Waste levy grants
The Waste Levy Grants support projects that increase the range, scale and number of waste minimisation activities on the Kāpiti Coast.
They're funded by part of the Waste Levy fees paid by waste disposal operators to the Ministry for the Environment, which is then allocated to local bodies to administer. There is no rates funding involved.
Applications closed 11.59pm Sunday 8 September. See Timeline for next steps.
About the Waste Levy Grants
We especially encourage project applications that:
- move up the waste hierarchy to a circular economy
- shift to a low-emissions, low-waste society, inclusive and equitable outcomes
- reduce amount of organic waste sent to landfill
- reduce, rethink, redesign
- reuse, repair, repurpose
- protect and regenerate natural systems.
Find out more about waste minimisation in our Rubbish and recycling section.
Funding is available for projects, or parts of projects, occurring within the Kāpiti Coast District.
Timeline
The following timelines apply for all Waste Levy grant applications.
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Date |
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Thursday 25 July 2024 |
Opening of waste levy grant applications. |
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11.59pm, Sunday 8 September |
Closing of waste levy grant applications. |
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19 November |
Funding decision made by Grants subcommittee. |
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20 November 2024 |
All applicants notified of outcome from this date. |
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August 2025 (TBC) |
Opening of waste levy grant applications. |
How to apply
You can apply online or download an application form:
- Community projects application form – online
- Community projects application form
- Business waste reduction application form – online
- Business waste reduction application form.
Waste levy fund for community projects
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Funds available: |
A funding pool of $30,000 is available for Community Projects in 2024/25. There is no rates funding involved. |
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To fund: |
practical waste minimisation projects that:
Eligible purposes might include (but are not limited to):
Ineligible purposes that will not be funded include:
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Fund open to: |
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Notes: |
There is no minimum amount per application. Each application will be assessed on its merits, on a case-by-case basis. |
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Apply |
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Waste levy fund for business waste reduction
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Funds available: |
A funding pool of $20,000 is available for business waste reduction projects in 2024/25. There is no rates funding involved. Businesses can apply for up to 50 percent of eligible project costs. |
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To fund: |
Existing businesses to implement measures that will lead to long-term and measurable minimisation of waste from the business’ operations. Eligible purposes might include (but are not limited to):
Ineligible purposes that will not be funded include:
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Fund open to: |
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Notes: |
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Criteria |
The project proposal or plan must include:
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Apply |
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Financial details
If you're registered for GST, do not include GST in your costs.
Attach quotes and any other supporting documentation to your application. Two quotes are required for the purchase of equipment.
If your application is successful and you don't already have a bank account for your project, you'll need to open a bank account for your group. Once we've received your deposit slip, we'll be able to transfer the funds to your account.
Reporting
Projects are expected to start within three months of approval of funding (unless other prior agreement has been made).
- Short-term projects must be completed within 12 months of receiving funding.
- Longer term projects must achieve agreed targets within 12 months of receiving funding.
You must let the waste minimisation officer know when your project is complete, and include a final report on the project. You'll be asked to provide proof of purchase for any equipment or travel costs with your final or progress report.
Other conditions
Council reserves the right to:
- visit any project or use it for promotional purposes where grant assistance has been given; in principle the applicant will be notified of a visit
- suspend and refuse further grant payments if, in our opinion, the grantee wilfully or through neglect causes the project to fail; our decision is final and will be no rights of appeal or review, and no right to compensation or damages of any nature.
If the project fails or finishes early for any reason, then we may require any equipment purchased with grant money to be transferred to us for reallocation to another project.
Contact
If you have any questions, or would like to discuss your project or application further, you can phone the Waste Minimisation Advisor or email them at [email protected].
Latest recipients
| Recipient | Project | Year |
| Community project grants | ||
| Waitohu School | $1,173 – to run the annual Waitohu School Fireworks Extravaganza community event as a zero-waste event. | 2022/23 |
| Ōtaki Montessori Preschool | $218 – establish a worm farm for the tamariki to learn about sustainable living. | 2022/23 |
| Organic Wealth | $5,171.04 – to expand their existing food scrap collection service across the Kāpiti Coast for businesses and households | 2022/23 |
| Raumati South Repair Cafe | $4,300 – to run regular repair café events in Raumati South throughout 2023. | 2022/23 |
| Māoriland Charitable Trust | $8,701.51 – to expand the composting capacity at the hub’s maara (garden). | 2022/23 |
| Paekākāriki Orchard and Garden/Paecycle |
$10,094.77 – to expand the at-capacity Paecycle food scrap collection service | 2022/23 |
| Business waste reduction | 2022/23 | |
| Ngā Manu Nature Reserve |
$3,165.87 – to establish a source separated waste collection for reserve visitors to responsibly dispose of their recycling and organics on the go. | 2022/23 |
| Community project grants | ||
| Little Earth Montessori Kāpiti | $782.28 – to purchase cloth nappies. | 2021/22 |
| Ōtaki Boating Club | $4,650.00 – to establish a fish processing station to redistribute fresh fish heads and frames to the community. | 2021/22 |
