Deadline Date: December 01, 2025
The Wellington City Council’s Waste Minimisation Fund aims to encourage community-driven efforts to reduce waste and promote sustainability in Wellington.
The focus is on intergenerational sustainability, supporting initiatives that help Wellington shift to systems where unnecessary waste is eliminated and materials and products are kept in use for as long as possible through sharing, reuse, repair and repurposing. The Fund aims to achieve this by supporting projects that address identified gaps and opportunities, or that complement and enhance existing programmes.
Priorities and outcomes are centred on projects aligned with the top two principles of the waste hierarchy, giving preference to Reduce, rethink, redesign—reducing the resources being used and redesigning to avoid producing waste—and Reuse, repair, repurpose—keeping things in use for as long as possible without significant processing. Consideration will also be given to projects targeting the third principle of the waste hierarchy, Recycle, compost, anaerobic digestion, which process materials to make the same or different material of similar value when reuse is no longer possible.
The Fund supports small-scale projects with grants of up to NZD 5,000, with a total pool of NZD 50,000 dedicated to this category. It provides a pathway for individuals, community groups, businesses and organisations to turn innovative ideas into tangible waste reduction outcomes within the city.
Eligible applicants must provide financial information, such as reviewed or audited accounts, and demonstrate sound financial management. They must show capability and capacity to deliver the proposed project, ensure the activity is completed within 12 months of funding approval, and aim for self-sustainability where appropriate. Applicants must also be based in or delivering their project within Wellington City Council boundaries.
For more information, visit Wellington City Council.
