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Consumer Recycling Education and Outreach (REO) Grant Program - FY 2023

Agency: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
CFDA: 66.921
Federal FON: EPA-I-OLEM-ORCR-23-02
Office: Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery (ORCR)
Multipart Grant: No
Next Due: 02/15/2023 (Application)
Solicitation Date: 11/14/2022
   
Match Required: Recommended
Match Type: Cash/In-Kind
Actual Funds: $30,000,000 (Estimated)
Award Range: $250,000 (Min) / $2,000,000 (Max)
Number of Awards: 25 (Estimated)
Summary:

The purpose of this program is to improve the effectiveness of residential and community recycling programs through public education and outreach. Projects will improve consumer recycling education with the goal of achieving separate collection of recycled material across the nation, maximizing the efficient reuse of materials, and identifying strategies that otherwise result in an increase in volume of recyclable materials. The funding agency also recognizes and encourages applications that demonstrate evidence-based messaging and strategies associated with effective communication campaigns designed to increase prevention, reuse, repair, remanufacture, recycling, anaerobic digestion, and composting in communities and/or decrease contamination in the recycling stream. This approach emphasizes researching the audience, building trust, and reducing audience barriers while emphasizing benefits for desired action. All projects must encourage the collection of recycled materials that are sold to an existing or developing market.

All projects must:

  • Inform the public about new or existing residential or community recycling programs
  • Provide information about the recycled materials that are accepted as part of a residential or community recycling program that provides for the separate collection of residential solid waste from recycled material
  • Increase collection rates and decreases contamination in residential and community recycling programs

Specifically, the goals of this program are to:

  • Support a range of projects that will increase waste prevention activities, increase the collection of recyclable materials and program participation rates, and decrease contamination of the recycling stream
  • Support projects that focus on commonly recycled materials, such as municipal solid waste, including food waste and organics
  • Support projects and provide tools and technical assistance that will lead to long-term, sustained change, benefits, and support beyond the project period

Awards will support the following objectives of the National Recycling Strategy (NRS):

  • Improve markets for recycled commodities
  • Increase collection and improve materials management infrastructure
  • Reduce contamination in the recycled materials stream
  • Enhance policies and programs to support circularity
  • Standardize measurement and increase data collection

The funding agency also seeks to support recycling education and outreach projects that address environmental justice concerns and focus predominantly on addressing the disproportionate and adverse 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 projects include:

  • Public service announcements
  • Door-to-door education and outreach campaigns
  • Social media and digital outreach
  • An advertising campaign on recycling awareness
  • The development and dissemination of:
    • A toolkit for a municipal and commercial recycling program
    • Information on the importance of quality in the recycling stream
    • Information on the economic and environmental benefits of recycling
    • Information on what happens to materials after they are placed into a residential or community recycling program
  • Businesses recycling outreach
  • Bin, cart, and other receptacle labeling and signs
  • Community recycling ambassador education programs or training of trainer programs
  • Other education and outreach activities

Awards will be provided through the following tracks:

  • Track 1: projects that benefit disadvantaged communities
  • Track 2: projects that benefit communities that are not disadvantaged

If an applicant chooses to identify procurement contractors or subrecipients to conduct work proposed in the application, the applicant must comply with the requirements outlined on pages 19 of the NOFA file.

Funds may be used for personnel costs, fringe benefits, travel, equipment, supplies, contractual costs, other direct costs, and limited indirect costs.

Optional webinars are scheduled for this program. Refer to the Application section for additional information.

Last Updated: November 27, 2023

Eligibility Notes:

Eligible applicants are:

  • U.S. states, including the District of Columbia
  • Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands, and any agency or instrumentality thereof, exclusive of local governments
  • Units of local government
  • Indian tribes
  • Native Hawaiian organizations
  • The Department of Hawaiian Home Lands
  • The Office of Hawaiian Affairs
  • Nonprofit organizations
  • Public-private partnerships

Two or more entities described may receive an award to coordinate the provision of information to residents that may access two or more residential recycling programs. Groups of two or more eligible applicants may choose to form a coalition and submit a single application; however, one entity must be responsible for the award.

State colleges and universities, including those that are state minority serving institutions (MSIs), are eligible, as long as they are nonprofit organizations or agencies or instrumentalities of a state. The funding agency encourages MSIs to apply to this program.

The funding agency anticipates making at least one cooperative agreement per funding agency region.

A portion of available funding will be allocated to:

  • Low-income communities
  • Rural communities
  • Communities identified as Native American pursuant to section 2(9) of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act

Applicants may submit separate applications for one or more projects. The funding agency may make a single award that combines separate applications for different tasks or activities.

501(c)(4) nonprofit organizations and federal agencies are ineligible.

