Circular Economy Communities Fund – Funded projects

Last updated: 30 July 2024
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Number of recipients to date: 23 in Round 1; 37 in Round 2
Total funding awarded to date: $2,276,268 in Round 1; $2,880,162 in Round 2
All projects to be completed by: March 2023 for Round 1; May 2024 for Round 2
Prior to 1 July 2022, this fund was named the Recycling Victoria Communities Fund

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

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.