More than $100,000 in waste minimisation grants and $36,000 from the Young People’s Fund have been approved by Porirua City Council, supporting projects aimed at reducing waste and improving opportunities for young people across the city.
The funding was confirmed at a council meeting on December 11, with councillors endorsing recommendations from council officers under the Government waste levy programme and the latest round of youth funding.
Seven organisations, schools and businesses were successful in the tier 1 waste levy funding round, which received 15 applications.
Te Āhuru Mōwai received $19,262 to support education and waste minimisation activities for social housing tenants. Windley School was awarded $4,500 to install a composting system.
The NZ Sport Fishing Council received $16,000 to support the Kai Ika project, working with recreational fishers to rescue fish frames for redistribution to the community.
Wesley Community Action was granted $30,000 for a pilot scheme collecting food scraps from hospitality businesses to be processed into compost. Te Rūnanga o Toa Rangatira received $15,000 to support a maara kai and composting project at Kura Toa.
Additional funding went to WELLfed NZ Trust, which received $12,000 to embed composting and waste minimisation into cooking workshops, and TechCollect NZ Ltd, which was awarded $4,000 to support an e-waste drop-off service at Noel Leeming.
Smaller tier 2 waste minimisation grants of up to $2,000 will continue to be allocated on a monthly rolling basis.
Councillors also received a report on the latest Young People’s Fund allocations at the December 11 meeting. A youth panel of six people aged 16 to 24 assessed applications from the August and September funding round and allocated $6,000 to each of six recipients.
Those recipients were Big Brothers Big Sisters Wellington, Āhuru Mōwai Trust, Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington, Sense Rugby New Zealand Trust, Ignite Sports Trust and Titahi Bay Te Kōhanga Reo.
The Young People’s Fund was established by council in 2017 to support tamariki and rangatahi in Porirua who face barriers to opportunity. Applicants must show how young people were involved in designing their projects or initiatives.
Mayor Anita Baker said funding waste reduction and youth initiatives would benefit the city over the long term.
“It’s rewarding when you see where this money is going,” Mayor Baker said. “There are incredibly bright people in Porirua who are putting their minds towards keeping waste from our landfill and also really giving the young people in our community a hand up.”