Metcash has received a $500,000 grant from the NSW Government for its waste reduction and recycling initiative.

The NSW Bin Trim Network Program is the country’s largest business waste reduction program, and Metcash is one of 14 companies to receive funding this year.

The program aims to divert 35,000 tonnes of waste from landfills annually by helping businesses reduce waste and implement circular economy solutions.

Metcash said the grant will help divert 80 per cent of waste from landfills by 2028 and support the rollout of its national waste avoidance and recycling projects.

Alex Arnaudon, senior sustainability manager at Metcash, said the grant would help the company achieve its waste diversion targets.

“A key aim of the program is to minimise the generation of food and organic waste, along with reducing excessive packaging and non-recyclable materials in retail stores, distribution centres and the NSW supply chain”, said Arnaudon.

Waste audits will be conducted across 115 targeted grocery, retail and distribution centre sites in NSW to identify waste avoidance and recycling opportunities, which will be used to develop toolkits and learnings rolled out to stores and distribution centres in the Metcash national network.

Meanwhile, on-site audits will be conducted using the Bin Trim assessment methodology, which includes a site walk-through, visual-based audits, interviews, and data entry upload onto the Bin Trim tool.

After the audit, all NSW retailers can apply for a 50 per cent rebate from the NSW Government for new recycling equipment.

“We look forward to uncovering further waste avoidance opportunities and identifying best practice recycling initiatives across the network,” concluded Arnaudon. 

Metcash is a wholesaler and conglomerate company that distributes food, liquor and hardware. It owns banners including IGA, Home Hardware, Cellarbrations and Thirsty Camel.