Through the $35 million Conserve, Invest and Save strategy, the Victorian Government is committed to reinvesting landfill levy revenue into the waste industry to improve the industry’s capacity to recover resources that would otherwise be sent to landfill.

 

What is the Resource Recovery Infrastructure fund?

 

The $6.5 million Resource Recovery Infrastructure fund will provide funding to organisations to install infrastructure to process more than 100,000 tonnes of waste per annum mainly from the commercial and industrial sector.

 

The focus of the Resource Recovery Infrastructure fund is to encourage the installation of infrastructure to recover, treat or use commercial and industrial sector waste:

• The commercial and industrial sector waste is defined as solid waste generated from trade, commercial and industrial activities including the government sector
• It includes waste from offices, manufacturing, factories, schools, universities, state and government operations and small to medium businesses (for example, food waste)
• To achieve the processing target of more than 100,000 tonnes of waste per year, commercial and industrial sector waste is able to be augmented with waste from municipal solid waste (MSW) or construction and demolition (C&D) sector waste

 

Why is the program required?

Approximately 1.3 million tonnes of waste from the commercial and industrial sector is being sent to licensed landfills1.

In Victoria there are no large materials recovery facilities that either sort mixed recyclables or recover recyclables from the commercial and industrial landfill waste stream.

 

Available funding

Funding of between $1 million to $4 million is available for infrastructure capital costs. This is to install infrastructure to process more than 100,000 tonnes of waste per year when fully operational.

The target recovery and/or use rate should be 75 per cent, mainly from the commercial and industrial sector.

 

The Fund’s objectives

The objectives are to:

* encourage the installation of infrastructure to recover large amounts of commercial and industrial sector waste

* create new and sustainable employment

* encourage private sector investment for an improved standard of waste infrastructure

* strengthen markets for recovered waste material in Victoria

 

The eligibility criteria

To be eligible, all projects must:

• Process 100,000 tonnes of waste or more per year with a target recovery rate or use of waste of at least 75 percent mainly from the commercial and industrial sector, by:

o sorting and separating mixed commercial and industrial sector waste streams to recover recyclable material and/or

o managing, treating or stabilising commercial and industrial sector-derived organics and/or

o treating the residual commercial and industrial sector waste stream to produce processed engineered fuels or energy

• Install, commission and be processing and recovering the required levels of waste by 30 June 2016
•  Be a legal entity and have a current Australian Business Number (ABN)
• Meet the co-contribution requirement of the fund
• Be willing to provide information to the Victorian Recycling Industries Annual Survey

 

The selection criteria

Proposals will be assessed on how well the following criteria can be met:

• A high level of control over feedstock
• Established markets for end products
• The technology, operational efficacy and effectiveness of the proposed infrastructure is proven in the Australian context
• Proposed site of the infrastructure is fit-for-purpose
• Proposed infrastructure is financial viable in the long term
• Key stakeholders and communities have been identified and engagement and management strategies developed
• Logistics of sourcing feedstock and delivering recovered material or processed waste is efficient and effective
• Company due diligence, including legal and regulatory issues, of the organisation’s capability to deliver and a demonstration that the proposal has cross-organisational support and aligns with the applicant’s core business plan

Matching funding

Projects are required, as a minimum, to have matched funding in the ratio of 25% Sustainability Victoria to 75% industry (i.e. $1 SV: $3 for industry).

 

Examples of suitable projects

•  Pre-sort infrastructure, which may be located at the front of landfills, resource recovery facilities or at strategically located collection points, to process residual commercial and industrial sector waste to recover recyclables (e.g. paper, cardboard, plastic, glass, metals and timber)
• Infrastructure to stabilise commercial and industrial sector organics through mechanical biological treatment or anaerobic processing
• Infrastructure to manage, treat or recover commercial and industrial sector-derived organics (such as using anaerobic digesters) through the installation of precinct or wider scale solutions management and treatment of organics
• Processing infrastructure to treat the residual commercial and industrial sector waste stream to produce process engineered fuel products or energy

 

Types of projects that cannot be considered for funding

Funding will not be provided for:

• Projects that do not meet the objectives of the fund, the eligibility and selection criteria
• Activities that do not directly contribute to increased diversion of commercial and industrial sector recyclable waste materials from landfill including, but not limited to, education activities, training, feasibility studies, audit activities
• Project management costs
• Projects not located in Victoria
• Hazardous waste
• E-waste projects
• Where applicant organisations have failed to address a breach of the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 (Vic) or Environment Protection Act 1970 (Vic)
• Projects that cannot reasonably gain Environment Protection Authority Victoria works approvals and/or planning permits within program timelines
• Expressions of interest submitted after the closing date
• Requests for retrospective funding, where projects have commenced construction or are completed prior to receiving funding approval (where construction includes, but is not limited to, site clearing, earthworks and building works)
• The purchase of land
• Projects that require on-going funding or support other than the initial grant
• On-going operational costs such as, but not limited to, salaries, electricity, water and other utilities
• Routine or cyclical maintenance works
• Repair of facilities damaged by vandalism, fire or other natural disasters where the damage should be covered by insurance
• Pre-construction activities, such as: site clearing, earthworks or site accessibility works
• Costs associated with the purchase of transport equipment or any other type of vehicle
• Organisations that have failed to complete any previous projects funded by Sustainability Victoria

 

Application process

The application process in in two stages:

Stage 1 –  From 26 November 2012 to 15 March 2013

Eligible organisations are invited to submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) that will include a preliminary business case to be competitively assessed by a panel of senior industry and government representatives.

The assessment panel may also draw on advice from relevant technical experts and/or request an applicant to provide a presentation on their proposal.

Projects assessed as having best met the fund’s objectives and selection criteria will be recommended to progress to Stage 2.

An organisation recommended to progress to Stage 2 will have a financial and organisational assessment to determine its capacity to deliver the project within the term of funding (2013 to 2016).

Depending on the number and quality of the Expressions of Interest, Sustainability Victoria may enter negotiations directly with one or more applicants to build on proposals to achieve the fund’s objectives.

 

Stage 2 of the application

Stage2 – May to August 2013

Shortlisted applicants will be offered initial funding to assist with the development of a full business case.

The business case will form the basis for the final application funding. The business case will be assessed by a panel of senior industry and government experts who may also draw on advice from relevant technical experts. Applicants may also be requested to give a presentation on their proposal to the assessment panel.

The submission of a business case does not guarantee funding.

Who can submit and expression of interest

The Resource Recovery Infrastructure fund is open to the Victorian waste processing and recycling sector.

The applicant must be a legal entity and have a current Australian Business Number (ABN).

 

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