Waste levy grants

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.

About waste levy grants

Waste levy grants include two funding categories to help you with your waste minimisation projects: 

We especially encourage project applications that:

  • move up the waste hierarchy to a circular economy
  • shift to a low-emissions, low-waste society, with inclusive and equitable outcomes
  • reduce the 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.

  • Monday 12 May 2025 – Opening of waste levy grant applications. 
  • 11.59pm, Sunday 22 June 2025 – Closing of waste levy grant applications 
  • Thursday 4 September 2025 – Funding decision made by Grants subcommittee (Waste Levy).
  • Friday 5 September 2025 – All applicants notified of outcome from this date. 
  • Winter 2026 (TBC) – Opening of waste levy grant applications.

How to apply

Apply online via Council’s Smartygrants platform:

You can also download and print a hardcopy application from the same links above if you’d prefer.

Waste Levy Grant recipients

The Roastery

Gratitude Kefir

The Bond Store

Waste levy fund for business waste reduction

Funds available

A funding pool of $20,000 is available for business waste reduction projects in 2025/26. There is no rates funding involved. Businesses must co-fund at least 50% of eligible project costs. 

To fund

This fund is designed to assist existing businesses in implementing measures that will lead to long-term and measurable minimisation of waste from their own operations.

Eligible purposes

Eligible projects can include (but are not limited to): 

  • Equipment needed to achieve the project outcomes (submit two quotes per item of equipment, where possible). 
  • Publicity or educational material directly related to the aims of the programme. 
  • New initiatives or improvements/expansions to existing programmes using proven technologies. 
  • Trials and pilot programmes using proven technologies. 
  • Training needs of workers. 
  • Skill development of project participants. 
  • Administration costs related to the project. 
  • Wages directly related to the project. 
  • Travel costs (travel will only be funded if it is essential for the project, and each journey will be evaluated on its individual merit). 
Ineligible purposes

The following purposes will not be funded:

  • Feasibility studies. 
  • Waste disposal, treatment, or recycling costs. 
  • Ongoing financial support of existing activities or running costs. 
  • Duplication of other demonstration projects or pilot studies. 
  • Debt servicing. 
  • Retrospective projects/work that has already been completed. 
  • Legal expenses. 
  • Any costs related to preparing the application. 
  • Catering costs. 

Fund open to

This fund is open to:

  • Businesses
  • Organisations
  • Social Enterprises

Notes

  • Applicants must co-fund at least 50% of the total project cost.
  • There is no minimum $amount per application; each application will be assessed on their scope and merits.

Criteria

The project proposal must include the following:

  • How waste reduction success will be measured. Success must be quantifiable and reported back to the Council (Council staff are available to provide guidance on reporting methodology).
  • An estimate of cost savings resulting from the project. Priority will be given to projects where expected savings are not sufficient to cover project costs.
  • A plan for how the project will be developed, marketed, and managed (if applicable).
  • The proportion of project funding being sought and how any remaining proportion will be funded.
  • Details of any other sources of funding or sponsorship, or applications made for such.
  • Proof of an entity, organisation, or project bank account requiring multiple signatories.

How to apply

You can also download and print a hardcopy application from the same link above if you’d prefer.

For additional assistance or more information, please contact the Council directly.

Waste levy fund for community projects

Funds available

A funding pool of $30,000 is available for community projects in 2025/26. There is no rates funding involved.

To fund

This fund is designed to support practical waste minimisation projects that:

  • Encourage community participation and education.
  • Benefit the Kāpiti Coast community.
  • Lead to long-term waste minimisation actions and behaviour change.
Eligible purposes

Eligible purposes may include (but are not limited to): 

  • New programmes, projects, or events that promote waste minimisation. 
  • Improvements or expansions to existing programmes.
  • Equipment necessary to achieve the programme’s outcomes (two quotes per item are required, if possible). 
  • Publicity or educational material directly related to the programme's objectives. 
  • Training needs of workers involved in the project.
  • Skill development of programme participants.
  • Administration costs and project-related expenses (up to $500). 
  • Wages that are directly related to the project. 
Ineligible purposes

The following will not be funded:

  • Applications that do not align with the purpose of the Waste Levy Policy and its guidelines. 
  • Waste disposal, treatment, or recycling costs. 
  • Ongoing financial support or running costs of activities (recurring activities like waste minimisation at public events may be funded for a maximum of two years, but no more). 
  • Subscriptions and memberships. 
  • Debt servicing. 
  • Projects or costs that have already occurred. 
  • Costs involved in preparing the application. 
  • Catering costs. 

Fund open to

This fund is available to:

  • Community groups
  • Businesses
  • Iwi/Māori organisations
  • Educational institutions
  • Neighbourhood groups of at least five households
  • Other community-based organisations

Notes

  • There is no minimum amount per application. Each application will be assessed on its merits on a case-by-case basis.

