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Yesterday, most of the 164 applications for funding for waste project(s) from the Ministry for the Environment’s Waste Minimisation Fund would have received a letter telling them their application has been turned down. Congratulations to the 29 who did make it through to the next stage – we are interested to see what these projects are. If this was you and your project is based in Canterbury have you thought about approaching the Sustainable Initiatives Fund for assistance?

The purpose of the Waste Minimisation Fund is not too dissimilar to the objectives of the Sustainable Initiatives Fund Trust. The WMF was developed to boost New Zealand’s performance in waste minimisation through educational, promotional, technological or infrastructure projects. The objectives of the Sustainable Initiatitives Fund Trust are about reducing or avoiding waste that goes specifically to Canterbury’s landfills through new technology/process or recovering new waste streams or by developing new products or technologies out of recovered materials. Other sub-objectives include creating useful sustainable educational applications from the products or technologies that are developed and/or creating sustainable energy products out of waste and/or creating sustainable job opportunties and contributing positively to Canterbury’s economy. The Sustainable Initiatives Fund Trust is apart of a new generation of social lenders with the primary motivation of reducing negative environmental impacts – decreasing waste to landfill.

We have a number of projects on the go at the moment that are a mix of grants, loans and equity investments and cover a range of waste streams and issues. You can check out more of our past projects here.

We had a board meeting yesterday and again the board reiterated that projects need to show their reduction in environmental impact first and foremost. We are super keen to see the waste reduction numbers for the waste stream your project deals with.

If you have an idea that requires financial assistance we may be able to help. Call myself (Olivia Day, General Manager) to discuss if you are eligible and if we can help. Our number is 03 3655655.