Grants available

Learn which types of projects are funded by the Environmental Trust and what grants are available.

The NSW Environmental Trust provides funding to a range of community, government and industry stakeholders to deliver projects that conserve, protect and rehabilitate the NSW environment, or that promote environmental education and sustainability.

The Trust provides this funding through a range of contestable grant programs and strategic investments. We administer both long-standing annual programs and one-off, issue-specific programs.

Our programs support:

  • action in conserving and restoring natural ecosystems
  • protecting threatened species
  • undertaking priority environmental research
  • building community skills
  • knowledge and capacity through education
  • promoting cultural awareness
  • dealing with pollution.

We also deliver many grant programs concerned with managing waste. These programs are part of the NSW Government’s Waste Less, Recycle More  initiative.

Waste Less, Recycle More programs support and complement each other, and together form a comprehensive approach to improving the management of waste materials in New South Wales. We deliver Waste Less, Recycle More in partnership with the NSW Environment Protection Authority.

Ongoing Environmental Trust programs

Name Description Eligible groups Funding available Next round opening Closing date Anticipated project announcement dates
Clean Technology Research and Development Grants for early stage development of new low emissions technologies, services or processes Grants are open to public and private sector organisations that have applied expertise in clean technology innovation $400,000 to $3 million per project EOI – 31 October 2022 EOI – 9 December 2022 July 2023
Community recycling centres Aimed at establishing a network of community recycling centres for householders to recycle and remove problem wastes State and local government

Private industry

Not-for-profit organisations 		Up to $300,000 per project TBA – –
Emergency pollution clean-up program Funds emergency clean-ups of hazardous materials State agencies

Emergency services

Local government 		Now managed on behalf of the Trust by the NSW Environment Protection Authority – – –
Environmental education Supports projects that develop knowledge, skills, and commitment to sustainable behaviour, and ongoing participation in protecting the environment Community groups

Not-for-profit organisations

State and local government 		Tier 1: up to $60,000 per project

Tier 2: from $60,001 to $250,000 per project

($1 million total) 		13 November 2023 5 February 2024 August – September 2024
Environmental research Supports applied research for local environmental problems Research institutions

Collaborations 		Up to $200,000 per project

($1,000,000 in total) 		EOI – 11 April 2023 EOI – 15 May 2023 January–February 2024
Landfill consolidation and environmental improvements Provides funding for the consolidation, closure and the environmental improvement of landfills Local government Up to $200,000 per project TBA – –
Major resource recovery infrastructure Accelerates and stimulates investment in waste and recycling infrastructure and increases resource recovery Local government

Private industry

Not-for-profit organisations 		$1–5 million per project for industry and non-profits

$1–10 million per project for local government 		TBA – –
Organics collections (formerly Local government organics collection systems) Supports councils and business to collect source separated food only, garden only, or food and garden waste and divert it from landfill Local government Up to $1.3 million per project for services to households. 15 September 2021 28 October 2021 January/February 2022
Organics infrastructure – processing infrastructure Funds infrastructure and equipment to reduce food and garden organic waste going to landfill Local government

Waste-management or organics processing businesses 		$25,000–$1 million per project 10 September 2021 21 October 2021 March/April 2022
Organics infrastructure – business organics recycling Supports on-site processing or pre-processing of organics Local government

Not-for-profit organisations

Private industry

Universities, prisons, TAFE colleges and other government institutions 		$75,000–$500,000 per project for businesses and local councils

$135,000–$500,000 per project for not-for-profit organisations and government agencies 		TBA – –
Organics infrastructure – food donation Funds infrastructure to facilitate the collection and redistribution of food waste from businesses to people in need Food-relief agencies (not-for-profit) $10,000–$500,000 per project TBA – –
Organics infrastructure – product quality Funds infrastructure to improve the quality of organics outputs above regulatory requirements Private industry

Local government 		$10,000–$500,000 per project TBA – –
Organics infrastructure – transfer stations Supports the development of new, or upgraded, transfer stations in the metropolitan waste levy area to separate food or food and garden recovery Private industry

Local government 		$10,000–$500,000 per project TBA – –
Protecting our Places Funds protection and rehabilitation for culturally important land and water NSW Aboriginal community organisations or groups Up to $80,000 per project

