People with an an idea or project that reduces the amount of waste that is sent to landfill could be eligible for funding from The Resource Wise Community Fund.

Grants of up to $20,000 are available from the contestable fund, open until 4pm on Friday, June 3.

Tauranga City Council sustainability and waste manager Sam Fellows says the fund is open to individuals, community groups, businesses, Iwi/Māori organisations and education providers who want to deliver waste minimisation projects within Tauranga.

'As a city we have come leaps and bounds in regard to waste minimisation since the introduction of kerbside collections, but there is always more we can be doing.

'Through the fund, we want to support our community to find new ways to help reduce waste, and encourage others to recognise that disposal should only be a last resort.

'Previous years have shown the commitment our community has for waste minimisation and has provided some really great outcomes, we know that this year will be no different.”

Priority outcomes for the 2022/23 funding round include:

• encourage and support iwi and cultural groups to reduce waste being sent to landfill
• achieve specific actions within the Waste Management and Minimisation Plan
• provide solutions or support to recycle items that cannot be recycled through the new Tauranga City Council kerbside service
• promote a shift up the waste hierarchy to focus on reducing and reusing resources.

Grants range from $1500 to $20,000 from an annual pool of $100,000.

The funding is made available from the Waste Levy and is not funded by general rates.

The Waste Levy is a pool of funding supplied to councils from the Ministry for the Environment for waste minimisation education.

All projects must meet the funding criteria.

For more information, including funding criteria, application guidelines and the online application form, visit www.tauranga.govt.nz/rwcommunityfund

"We know so many people in our community are passionate about our environment, we encourage anyone with ideas that fit the criteria to get in touch and apply."