$40,000,000 in Grant funding IS Available FOR solid Waste Infrastructure throughout America
The EPA is soliciting applications for a wide variety of projects that are designed to build and transform solid waste infrastructure in the United States to equitably reduce waste and manage materials to achieve a circular economy, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and create cleaner, resilient, and healthier communities. It is anticipated that projects will enable the EPA to help eligible partners advance from “where they are” to significantly transform their post-consumer materials management infrastructure. Projects will create new capacity for, optimize existing capacity of, or identify strategies that result in an increase in management of post-consumer materials. The EPA also recognizes and encourages applications that demonstrate innovative solutions and programs that provide or increase access to prevention, reuse, recycling, anaerobic digestion, and composting opportunities in areas that currently do not have access.
In addition, the EPA is seeking post-consumer materials management projects that address environmental justice concerns and focus predominantly on addressing the disproportionate and adverse human health, environmental, climate-related and other cumulative impacts, as well as the accompanying economic challenges of such impacts, resulting from industrial, governmental, commercial and/or other actions that have affected and/or currently affect people/communities of color, low income, tribal, and indigenous populations, and if applicable other vulnerable populations such as the elderly, children, and those with pre-existing medical conditions.
Eligible Applicants
- Counties
- Towns
- Cities
- Parishes
- Similar units of governments that have executive and legislative functions
Eligible projects
- Innovative solutions and/or programs that provide or increase access to prevention, reuse, and recycling in areas that currently do not have access; including development of and/or upgrades to drop-off and transfer stations (including but not limited to a hub-and-spoke model in rural communities), etc.
- The purchase of recycling equipment, including but not limited to sorting equipment, waste metering, trucks, processing facilities, etc.
- Upgrades to material recovery facilities (MRFs) such as optical sorters, artificial intelligence, etc.
- Development of and/or upgrades to composting facilities or anaerobic digesters to increase capacity for organics recycling
- Development of and/or upgrades to curbside collection programs or drop-off stations for organics
- Development of and/or upgrades to reuse infrastructure such as online reuse platforms, community repair spaces, technology and equipment to improve materials management reuse options, food donation, and upcycling, staging areas for material reuse/donation, reuse warehouses, and reuse centers, and electronic waste and computer recycling and refurbishing.
Funding
The minimum individual award is $500,000 and the maximum individual award is $4,000,000 for the grant period, which is up to three years.
No matching funds are required under this competition.
Deadline
February 15, 2023, at 11:59 p.m. (EST)
