The Litter Prevention Grants Program is for councils, community groups and other key stakeholders to deliver litter prevention projects and develop strategic plans to address litter in their local environments.

Please note:  Applications for Stream 1 and 3 will now be accepted under a new Intake 5. Applications can be submitted at any stage between 17 February 2025 to 30 October 2025. Applications will be assessed as received and funding available until total funding limit has been exhausted. The primary purpose of this intake is to provide a final opportunity for stream 2 grantees awarded under previous intakes to progress to a stream 3 project. Funding will not be available for stream 2 under intake 5 as these projects will not have an opportunity to progress to stream 3.

The NSW Government has opened the Waste and Sustainable Materials Strategy 2041 Litter Prevention Grants Program with up to $10 million available. You need to follow these guidelines when applying for funding.

Funding is provided under three streams: 

• Stream 1:  Small-scale, on-ground projects, including a dedicated cigarette butt litter program
• Stream 2:  Strategic development and capacity building
• Stream 3:  Own It and Actstrategic implementation

All initiatives must contribute to reducing litter in NSW and engage the community in delivering local, regional or statewide litter prevention outcomes.

Applications for Stream 1 and 3 only will now be accepted under a new Intake 5.

Funding

A total pool of $10,000,000 is available for on-ground projects and strategic initiatives across three streams over several intakes of funding to 2027. Each stream has a maximum grant allocation outlined in Table 1 below, available to each successful applicant.

You can apply for multiple projects within Stream 1 and multiple initiatives in Stream 2. Applicants may apply for a higher stream in subsequent intakes. It is expected that applicants will apply for only one stream per intake.

Applicants can apply for a maximum of $500,000 across multiple streams and intakes available up to 30 June 2027.

Eligibility

To apply you must meet the following eligibility criteria:

• be a local council, regional waste group, community organisation or an alliance or State Government agency located in NSW. Businesses are eligible to apply for cigarette butt litter and clean-up projects only. Schools may apply for clean-up grants (refer to Table 1)
• have a project/initiative that is geographically located in NSW
• be able to deliver an initiative that is in line with the program objectives, as determined by the TRC
• be able to maintain reliable financial records and separately account for grant funds
• Community organisations must:
  • be a non-government, not-for-profit organisation 
  • have their own constitution and be incorporated under the law of a state or territory as an incorporated association, company or cooperative society 
  • hold an Australian Business Number (ABN)

In Streams 2 and 3, each applicant must meet the following additional criteria.

Community-based organisation:

• be a reputable environmental community organisation OR a reputable organisation focused on delivering community-based outcomes with influence over multiple sites and/or multiple related organisational units (e.g. river catchment groups)
• be overseen by suitably qualified and/or senior representatives of the partner organisations (i.e. a steering group) who are committed to meeting regularly and able to make timely decisions to keep the project progressing as planned. For Stream 3, this must include the organisation/s managing public land on which proposed initiatives are to be located.
• be able to provide a certified account for grant fund expenditure with the final report.

Council:

• have cross-departmental and executive leadership support to embed litter prevention as business-as-usual processes
• be overseen by a steering group (or similar) made up of cross-department representatives (including senior executives) that is committed to meeting regularly and able to make timely decisions. If an applicant elects to use an existing group (or groups) to undertake governance and communication roles, an outline of the organisational structure must accompany the application.

Regional waste group:

• have member endorsement to participate (signatures) and have agreement (commitment to act) from any member(s) responsible for delivering an initiative have demonstrated success in delivering previous Regional Litter Plans through the LRIP Program.

Alliance or group of organisations:

• have a written agreement (e.g. MOU or Compact) that outlines the purpose of the alliance or group, and the roles and responsibilities of all participating organisations/members
• have endorsement (signatures) and agreement (commitment to act) from any organisation responsible for delivering upon a plan/strategy or action
• have ability and credibility to lead multiple organisations to realise deliverables
• be overseen by a steering group that is committed to meeting to an agreed schedule and is made up of suitably qualified representatives of the partner organisations, including the organisation/s managing public land where proposed initiatives will be located.

• Email: litter.prevention@epa.nsw.gov.au