Waste Reduction Community Grants
Grants of up to $25,000 are available to support innovative community-based efforts to reduce residential waste and increase participation in the City of Toronto’s waste diversion programs. A priority will be placed on investing in actions that address multi-residential buildings, multi-lingual communities, equity-seeking groups and Neighbourhood Improvement Areas.
The grants support the City’s Long Term Waste Management Strategy and reflect its guiding principles:
- working with community partners to enhance access to waste diversion programs;
- increasing public engagement; and
- working together to deliver services.
The strategy puts priority on reducing and encouraging the prevention of waste, maximizing its value before disposal, and supporting the move towards a circular economy. Waste diversion, which minimizes the amount of waste sent to landfill, follows reduction and reuse in order of priority.
For a detailed program overview, please refer to the Application Guidelines.
Grants of up to $25,000 are available to support innovative community-based efforts to reduce residential waste and increase participation in the City of Toronto’s waste diversion programs.
Key Dates
Applications for the 2019 grant round closed on March 1, 2019 at 5 p.m. E.S.T.
Objectives
All proposed projects for grant funding must satisfy one or more of the following objectives:
- Directly result in a reduction in the amount of residential waste produced or an increase in the amount of residential waste diverted from landfill;
- Directly enhance the ability of individuals or the community group to engage in activities that will result in the reduction and/or diversion of residential waste; and/or
- Foster long-term changes in behaviour that result in waste reduction or increased participation in the City of Toronto’s diversion programs.
Eligible Projects
Eligible groups include resident, tenant, and neighbourhood associations, service clubs, ethnic community organizations, registered charitable organizations, environmental organizations, school groups, clubs, and councils.
Examples of projects eligible for funding could include:
- Initiatives that support reduction and reuse
- Waste education and engagement initiatives
- Initiatives that align with the Long Term Waste Management Strategy (e.g. repair, exchange, swapping and sharing)
A priority will be placed on investing in actions that address multi-residential buildings, multilingual communities, equity-seeking groups and Neighbourhood Improvement Areas.
The City will accept applications for a minimum of $5,000 up to a maximum of $25,000 in grant funding.
For a detailed program overview, please refer to the Application Guidelines.
The following eligibility criteria must be met:
- the project must demonstrate how it aligns with the Long Term Waste Management Strategy and supports the City’s aspirational Zero Waste goal;
- the organization must be incorporated and have non-profit status. Organizations without these prerequisites may apply if they enter into a trusteeship agreement with an incorporated non-profit organization; and
- your group/organization must fall into one of the eligible categories below.
Eligible
- Resident, tenant, neighbourhood, and business associations
- Service clubs
- Ethnic community organizations
- Registered charitable organizations and environmental organizations
- School groups, clubs and councils
Ineligible
- Building managers and property owners
- For-profit businesses
- Individuals
- Grant making organizations
- Organizations allied with political parties
- Organizations without a clear distinction between religious and community service functions at the program and budget levels
- Academic institutions
- School Boards
- Organizations with an active or incomplete project funded by the Waste Reduction Community Grants
Project Eligibility
Examples of projects eligible for funding could include:
- Initiatives that support reduction and reuse
- Waste education and engagement initiatives
- Initiatives that align with the Long Term Waste Management Strategy (e.g. repair, exchange, swapping and sharing of goods)
The Waste Reduction Community Grant is a two-step application process. The first step is to submit an Expression of Interest (EOI). Applications for the 2019 grant round closed on March 1, 2019 at 5 p.m. E.S.T.
Important
- Please read Application Guidelines, before you start the EOI form.
- Applicants are strongly encouraged to contact us before submitting an EOI so that we can discuss the proposed project and application process.
- All EOI submissions will be reviewed by City of Toronto staff. A limited number of applicants, who meet the eligibility criteria, will then be shortlisted and invited to proceed to Step Two: Full Application.
- Notifications to the shortlisted EOI applicants will be made by March 29, 2019.
Waste Reduction Community Grants Timelines – 2019
| Stage | Key Dates (2019) |
|---|---|
| Grant applications/Expression of Interest Application opens | January 7 |
| Expression of Interest (EOI) submission deadline | March 1 at 5 p.m. |
| Notification to shortlisted EOI applicants | mid-April |
| Full Application submission deadline | May 17 at 5 p.m. |
| Full Application reviewed by the Grant Review Committee | May |
| Funding decisions communicated | June |
Thank you to everyone who applied for the first round of Waste Reduction Community Grants. The following projects were selected to receive funding from among more than 80 applications.
| # | Organization | Project Description | Funding |
| 1 | 1001 Bay Street – Green Committee | The Green team at 1001 Bay Street, a 500 unit condominium building, is aiming to become the greenest building on Bay Street by delivering educational programming and tenant engagements. Initiatives will include on site environment days, welcome packages for new residents, a kiosk, signage, literature, training, a website, and more. | $12,000 |
| 2 | Donwood Park Eco-Team | Donwood Park Public School students will create and publish a book that educates and motivates families to adopt the TDSB’s Boomerang Lunch and Snack Program. In doing so, the project will educate students and their parents about reducing food and packaging waste through ‘litterless lunches’, and proper waste sorting. | $8,000 |
| 3 | Fashion Takes Action (FTA) | Fashion Takes Action will educate students at schools across Toronto about the 7Rs of Fashion (reduce, reuse, recycle, repurpose, research, repair, rent), through workshops on sustainable fashion and textile waste diversion, stewardship programming, and leadership training camps. | $24,300 |
| 4 | Junction Farmers Market | With the goal of becoming a zero-waste market, the Junction Farmers Market will establish a reusable foodware station, wash station, and dedicated storage space to eliminate foodware and packaging waste at the seasonal farmers market. The project will engage market vendors, market customers, residents and business owners from The Junction in waste education and awareness programming. | $12,488 |
| 5 | Recycling Council of Ontario | The Recycling Council of Ontario will design and develop a Clothing Swap Event Planning Toolkit for multi-residential buildings in Toronto which will contain customizable resources that will be available for download and translated into several languages. | $25,000 |
| 6 | Friends of Christie Pits Park | The Friends of Christie Pits will create Toronto’s first-ever sharing library of community events materials (e.g. tables, tablecloths, chairs, tents, coolers) in the Christie Pits Park and surrounding neighbourhoods. | $9,600 |
| 7 | Tides Canada Initiatives – Not Far From The Tree | Not Far from the Tree will increase the capacity to harvest and share more fruit across Toronto, and reduce organic waste, by developing a fruit-picking web application. The app will connect homeowners with fruit trees with fruit picking volunteers in an expanded operating area including North York, Scarborough and Etobicoke. | $24,700 |