FY 2023 award recipients include:

  • EcoMaine
  • Institute for Local Self-Reliance
  • New York City Department of Sanitation
  • City of Joplin
  • Oregon Community Warehouse

Refer to the Award file for additional information regarding FY 2023 award recipients.

Eligible Applicants:
Local Government
Academic Institutions
Consortia
Native American Tribe
Non Profits
State Government
Tribal Organizations/Institutions
Application Notes:

Applications must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. ET on January 16, 2023.

The due date for the application has been extended to 11:59 p.m. ET on February 15, 2023. Additional information is included in the NOFA file.

Applications must be submitted online at www.ecivis.com/grants.gov.

Applications must include:

  • SF 424
  • SF 424A
  • EPA key contacts form
  • EPA form 4700-4
  • Project attachment form:
    • Summary information cover letter (1 page max)
    • Narrative proposal (10 pages max)
    • Budget table and description (4 pages max)
  • Optional attachments (as applicable), as listed on page 24 of the NOFA file

Project narratives must be on single-spaced, standard-sized pages, using 12-point Times New Roman font. Optional attachments must be submitted as separate .pdf files. All letters of support must be combined into a single .pdf file, and references must be combined and submitted as a separate .pdf file.

The following are required in order to submit an application:

  • Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) number
  • SAM (System for Award Management) registration

Applicants may obtain a UEI number and verify or renew SAM registration status at www.ecivis.com/sam.

Optional notices of intent to apply must be received by December 15, 2022, and must be emailed to the address provided in the Contact section.

Optional webinars for this program are scheduled as follows:

Pre-Appplication Webinar Part One:
November 30, 2022
2:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. ET

December 6, 2022
6:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. ET

Pre-Appplication Webinar Part Two:
December 15, 2022
2:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. ET

December 20, 2022
6:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. ET

Applicants can register for these webinars online at www.zoomgov.com/webinar.

A recording of the webinar held on November 30, 2022, is available online at www.youtube.com.

In addition, optional webinars for tribal applicants are scheduled as follows:

Tribal Pre-Appplication Webinar Part One:
December 8, 2022

Tribal Pre-Appplication Webinar Part Two:
December 14, 2022

Additional information on tribal webinars is expected to be posted online at www.epa.gov

Applications will be evaluated using the following criteria:

  • Project summary and approach (35 points)
  • Environmental justice (15 points)
  • Measuring environmental results: anticipated outcomes and outputs (10 points)
  • Programmatic capability and past performance (10 points)
  • Budget and expenditures (10 points)
  • Project sustainability and replicability (10 points)
  • Effective partnerships (10 points)
  • Incorporation of evidence-based measures and messaging (5 points)
  • Leveraging (5 points)

Refer to pages 36-41 of the NOFA file for additional information regarding application evaluation criteria and award selections.

Refer to the NOFA and Webinar files for additional application information.

Match Required: Recommended
Match Type: Cash/In-Kind
Actual Funds: $30,000,000 (Estimated)
Award Range: $250,000 (Min) / $2,000,000 (Max)
Number of Awards: 25 (Estimated)
Match Notes:

Matching funds are not required for this program; however, additional consideration will be given to projects that propose the leveraging of additional funds and resources, including funds and other resources leveraged from businesses, labor organizations, nonprofit organizations, education and training providers, and/or federal, state, tribal, and local governments, as appropriate.

Applicants will also be evaluated based on the amount and type of leveraged resources to be provided, how they will obtain the leveraged resources, the likelihood the leveraging will materialize during project performance, the strength of the leveraging commitment, and the role these funds will play to support proposed project activities.

Federal awards may not be used as voluntary cost share without specific statutory authority.

Funding Notes:

An estimated $30 million is expected to be available to support approximately 25 cooperative agreements ranging from $250,000 to $2 million through this program. Funding will be made available via two award tracks, as follows:

  • Track 1: approximately 40 percent of the total funding available, or approximately $12 million, for projects that benefit disadvantaged communities
  • Track 2: the remainder of funds, for projects that benefit communities that are not disadvantaged

In addition, at least 20 percent of funds available through this program will be allocated to:

  • Low-income communities
  • Rural communities
  • Communities identified as Native American pursuant to section 2(9) of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act

The funding agency anticipates making at least one cooperative agreement per funding agency region.

Award notifications are expected to be issued in April 2023. Awards are expected to be issued in October 2023.

Project periods will span three years, with an estimated start date of October 2023.

All project income must be used to support project activities.

