Solid Waste

EPA Tribal Solid Waste Infrastructure for Recycling Grants

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provides $275,000,000 total from Fiscal Year 2022 to Fiscal Year 2026 for grants authorized under the Save Our Seas 2.0 Act. Projects funded through the funding opportunity will:

  • Implement the building a circular economy for all strategy series.
  • Improve local post-consumer materials management programs, including municipal recycling.
  • Make improvements to local waste management systems.

Eligible Recipients:

The entities eligible to apply for this grant are federally recognized Tribes, including Alaskan Native Villages as defined in Public Law 92-203, and former Indian reservations in Oklahoma, as determined by the Secretary of the Interior. Intertribal Consortia, consistent with the requirements in Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations Section 35.504(a) are also eligible to apply. Refer to the Eligible Applicants section of the SWIFR for Tribes and Intertribal Consortia Notice of Funding Opportunity (pdf)

Eligible Projects:

Materials and waste streams within scope of this funding opportunity include: municipal solid waste, including plastics, organics, paper, metal, glass, etc. and construction and demolition debris. In addition, materials and waste streams considered include the management pathways of source reduction, reuse, sending materials to material recovery facilities, composting, industrial uses (e.g., rendering, anaerobic digestion), and feeding animals.

All applications must address one or more of the following objectives:

  • Develop or update plans focused on encouraging environmentally sound post-consumer materials management such as source reduction (e.g., repair clinics, reuse centers), collection, storage, transportation, composting, recycling, and/or markets for recyclables;
  • Develop, strengthen, and/or implement comprehensive data collection efforts that demonstrate progress towards the National Recycling Goal and Food Loss and Waste Reduction Goal;
  • Establish, increase, or expand materials management infrastructure, such as facilities for reuse, recycling, or composting; collection and storage bins for recyclable or organic material, purchasing and maintaining equipment or supplies such as scales, crushers, balers, and sorting equipment, trucks, forklifts, and safety equipment);
  • Establish or identify end-markets for the use of recycled materials; or
  • Demonstrate an increase in the diversion recycling rate, and/or quality of materials collected.

Applications may include (but are not limited to) projects that fund:

  • Developing or updating plans focused on improving post-consumer materials management;
  • Planning and construction of facilities for food and organics recovery, reuse, recycling, composting or anaerobic digestion (compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act will be required for construction projects);
  • Programs that provide or increase access to prevention, reuse, and recycling in areas that currently do not have access; including construction of and/or upgrades to drop-off and transfer stations (including but not limited to a hub-and-spoke model in rural communities), etc.;
  • Purchasing collection or storage bins for recyclables or organic material;
  • Purchasing or leasing recycling equipment or supplies for post-consumer materials management recovery efforts (e.g., crushers, balers, and sorting equipment, trucks, forklifts, safety equipment);
  • Activities focused on development of end-markets for materials (e.g., working with a recycler to accept collected materials for processing);
  • Activities to support increasing and improving collection of recyclable materials and/or organics and food waste, and backhaul.
  • Activities to reduce, reuse and recycle building materials including deconstruction (dismantling buildings for reuse and recycling) and construction and demolition debris recycling equipment and projects;
  • Activities focused on reducing contamination in the recycling stream;
  • Training, technical assistance, and/or tools required to plan, establish, or implement post-consumer materials recovery (e.g., applicants may apply for funding for training employees on use and safety of recycling equipment, raise awareness of infrastructure and processes);
  • Education and outreach activities relating to post-consumer materials management; Land acquisition when necessary for construction or improvement for improvements to Tribal recycling facilities and waste management facilities subject to the requirements 2 CFR 200.311 and 2 CFR 200.316.; and/or
  • Other activities that the applicant believes will further the objectives of the NOFO, provided those activities are eligible for funding under statute and the terms of this NOFO.

Funding Source:

EPA

Funding Amount:

The total estimated funding for the competitive opportunity is approximately $20,000,000. EPA anticipates awarding approximately 20 assistance agreements under this funding opportunity, with at least one award per each EPA Region. The minimum individual award floor is $100,000, and the maximum individual award ceiling is $1,500,000 for the grant period. This funding opportunity is in alignment with the Biden Administration’s Justice40 Initiative.

Funding Deadline:

Applicants must submit applications through grants.gov. Apply in Grants.gov by 11:59 PM on March 14, 2025.

Contact:

If you have questions about the grants, email SWIFRTribal@epa.gov.

More Information:

https://www.epa.gov/infrastructure/solid-waste-infrastructure-recycling-grants-tribes-and-intertribal-consortia

    EPA Consumer Recycling Education and Outreach (REO) Grant Program

    For this second round of REO funding, EPA is focusing on preventing the generation of wasted food and increasing its recycling through composting. The program provides $39 million to fund one cooperative agreement that includes developing and implementing a national consumer wasted food reduction campaign, expanding the market for and sales of compost, and increasing education and outreach to households on composting.

