Coles Nurture Fund: Round 7 recipients

RED Group 

Melbourne, Victoria

Sustainability organisation RED Group will be able to treble the amount of soft plastic it collects for recycling thanks to a $430,000 grant from the Coles Nurture Fund.

RED Group will use the grant to purchase new processing technology and three new vehicles to increase collection and recycling of soft plastic across Australia. 

Based in Melbourne, RED Group runs a national program whereby it collects soft plastics from Coles supermarkets across Australia to be recycled into products such as outdoor furniture, road base and garden edging.

Jinchilla Ag

Kyabram, Victoria

Family dairy farming business Jinchilla Ag will use a $200,000 grant to import specialised equipment from the US so it can manage effluent more efficiently. 

The new equipment will allow the dairy farmers to separate the solid material away from the liquid material so they can use the solid material as valuable fertiliser while reusing the liquid portion. 

For the Hemphill family, who run Jinchilla Ag, it will mean being able to produce high quality crops and pastures to feed their dairy cows while reducing their impact on the environment.

MEEDAC

Geraldton, Western Australia

MEEDAC will receive a $90,000 grant for picking equipment for fresh produce grown in their new 10,000 square climate-controlled shade house near Geraldton.

By having picking and packing equipment on site, MEEDAC will be able to create more employment opportunities for local Aboriginal people, potentially trebling the number of employees on site.