Sustainability Victoria has launched the Market Accelerator program, offering grants to help businesses bring recycled material innovations to market.
Grants of between $15,000 and $50,000 are available to eligible organisations, including those in the food, drink and packaging sectors, to support projects that increase the value and demand for recycled materials and strengthen Victoria’s circular economy.
The program is aimed at validating and commercialising products and processes that use recycled materials such as plastics, paper, cardboard, glass, tyres, organics, textiles, e-waste and batteries. It will also fund advisory services, including business planning, marketing strategy development, and product assessment and certification, to help fast-track market readiness.
Matt Genever, CEO of Sustainability Victoria, said the initiative will help bridge the “critical gap between innovation and market adoption”, adding that it is designed to increase “confidence in and demand for circular solutions across Victoria.”
“Creating more efficient products with less waste and lower energy consumption will not only contribute to reducing Victoria’s carbon emissions but will be a catalyst for the state’s future economic growth,” Genever said.
According to CSIRO’s National Circular Economy Roadmap, the recycling sector generates 9.2 jobs per 10,000 tonnes of waste, compared to 2.8 jobs for landfill, more than three times the employment potential per unit of waste.
The $750,000 Market Accelerator is funded through the Victorian Government’s circular economy policy, Recycling Victoria: a new economy, as part of a broader $25.8 million investment to boost demand for recycled materials and accelerate the state’s transition to a circular economy.
