Up to $250k in Funding Via the Zero Plastic Waste Initiative

The Zero Plastic Waste Initiative is a Canadian government funding program that aims to create change across the plastics lifecycle to increase waste collection, improve value recovery, and prevent and remove plastic pollution. This program is just one of the many initiatives through the Canada-wide strategy on zero plastic waste, which took action in November 2018.

The program provides up to $250,000 in funding support for projects that improve the understanding, mitigation, or remediation of plastic waste and pollution in Canada.

There is an upcoming deadline of March 2, 2020 and projects are to be completed between April 1, 2020 and March 31, 2022. Based on the below program eligibility factors, please contact Mentor Works if you believe you have a project suitable for Zero Plastic Waste management funding.

Funding Summary: Zero Plastic Waste Initiative

The Zero Plastic Waste Initiative is a federal government funding program and part of a larger action plan that targets zero waste in Canada. Currently, it is estimated that only nine per cent of all plastic in Canada is recycled. The goal is not to completely eliminate plastic, but to attain an overall plastic reduction and improved plastics life-cycle management to achieve a more circular plastics economy.

Successful applicants of the program may receive up to 100% to a maximum of $250,000 in funding for initiatives that remove plastic pollution.

Eligible Applicants

Those eligible for Canadian government funding include:

• For-profit organizations with less than 500 employees;
• Not-for-profit organizations and associations;
• Research, academic, and educational institutions; and
• Provincial, territorial, municipal, and local governments.

Eligible Activities

Projects under the Zero Plastic Waste Initiative must reflect at least one of the following priority areas:

• Targeting plastic leakage points and problematic/commonly littered items to decrease the release of plastic pollution;
• Deploying and evaluating innovative solutions to capture and remove plastic pollution throughout the environment, including freshwater, marine, and terrestrial environments; and
• Capacity building through advancing citizen science initiatives related to the lifecycle of plastics, or plastic pollution and its removal.

Key Performance Indicators

Projects will be required to report on one or more of the following indicators:

• Number of citizen science initiatives developed/implemented;
• Kilograms of plastic litter diverted (captured or removed) from the environment;
• Number of tools developed/adopted to assess plastic pollution;
• Total number of sites at which data were collected;
• Number of participants or Canadians reached;
• Number of partners or organizations participating/contributing to the project; and
• Number of best practices or tools developed leading to plastic pollution prevention/reduction.

Ineligible Activities

Ineligible projects include:

• Projects specific to the design, recovery, and recycling of boats;
• Citizen shoreline clean-ups;
• Projects solely focused on education and awareness; and
• Projects specific to fishing gear (e.g. removal or innovative design).

Eligible Expenses

• Translation costs
• Material and supply costs
• HR costs, including salaries and benefits
• Contract and professional services costs
• Printing and production costs
• Communication and distribution costs

Ready to Apply for the Zero Plastic Waste Initiative?

The Zero Plastic Waste Initiative has a quickly approaching deadline of March 2, 2020.

If your organization has a project that you believe fits the program guidelines, please contact Mentor Works to discuss the next steps in the application process.