Rundle Mall Public Place Organics Recycling Pilot Business Incentives Program
The City of Adelaide invites eligible cafés along Rundle Mall to improve waste diversion by switching from single-use plastics to compostable takeaway products and implementing a food organics bin service.
The Rundle Mall Public Place Organics Recycling Pilot Business Incentives Program (‘the Program’) commenced in April 2022 for a period of 12 months. So far, the Program has already helped replace 20,000 single-use plastics with certified compostable products.
Incentives
Eligible cafés can apply for:
Rundle Mall Compostable Products Voucher
- $1200 voucher: one-off voucher to support the switch to certified compostable products.
- Eligible suppliers are listed on the voucher application.
Rundle Mall Food Organics Bin Service Rebate
- $400 rebate: rebate to support food organics bin service.
- Eligible cafés can apply for this rebate up to two times. Dates of service must not overlap.
To help you make the switch, we’ve teamed up with Plastic Free SA to provide free information and sustainable solutions. Talk to Plastic Free SA before applying for the products voucher.
The incentive aims to complement Australia's largest green bin trial in a retail precinct, the Food Waste and Compostables Recycling Zone in Rundle Mall. This trial allows members of the public to stop and sort their waste into the appropriate green, yellow or red bin when out and about in Rundle Mall. This 12 month trail began in August 2022 and will shape future trials in other areas of the city and North Adelaide.
Who's eligible
Cafés located at front facing, street level locations along:
- Rundle Mall
- James Place
- Stephens Place
- Gawler Place
- Francis Street
- No Fixed Address Lane
- Charles Street
- Twin Street
Check your eligibility on the map:
Applications for this program have closed
To find out more about sustainability initiatives at the City of Adelaide, see Circular Economy and Carbon Neutral Adelaide.
Frequently asked questions
Plastic Free SA can provide guidance to identify single-use plastics and how to replace them with either reuseable items or certified compostable products. We recommended contacting Plastic Free SA before applying for the voucher.
Eligible takeaway products include:
- food ware (plates, bowls)
- coffee cups/lids
- takeaway containers
The voucher can only be used to replace a single-use plastic takeaway product with a certified compostable product. Eligible cafés can only apply for this voucher once during the Rundle Mall Public Place Organics Recycling Pilot business incentives period. Single-use takeaway products that are already prohibited through the South Australia’s Single-use and Other Plastic Products (Waste Avoidance) Act 2020 are not eligible for this incentive.
Acceptable compostable certification are listed below:
- Australian Standards (AS 4736 commercial and AS 5810 home)
- US Standard (ASTM D6400)
- European Standards (EN 13432, TUV OK HOME and TUV OK INDUSTRIAL)
Please confirm with your supplier that your chosen product has one of these certifications.
The following items are not eligible to purchase with the voucher:
- Compostable plastic, or brown carry bags
- Serviettes
- Hot food bags/wraps
- Grease/deli wraps
- Burger sleeves/bottle wrap/flat bags
- Hot cup sleeves
- Disposable gloves
- Fruit punnets/produce trays
- Clear wrap
- Stickers
- Bin liners
- Sugar sticks, stirs, umbrellas, toothpicks, cutlery
- Tongs, cocktail fork, skewers
- Chopsticks, ice cream sticks
- Shot glasses/wine glasses
- Coasters
- Reusable products that are not compostable (eg Keep Cups)
The following suppliers are eligible for this voucher. Within your application, simply choose which supplier your voucher will be used towards. Please click on the supplier to view their Catalogue details. Please make sure your certified compostable product is available prior to submitting the application.
You will receive an email receipt and your application will be reviewed shortly after. Successful applicants will be notified via email and given a unique voucher code to provide the supplier. The chosen supplier will contact you to complete the next steps of processing the voucher.
The voucher must be used in complete dollar value or nearest to dollar value. Any unused value of the voucher is forfeited and cannot be redeemed for cash or credit.
Billing invoices from a licensed waste operator must be presented for each application, and the billing period must not overlap. More information is provided below:
- The café must pay for the food organics bin services up-front.
- Waste must be managed by the individual café and not by a building manager or landlord.
- After a consecutive two-month period, the café will need to submit an application and include supporting documentation (eg, invoices for two consecutive months from a licensed waste operator).
- The cafés can apply for this incentive twice, but the billing period must not overlap. Date of service can be anytime between April 2022 to April 2023.
- Billing invoices from a licensed waste operator must be presented for each application.
- Food organics waste bins must be stored in compliance with the City of Adelaide Waste Management By-laws 2018.
- Contact Council first to ensure the criteria has been satisfied prior to adding the food organics bin services.
Eligible cafés can apply for each of the incentives based on the criteria below. Incentives can be applied for individually or through one application.
- Compostable Products Voucher: This one-off voucher can only be used once towards the supplier chosen on the online application.
- Food Organics Bin Service Rebate: Eligible cafés can apply for this rebate up to two times. Billing invoices from a licensed waste operator must be presented for each application, and the billing period must not overlap.
Need more information?
For further information about the program contact the sustainability team below.