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.

Contact us

Environmental Trust

Ongoing Environmental Trust programs

Name Description Eligible groups Funding available Next round opening Closing date Anticipated project announcement dates
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 – –
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) 		2025 To be advised To be advised
Environmental research Supports applied research for local environmental problems Research institutions

Collaborations 		Up to $200,000 per project

($1,000,000 in total) 		2025 2025 To be advised
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) 		2025 To be advised To be advised
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 		Up to $200,000 per project
($4  million in total) 		2025 – To be advised