(over 2 stages)

($500,000 in total) 		12 February 2024 25 March 2024 July 2024
Remanufacture NSW Funds opportunities to support the NSW resource recovery sector's response to the Council of Australian Governments' waste export bans. Program is co-funded by the Australian and NSW Governments Local government

Private industry

Not-for-profit organisations

Research institutions 		$100,000 – $3 million for infrastructure

$50,000 – $1 million for trials 		14 December 2021 Extended to 1 April 2022 May/June 2022
Remanufacture NSW – Regional and Remote Funds opportunities to support the NSW resource recovery sector’s response to the Council of Australian Governments' waste export bans, with a focus on Regional and Remote area. Program is co-funded by the Australian and NSW Governments Local government

Private industry

Not-for-profit organisations

Research institutions		 $10,000 – $1 million 8 November 2021 6 December 2021 April/May2022
Restoration and Rehabilitation Funds ecological restoration projects State and local government

Community groups 		Stream 1 – New Entrants: Up to $125,000 per project ($1 million in total)

Stream 2 – Experienced: Up to $200,000 per project ($3 million in total) 		TBA – May 2023

Past Environmental Trust programs

Some past programs have continuing projects. Contact us for more information about other past programs.

Name Description Eligible groups Most recent round Funding available
Building resilience to climate change Addresses climate-change risks faced by NSW local government Local government 2016 (funded by the Climate Change Fund). Rounds in 2014 and 2015 were jointly funded by OEH and the NSW Environmental Trust. Program now administered by the Local Government NSW
Bush Connect Supported conservation activities in the Great Eastern Ranges corridor Community led collaborations 2017 – competitive supplementary funding round to extend existing projects Original grants in 2015 of up to $500,000. Supplementary round in 2017 offering up to an additional $100,000 per project ($8 million in total)
Castlereagh Community (Quarantine) Fund – community grants Provided benefits to community following closure of waste-management facility Community groups near Castlereagh Waste Management Centre 2014 $1.1m (total for round)
Community bush regeneration Supported restoration of degraded areas Community groups 2011–2012 (one-off program) $8 million (total for round)
Food gardens in schools Fostered the growing and harvesting food in school gardens Schools 2014 (closed and merged with Eco Schools program)

Rounds 2012, 2013 and 2014

Grants awarded and project summaries 		$3500 per project
Love food hate waste Raised awareness of food waste and provided households and businesses with simple actions to reduce the amount of edible food disposed of in NSW. Local government

Community groups

Non-government organisations

Not-for-profit organisations 		2016 Grants awarded and project summaries $5000–$70,000 per project (2016 round)

Program now administered by the NSW Environment Protection Authority
Organics infrastructure – home composting Funded compost bins and worm farms Local government 2015 Grants awarded and project summaries $5000–$75,000 per council
Recycling innovation Fostered innovative solutions for problem wastes All organisations. Preference was given to partnerships between industry, research institutions and commercial organisations 2016

Now administered by the NSW Environment Protection Authority 		TBA
Resource recovery facility expansion and enhancement Supported projects to boost recycling capacity EPA-licensed resource-recovery facility owned or operated by state and local government or private industry

Not-for-profit organisations

Partnerships 		2017

Now administered by the NSW Environment Protection Authority 		$100,000–$1 million per project
Riverina red gum development Part of the NSW Government's $97 million support package for timber industry workers and regional communities affected by the establishment of the River Red Gum protected areas in the Riverina. Communities in NSW Riverina region 2012 Grants awarded and project summaries $12 million (total for round)
Saving our Species (SoS) partnership grants Supports conservation projects developed under the SoS program Partnerships 2015 (round 2: landscape-managed species) Two rounds (2014 and 2015) offering grants of up to $1 million per project

($10 million in total)
Saving our Species (SoS) contestable grants Supports conservation projects developed under the SoS program Partnerships 2018

Partnership program between the Environmental Trust and the Saving our Species program 		Up to $350,000 per project

($9 million in total)
Innovation in shredder floc management Supported new approaches to managing metal waste (shredder floc) produced during recycling Metal recyclers 2014

Now merged with the Recycling Innovation grants program 		$500,000–$1.6 million per project.