How to apply

You can also download and print a hardcopy application from the same link above if you’d prefer.

For additional assistance or more information, please contact the Council directly.

Recipients announced 

We've announced the recipients for waste levy grants for 2024/25. See Latest recipients for details.  

Financial details

If you're registered for GST, exclude GST from 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 group bank account.

We require that you sign and return a funding agreement and proof of bank account before we’re able to transfer grant funds to your project or organisation account. Council reserves the right to set conditions and/or phase project funding. 

Reporting

Projects are expected to start within three months of approval of funding (unless 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 your 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.

In advance of making any changes to your project as indicated in your original application you must contact a council waste minimisation officer to discuss. This includes any financial, hardware or project scope changes. A waste minimisation officer will review the proposed changes and either approve them in writing, or present them to Council for re-approval if the changes are materially different than your original application. 

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 a Waste Minimisation Advisor or email them at [email protected].

Latest recipients

Community Projects Fund 2024/25

Ōtaki College

Received $2,116 for a project aimed at providing sustainable period products for students. The initiative supports waste minimisation by promoting reusable alternatives.

Raumati Technology Centre

Received $6,671 to provide community waste minimisation education and practical skills. The project aims to engage the community in reducing waste through hands-on learning.

Bike Yard Kāpiti Charitable Trust (Cyclic Solutions)

Received $2,000 for the refurbishment and recycling of bicycles and components, promoting a circular economy and reducing waste from discarded bikes.

Te Kura ā Iwi o Whakatupuranga Rua Mano

Received $4,602 for the sourcing of recovered/recycled building materials. This initiative supports sustainable construction practices by using materials that would otherwise go to waste.

Paekākāriki Orchard Group

Received $5,000 to promote and expand the PaeCycle Project, a community-led initiative focused on reducing food scraps through a collection and recycling programme.

Ōtaki Women’s Community Club

Received $800 for Organic Wealth waste minimisation expertise, helping to expand local food scrap collection and composting efforts.

Worm It Up

Received $4,500 to expand their kitchen scraps composting subscription service, helping more households divert food waste from landfills.

He Iti nā Mōtai

Received $811 for eligible composting expenditure, supporting a local initiative to reduce organic waste through composting systems.

Māoriland Charitable Trust

Received $2,500 to support reuse initiatives at the Māoriland Film Festival, promoting waste reduction and sustainability at the event.

Katihiku Marae Committee

Received $1,000 for the installation of colour-coded bins and signage, aiming to improve waste segregation and recycling practices at the marae.

Business Waste Reduction Fund 2024/25

Crooked Vege Ōtaki

Received $1,000 for the purchase of reusable totes and containers, which will help reduce single-use plastic waste in their operations.

Te Wānanga o Raukawa in Ōtaki

Received $2,785 for a biochar system, designed to turn organic waste into a valuable resource, supporting waste minimisation and sustainable practices.

Land Matters

Received $745 for a waste audit, aimed at identifying opportunities for waste reduction and improving sustainability in their operations.

The Roastery

Received $4,230 for a reusables initiative to tackle single-use cup waste. The project encourages customers to bring their own reusable cups and containers, reducing the environmental impact of disposable coffee cups.

Community Projects Grants

2023/24

Juli Hunter Eco Friendly Style
Received $2,940 to run regular sewing classes that teach the community skills in repairing and visible mending, aiming to reduce textile waste. The classes will be held monthly for groups of 10 people, providing practical, hands-on lessons.

Kāpiti Softball Club
Received $2,230 to establish a colour-sorted glass recycling system. The club hosts 5–10 national and local tournaments each season, catering for 200–800 people at these events.

KapiMana Multiples
Received $2,138 to purchase a set of reusable cloth nappies, allowing their members to trial cloth nappies for one month.

Māoriland Charitable Trust
Received $6,980 to support an educational initiative at the Māoriland Film Festival, raising awareness about the environmental impact of single-use packaging through film screenings, an interactive waste diversion installation, and the use of reusable crockery.

Organic Wealth
Received $6,198 to expand their community food scrap collection program. The funding will support trailer modifications, staff training, educational food waste labels, additional compost bins, and diesel costs for expanded operations.

Ōtaki Montessori Preschool
Received $578.12 to set up composting systems, educational recycling posters, and a paper brick maker to teach students about recycling and composting.

Ōtaki School (Te Kura tuatahi o Ōtaki)
Received $1,628 to purchase composting bins and worm farms to process garden and food waste. The project integrates waste reduction into the school’s education and encourages students to share these learnings with their families.

