waste – Round 3

Sustainability Victoria (SV) supported industry and local government through the Circular Economy Infrastructure Fund (CEIF): Hazardous Waste – Round 3. The fund aimed to build the capacity, capability, and resilience of Victoria’s resource recovery sector to increase local reprocessing of hazardous waste and improve the use and quality of recycled materials to make new products.

This grant was funded through the government’s circular economy policy Recycling Victoria: a new economy,

Fund overview

The hazardous waste stream funded infrastructure projects focused on safe management and high value recovery (where possible) of low-level contaminated soils, Reportable Priority Wastes (RPW) and specified priority wastes (see target materials listed in section 2.3).

Applicants had the opportunity to propose both proven and innovative technology solutions for the Victorian hazardous waste sector.

Funding was available to industry (see definition in section 9) and local government that have been operating for a minimum of 2 years in Australia and either operates an existing hazardous waste reprocessing, recycling or treatment facility in Victoria or were proposing a new hazardous waste reprocessing, recycling, or treatment facility to be located in Victoria. 
 

Fund objectives

Projects were required to meet 2 or more of the fund objectives:

• Increase the recovery and local reprocessing of hazardous waste, and to manage those materials in line with the waste hierarchy.
• Increase the use and quality of recycled materials for remanufacturing and to make new products.
• Increase economic development opportunities such as jobs, economic performance and growth of precincts.
• Reduce the amount and impact of waste going to landfill.

CEIF Hazardous Waste Round 3 sought projects that would achieve one or more of the following outcomes:

1. Diversion of wastes from Category B landfill disposal.
2. Increased diversion of low-level (Category C and D) contaminated soils (and spoils) from landfill disposal.
3. Increased recovery of solvents and other hazardous wastes for reuse, recycling, or energy recovery.
4. Improved management of hazardous wastes for reuse, recycling, or energy recovery; including short-term storage, and recovery or treatment facilities. Short-term storage infrastructure will only be funded for projects targeting both storage and recovery infrastructure.

Funding available

Total available grant funding for Round 3 was $4,500,000.

There was no funding cap per project.

Co-contribution

Applicants were required to meet the following minimum cash contribution:

• Industry were required to co-contribute at least $2 for every $1 funded.
• Local government were required to co-contribute at least $1 for every $1 funded.

Funding conditions

Successful applicants approved for funding were required to:

Before starting the project

• Participate in an inception meeting to discuss their project and the funding agreement.
• Provide Sustainability Victoria pre-funding documentation as discussed in inception meeting.
• Agree to realistic evidence-based and performance-based milestone payments.
• Provide Sustainability Victoria with insurance certificates of currency.
• Sign Sustainability Victoria’s funding agreement within 60 days of approval.
• Provide a project plan and deliver the project as outlined in the application and comply with the funding agreement.
• If you receive funding of more than $250,000, plan for capital works signage.
• If your project is based in metropolitan Melbourne or across Victoria, and is given funding of at least $3 million, you need to meet Local Jobs First requirements.
• If your project is in regional Victoria, and is given funding of at least $1 million, you need to meet Local Jobs First requirements.
• Notify SV in writing of any project related activities that need to commence before entering into contract. Failure to notify SV prior to the commencement of any project related activities could result in the project activities becoming ineligible for funding (refer to section 2.3 for project related activities that can be undertaken prior to signing the funding agreement with SV and at Applicant’s own risk).

During and after the project

• Deliver the project as outlined in the application and comply with the funding agreement.
• Contribute to regular project progress updates or meetings.
• Notify Sustainability Victoria immediately about any delay or change to the project.
• Provide update reports to Sustainability Victoria at agreed milestones with evidence of expenditure, progress and performance.
• Provide adequate monitoring and evaluation of the project according to the funding agreement.
• Collect and release data to Sustainability Victoria for up to 5 years after project completion. Sustainability Victoria may share or report on the data.
• Contribute to the project’s promotional activities (for example, provide Sustainability Victoria with support by reviewing and approving written stories or videos).
• Participate in and contribute to Sustainability Victoria activities to distribute the findings to broader stakeholders (for example, government and industry).
• Acknowledge that Sustainability Victoria has contributed funding in all communications related to the project.

Timeline

Dates may change.

Applications open: 14 June 2023

Applications close: 25 July 2023

Information session: Tuesday 20 June 2023 and Thursday 29 June 2023

Notification of outcome*: estimated November 2023

Funding agreements established by: March 2024

Projects commenced by: April 2024

Project completed by: 31 May 2025

Why the Victorian Government provided this funding

The Industry and Infrastructure Development Fund (IIDP) that included the Circular Economy Infrastructure Fund (CEIF) is designed to increase the capacity and capability of Victoria’s resource recovery sector, and to viably increase the recycling of resources for use in the Victorian economy.

The Recycling Industry Strategic Plan (RISP) and the Recycling Victoria – a new economy policy, identified opportunities for significant expansion in Victoria’s capacity to process and reprocess mixed, contaminated kerbside materials such as paper and cardboard, glass, plastics, and hazardous waste.

This funding was offered as part of the Victorian Government’s $515 million investment to deliver the biggest transformation and reform of Victoria’s waste and recycling industry. This included $380 million to deliver Recycling Victoria

Investment in priority infrastructure will support increased recycling and respond to new bans on waste export to safely manage hazardous waste. The fund also targeted, where appropriate, increased market diversity and competition in areas, where market consolidation poses a risk to continuity of service.

The fund also contributed to the government’s State-wide Waste and Resource Recovery Infrastructure Plan (SWRRIP) and the Victorian Recycling Infrastructure Plan (VRIP) that replaced the SWRRIP and provides a 30-year vision and guide for future planning for waste and resource recovery infrastructure to achieve an integrated system.