EPA recycling grants bound for tribal regions

Making the announcement in conjunction with America Recycles Day in mid-November, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) named 59 selectees to receive more than $60 million in Solid Waste Infrastructure for Recycling (SWIFR) grants for Tribes and Intertribal Consortia, and 25 selectees to receive more than $33 million in Recycling Education and Outreach (REO) grants.

The grants are designed to expand recycling infrastructure and education for waste management systems across the country.

“Today, on America Recycles Day, we are putting historic recycling investments into communities, made possible by President Biden’s Investing in America agenda,” EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan says. “Two years ago today, the President signed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and with it, unleashed unprecedented funding to enable Tribes and communities to update recycling and composting infrastructure, while also advancing education programs to increase recycling rates and reduce waste.”

The recycling grants will help tackle consumer confusion and outdated recycling infrastructure, the largest barriers to proper recycling, the EPA says.

The SWIFR grants include some earmarked to fund small, mobile recycling stations to be placed strategically on Tribal land for easy access by Tribal members.

Others are earmarked for expanding food waste management and diversion, such as through the purchase and operation of a food waste digester at a tribal casino.

Grants also will be used to help fund processing and transportation equipment, such as purchasing balers, roll-off bins and roll-off trucks for collecting, organizing and shipping recyclables.

Another grant should enable the construction of a new waste transfer station while another will fund the planning and construction of a facility to handle old corrugated containers.

The REO grants, meanwhile, are focused more on recycling education and outreach programs or are earmarked for research into recycling behavior or will go toward conducting waste audits to determine community recycling needs.

The list of 59 tribal SWIFR grants can be found here while the 25 REO projects can be seen here.