The Shed Project Kāpiti Limited
Received $2,934.39 to support wages for a disabled worker collecting and composting food scraps as part of their food scraps collection service for households and businesses in Paraparaumu and Ōtaki.

Shoebox Christmas Trust
Received $2,421.50 to develop their digital platform and pilot a community-driven food waste reduction campaign, connecting food growers, community gardens, and families with surplus food to organizations redistributing food to those in need.

St Peter Chanel School
Received $753.99 for new composting systems, training, and a greenhouse to reduce organic waste from school meals and educate students and their families about waste reduction.

2022/23

Waitohu School
Received $1,173 to run the annual Waitohu School Fireworks Extravaganza as a zero-waste event.

Ōtaki Montessori Preschool
Received $218 to establish a worm farm to teach tamariki about sustainable living.

Organic Wealth
Received $5,171.04 to expand their food scrap collection service across the Kāpiti Coast for businesses and households.

Raumati South Repair Cafe
Received $4,300 to run regular repair café events in Raumati South throughout 2023.

Māoriland Charitable Trust
Received $8,701.51 to expand composting capacity at the Māoriland Hub’s maara (garden).

Paekākāriki Orchard and Garden/Paecycle
Received $10,094.77 to expand the Paecycle food scrap collection service.

Ngā Manu Nature Reserve
Received $3,165.87 to establish a source-separated waste collection system, allowing visitors to responsibly dispose of their recycling and organics.

2021/22

Little Earth Montessori Kāpiti
Received $782.28 to purchase cloth nappies.

Ōtaki Boating Club
Received $4,650 to establish a fish processing station for redistributing fresh fish heads and frames to the community.

Ōtaki College
Received $518.23 to set up a composting system in their Horticulture Block.

Ōtaki Kindergarten
Received $263.44 to set up new compost bins and a worm farm.

Our Lady of Kāpiti Primary School
Received $500 to set up a three-bin system onsite.

Raumati South Kindergarten
Received $282.61 to set up a worm farm.

Raumati South Technology Centre
Received $2,140.47 to establish a composting system.

Raumati Village Community Garden
Received $720 to upgrade their compost bins.

Small Wonders Childcare Centre
Received $608.86 to set up compost tumblers and a worm farm.

Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Te Rito
Received $3,488.94 to expand the Ōpara Initiative.

Te Puna Oranga o Ōtaki
Received $700 to set up worm farms at Te Puna Oranga o Ōtaki and Raukawa Marae.

Zero Waste Ōtaki
Received $5,284.25 to purchase a 20-foot container cover to create covered yard space at their timber recovery site.

Kāpiti Waldorf Trust
Received $4,800 to upgrade Te Ra Waldorf School’s onsite composting system with two CarbonCycle bins.

Paekākāriki School and Garden Group
Received $4,000 to upgrade their compost pallet bins and develop a compost education program.

Paraparaumu College SEAR Group
Received $1,700 to establish aluminium can recycling at Paraparaumu College.

Māoriland Charitable Trust
Received $1,240 to deliver community and business waste education for the Māoriland Film Festival.

Ōtaki College
Received $3,100 to set up a plastic recycling station in their technology class.

Business Waste Reduction Grants

2023/24

Anam Cara Gardens
Received $1,101.65 to introduce additional composting systems, including compost bins, worm farms, and bokashi systems.

The Bond Store
Received $2,000 to expand their reusable bottle swap crate system to include more bottle sizes, meeting customer demand.

Energise Ōtaki
Received $8,000 to part-fund a small-scale anaerobic digestion pilot to process organic waste and generate energy for local businesses, public agencies, and households.

Gratitude Kefir
Received $3,488.50 to part-fund the creation of a fully integrated reuse system, including reusable crates and a bottle-washing facility to reduce waste and support waste minimization.

The Roastery
Received $5,403 to part-fund the expansion of their Swap-A-Jar reusables system and provide necessary wash and sanitizing services to support scaling a circular reusables economy.

2020/21

Figgy & Co
Received $3,027.50 to transition to using New Zealand post-consumer recycled plastic bottles.

Te Wānanga o Raukawa
Received $3,375.39 to rehome excess office furniture through All Heart NZ after their campus redevelopment.

Koakoa
Received $4,596 to source 400 reusable crates to extend their bottle return scheme.

Māoriland Charitable Trust
Received $3,000 to add two NZBox composters to the Māoriland Hub maara (garden) to increase composting capacity for local businesses and the community.

Seed Funding

2020/21

The Kai Ora Initiative
Received $10,486.18 to establish a food and garden waste collection service for residential and commercial clients centred around Paraparaumu East.

Case studies

reusable cloths hanging on a washing linePaekākāriki 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.

Paekākāriki Community Orchard and Gardens (POG) member Spencer Crocker empties locally collected compost into the community bin.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.

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