    Eligible Recipients:

    This funding opportunity requires all applicants to submit coalition applications.

    The entities eligible to apply for this grant (either as lead applicant or as coalition member) are:

    • U.S. States, including Washington, D.C.
    • Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands.
    • Local governments.
    • Indian Tribes.
    • Native Hawaiian organizations, Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, Office of Hawaiian Affairs.
    • Nonprofit organizations.
    • Public-private partnerships.

    Eligible Projects:

    EPA anticipates funding one opportunity with three projects.

    • Project 1: Develop and Implement a National Consumer Wasted Food Reduction Campaign. This project’s objective is to decrease wasted food from households.
    • Project 2: Expand the Market and Sales of Compost. This project’s objective is to expand markets for and sales of compost.
    • Project 3: Increase Education and Outreach to Households on Composting. This project’s objective is to:

    — Inform the public about new or existing residential food waste composting programs.
    — Provide information about the materials that are accepted as part of a residential food waste composting program.
    –Increase collection rates and decrease physical contamination in residential food waste composting programs.
    Please refer to the NOFO for more information (pdf).

    Funding Source:

    EPA

    Funding Amount:

    The total estimated funding for this competitive opportunity is $39,094,000. Applications must include all three projects as listed above.

    Project 1 – Develop and Implement a National Consumer Wasted Food Reduction Campaign – Funding range $30,000,000 to $34,094,000

    Project 2 and 3 – Expand the Market and Sales of Compost/ Increase Education and Outreach to Households on Composting – Funding range $5,000,000 to $9,094,000 (combined)

    This program aligns with the Biden Administration’s Justice40 Initiative. This means that applicants must demonstrate in their proposals that 40% of the overall benefits created by the projects funded in this assistance agreement will flow to disadvantaged communities. Please refer to the NOFO for details (pdf).

    Funding Deadline:

    Applications are due in Grants.gov on December 20, 2024.

    Contact:

    If you have questions about the grants, email RecyclingEd@epa.gov.

    More Information:

    https://www.epa.gov/infrastructure/consumer-recycling-education-and-outreach-grant-program#webinars

    EPA State and Territories Solid Waste Infrastructure for Recycling Grants

    The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provides $275,000,000 total from Fiscal Year 2022 to Fiscal Year 2026 for grants authorized under the Save Our Seas 2.0 Act. EPA will make available $30,000,000 in Fiscal Year 2023 for states and territories to improve post-consumer materials management programs through planning, data collection, and the implementation of plans.

    Eligible Recipients:

    The entities eligible to apply for this funding opportunity are:

    • U.S. States, including Washington, D.C.
    • U.S. Territories (Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands).

    Eligible Projects:

    Funding can be used for three categories of activities:

    • Develop or update plans to advance post-consumer materials management. Plans can be for Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations Part 256 solid waste management plans or other planning documents (e.g., circular economy plans).
    • Develop, strengthen, and/or implement comprehensive data collection efforts that demonstrate progress toward the National Recycling Goal and Food Loss and Waste Reduction Goal. Data collection and measurement efforts should be designed to improve the state’s ability to track progress towards national and state recycling and/or circular economy goals. Data collection efforts could include state-wide or other targeted waste characterization studies.
    • Support the state-led implementation of plans to advance post-consumer materials management.

    Funding Source:

    EPA

    Funding Amount:

    EPA anticipates awarding up a total of $30,000,000 in fiscal year 2023.

    Funding Deadline:

    Participating states and territories have submitted a Notice of Intent to Participate (NOIP) to the EPA. EPA released the program guidance in grants.gov (pdf) (440 K) on December 15, 2022.

    The first draft of workplans are due to the EPA by February 3, 2023.

    Contact:

    Dale Carpenter Carpenter.Dale@epa.gov

    More Information: https://www.epa.gov/rcra/grants-states-and-territories

    EPA Solid Waste Infrastructure and Recycling Grants

    The Solid Waste Infrastructure for Recycling program provides grants to implement a strategy to improve post-consumer materials management and infrastructure; support improvements to local post-consumer materials management and recycling programs; and assist local waste management authorities in making improvements to local waste management systems.

    Eligible Recipients:

    • U.S. States and political subdivisions of states.
    • Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands.
    • District of Columbia.
    • Federally recognized tribal governments.
    • Former tribal reservations in Oklahoma (as determined by the Secretary of the Interior).
    • Alaskan Native Villages as defined in Public Law 92-203.
    • Intertribal Consortia consistent with the requirements in Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Section 35.504(a).

    Eligible Projects:

    TBA

    Funding Source:
    United States Environmental Protection Agency and the Save Our Seas 2.0 Act and initially funded through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

    Funding Amount:
    TBA

    Funding Deadline:
    EPA anticipates the Requests for Applications will be released this fall.

    Contact:
    Provide input or submit questions about this program to SWIFR@epa.gov.

    More Information:
    https://www.epa.gov/rcra/solid-waste-infrastructure-recycling-grant-program