| Ōtaki College | $518.23 – to set up a composting system in their Horticulture Block. | 2021/22 |
| Ōtaki Kindergarten | $263.44 – to set up new compost bins and a worm farm. | 2021/22 |
| Our Lady of Kāpiti Primary School | $500.00 – to set up a three-bin steam onsite. | 2021/22 |
| Raumati South Kindergarten | $282.61 – to set up a worm farm onsite. | 2021/22 |
| Raumati South Technology Centre | $2,140.47 – to set up a composting system. | 2021/22 |
| Raumati Village Community Garden | $720.00 – to upgrade their compost bins. | 2021/22 |
| Small Wonders Childcare Centre | $608.86 – to set up compost tumblers and a worm farm. | 2021/22 |
| Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Te Rito | $3,488.94 – to expand the Ōpara Initiative. | 2021/22 |
| Te Puna Oranga o Ōtaki | $700.00 – to set up worm farms at Te Puna Oranga o Ōtaki and at Raukawa Marae. | 2021/22 |
| Zero Waste Ōtaki | $5,284.25 to purchase a 20-foot container cover to create covered yard space at their timber recovery site. | 2021/22 |
| Kāpiti Waldorf Trust | $4800 – To upgrade Te Ra Waldorf School’s current onsite composting system with two CarbonCycle bins. | 2020/21 |
| Paekākāriki School and Garden Group | $4000 – To upgrade their aging compost pallet bins and to develop a compost educational programme for students, staff and the community. | 2020/21 |
| Paraparaumu College SEAR Group | $1700 – To establish aluminium can recycling throughout Paraparaumu College. | 2020/21 |
| Māoriland Charitable Trust | $1240 – To deliver community and business waste education and engagement for the Māoriland Film Festival 2021. | 2020/21 |
| Ōtaki College | $3100 – To set up a working ‘plastic recycling station’ in their technology class. | 2020/21 |
| Business waste reduction grants | ||
| Figgy & Co | $3,027.50 – to transition to using New Zealand post-consumer recycled plastic bottles. | 2020/21 |
| Te Wānanga o Raukawa | $3,375.39 – to rehome excess office furniture via All Heart NZ from their campus redevelopment. | 2020/21 |
| Koakoa | $4596 – To source 400 reusable crates to extend their bottle return scheme | 2020/21 |
| Māoriland Charitable Trust | $3000 – To add two additional NZBox composters to the Māoriland Hub maara (garden) to increase capacity to process organic waste from local businesses and the local community. | 2020/21 |
| Seed funding | ||
| The Kai Ora Initiative | $10,486.18 – to establish a residential and commercial food and garden waste collection service, centred around Paraparaumu East. | 2020/21 |
Paekākāriki Playcentre is a not-for profit parent-run early childhood centre who saw a need to say goodbye forever to the mountains of paper towels they were throwing away.
The Community Project funding they received in 2019/20 from Council meant they could purchase reusable, cotton hand towels instead, saving money and reducing waste.
They haven’t needed to buy any paper towels for either their bathrooms or the kitchen since they got the cloth towels, and parents support the mahi by taking them home and washing them.
They estimate this small change has replaced the need for 16,000 paper towels!
Playcentre parents have found that putting the cloth towels into their existing paper towel dispensers makes them easy to use – kids just pull one out and then put them into the wash baskets.
They have also noticed this has sparked some great conversations about sustainability with the children – talking about the planet’s resources being limited and trying to conserve them as much as possible through reuse.
In early 2021, local award-winning liqueur and spirit-maker Koakoa secured a $4596 Waste Levy grant from the Business Waste Reduction category. It is now doubling down on its spirit crates system as it ramps up its sustainability commitment.
The spirit crates system was initially launched in 2019 by co-owners Chris Barber and Bec Kay in their response to the excessive amount of cardboard and glass being discarded in the hospitality sector after just one use.
The Waste Levy grant has enabled them to purchase an additional 200 plastic crates, doubling the scheme.
After the gin, vodka and limoncello is delivered in the green plastic crates, their hospitality clients return used bottles (in the crates) to the factory. After being washed, sanitised, and refilled the bottles are returned to their clients. Each bottle is used up to seven times before ultimately heading for recycling.
Chris Barber, co-Owner of Koakoa, says to date their scheme has saved almost 2000 bottles from being discarded after just one use, delivering more than just financial savings.
“With the support of the new grant, we can now double the impact and the savings. It will reduce our environmental footprint further and help our customers reduce theirs.”
Koakoa’s bottle swap scheme addresses the top of the waste hierarchy: Reduce and Reuse, and is actively contributing to Kāpiti’s growing circular economy.
Image: Chris Barber from Koakoa receiving the empty bottles back from Tom at Longbeach in Waikanae.
Waste minimisation company Earth Starch Waste Solutions are trialling a rapid treatment facility, which turns organic waste into rich fertiliser with no bad odour, vermin or toxic waste – all within a matter of hours!
Turning food and green waste into usable fertiliser makes a difference by reducing the methane it would release if it went to landfill instead.
Earth Starch Waste Solutions received $22,880 from the Seed funding category in the 2019/2020 Waste Levy Grant round. This has gone towards equipment for an innovative reactor which uses heat and a 100% organic enzyme to turn food and green waste into a highly nutritious compost within hours. The concept is being trialled in Kāpiti so in the future more Earth Starch treatment facilities will cost-effectively turn organic waste into garden gold.
The Paekākāriki Community Orchard and Gardens (POG) community group have developed a village-wide composting initiative, which collects household food scraps and turns them into compost for the community garden’s fruit trees. This initiative reduces the volume of food scraps heading to landfill to generate harmful leachate and methane.
“We were staggered to learn that 28 percent of Kāpiti's kerbside rubbish collection is kitchen scraps. When added to landfill, these resources generate leachate and methane that contribute to environmental pollution and climate change. Council funding means we now have an awesome e-bike and trailer for collecting scraps and two large composting bins in the Paekākāriki Community garden,” says POG member Doris Zuur.
“We’re predicting that using this service to recycle food scraps may also allow locals to rent a smaller rubbish bin each month too.”
Image: Paekākāriki Community Orchard and Gardens (POG) member Spencer Crocker empties locally collected compost into the community bin.