The Victorian Government is investing into the regional recycling infrastructure and has opened up grants for local councils.

For the first round of the Regional Recycling Fund, $10 million will be made available to fund infrastructure investment to help smaller facilities operate at a larger scale.

Councils can apply for grants of up to $500,000 per facility to upgrade resource recovery centres for recyclable materials such as cardboard, plastic, paper, glass and mixed recyclables.

Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change Lily D’Ambrosio announced the first round of grants on Wednesday.

“These regional facilities are the building blocks for a robust recycling network that will drive current and future material recovery in regional Victoria, supporting the creation of regional circular economies and jobs,” she said in a statement.

Over three years, $40.9 million will be invested into the recycling infrastructure to create local circular economies and establish regional small material recovery facilities.

“These regional facilities are the building blocks for a robust recycling network that will drive current and future material recovery in regional Victoria.” – Lily D’Ambrosio, Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change

Future funding will be used for further upgrades and the government will develop Regional Circular Economy Plans.

These plans will help regional councils to work together to identify local recycling opportunities to optimise Victoria’s resource recovery and transfer station network, which help connect waste collection programs with recycling centres.

Local councils and private operators can apply for the grants. Private operators will be asked to contribute $3 for every $1 received through the program.

The fund is part of the government’s $515 million investment into transforming the state’s waste and recycling industry.

Applications for round one of the fund are open until 4pm on March 9.