Deadline: 16-Jan-23
The Environmental Protection Agency (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.
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 (see below) 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.
Program Vision and Goals
This RFA has the following goals:
- Fund a range of projects that will help local governments and communities advance from “where they are” to significantly transform their post-consumer materials management infrastructure.
- Fund projects that will result in a significant decrease in the generation of MSW and/or an increase in the diversion of MSW from landfills and incineration.
- Fund innovative solutions and programs that provide or increase access to prevention, reuse, mechanical recycling, anaerobic digestion, and composting.
Funding Information
- The total estimated funding for this competitive opportunity is approximately $40,000,000.
- 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.
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.
Eligibility Criteria
- Under this announcement, applications will be accepted from political subdivisions of states and territories. The EPA considers counties, cities, towns, parishes, and similar units of governments that have executive and legislative functions to be political subdivisions of states.
- Local governments are generally political subdivisions of states and differ from state and federal governments in that their authority is not based directly on a constitution. Each state constitution describes in detail a procedure for establishing local governments. In most cases the state legislature must approve the creation or incorporation of a local government. The local government then receives a charter defining its organization, authority and responsibilities, including the means for electing governing officials.
For more information, visit Grants.gov.