Funds may not be used for:

  • Designing nor administering the collection of identical information from ten or more parties, or the participation of funding agency personnel in such activities
  • Recycling programs that do not provide for separate collection of residential solid waste from recycled material unless award funds are used to promote a transition to a system that separately collects recycled materials
  • Promoting the establishment of, or conversion to, a residential collection system that does not provide for the separate collection of residential solid waste from recycled material
  • Fundraising costs, without prior approval from the funding agency
  • Projects that are already complete and paid for

For FY 2023, 24 awards were issued through this program. Refer to the Award file for details.

Contacts:

Jessica Oursler
RecyclingEd@epa.gov

Agency Address
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20460

Contact Notes:

Questions should be directed to Jessica Oursler. Questions and answers are expected to be posted online at www.epa.gov.

Applications must be submitted online at www.ecivis.com/grants.gov.

Optional notices of intent to apply must be emailed to the address provided.

The agency address provided is for reference purposes only.

Files:
Other Pre-Award File: US17823_Webinar_FY2023.pdf (121.4 Kb)
Other Pre-Award File: US17823_Q&A_FY2023.pdf (278.1 Kb)
NOFA File: US17823_NOFA_FY2023.pdf (716.9 Kb)
Other Pre-Award File: US17823_WebinarPresentation_FY2023.zip (5.8 Mb)
Award File: US17823_Award_FY2023.pdf (144.6 Kb)
File Notes:

The NOFA file contains the revised solicitation for this program. The Webinar file contains information regarding the webinars for this program. The Q&A file contains a list of questions and answers regarding this program. The WebinarPresentation folder contains slides from webinar presentations held for this program. The Award file contains information regarding FY 2023 award recipients. Additional program resources can be found online at www.epa.gov.

November 28, 2023
Information regarding awards through this program has been released and attached as the Award file. A brief summary of the awards has been added to the Financial section, and a sample of award recipients has been added to the Eligibility section.

January 11, 2023
A recording of a webinar for this program has been released, and a link to the presentation is available in the Application section. In addition, slides from webinar presentations held for this program have been released and appended to the WebinarPresentation folder as the WebinarPresentation1 and WebinarPresentation2 files. The Financial section has been updated accordingly.

December 19, 2022
A revised solicitation for this program containing an announcement concerning the changing of the due date for the application has been released and attached as the NOFA file. The Application section has been updated accordingly.

December 12, 2022
A list of questions and answers regarding this program has been released and attached as the Q&A file. The Eligibility section has been updated accordingly.

December 1, 2022
An updated solicitation for this program, as well as additional information on the optional webinars scheduled for this program, have been released and attached as the NOFA and Webinar files, respectively. The Application section has been updated accordingly.

Project: Joplin Regional Recycling Outreach (11.6 Mb)
Applicant: City of Joplin
Summary:

The purpose of this program is to improve the effectiveness of residential and community recycling programs through public education and outreach. The City of Joplin requested $1.74 million to provide education, guidance, and resources to increase recycling efforts. Project activities include public service announcements, door-to-door outreach campaigns, social media and digital outreach, an advertising campaign on recycling awareness, the development and dissemination of a toolkit for a municipal and commercial recycling program, and/or other education and outreach activities. The city will provide $615,244 to match the remainder of the project costs.

 
Grant Keywords
EPA, ORCR, REO, NRS, Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, BIL, dump, garbage, landfill, solid waste, trash, waste collection, waste disposal, waste management, recycle, recycling, recycling facility, recycling program, reuse, trash collection, industrial waste, toxic waste, infrastructure development, municipal improvement, infrastructure, recycling education, recycling outreach, public education, public outreach, community education, community outreach, environmental justice, Justice40, conservation, conserve, ecological, ecology, ecosystem, environment, environmental, environmentalism, natural resource, preserve, protect, protection, stewardship, pollute, polluted, pollution, contaminate, contaminated, household recycling, business recycling, business outreach, equity, EJ, community need, disadvantaged, economically disadvantaged, extremely low-income, low-income, minorities, minority, minority population, people of color, poverty, underprivileged, underrepresented, underserved, very low-income, BIPOC, rural community, rural communities, tribal community, tribal communities, community involvement, advocacy, advocate, recycling ambassador, community ambassador, train the trainer, disadvantaged communities, disadvantaged community, social media campaign, social media outreach, digital outreach, digital campaign, PSA, public service announcement, door-to-door, recycling campaign, recycling encouragement, recycling incentive, advertising campaign, recycling awareness, environmental awareness, waste management education, recycling stream, recycled commodities, recycled commodity, recycling rate, awareness, community-based, outreach, public awareness, community project, community participation, recycling collection rate, circular economy, territory, territories, Consumer Recycling Education and Outreach Grant Program, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands, tribe, tribal, Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, IIJA
Grant Categories
Community Development
Environment/Natural Resources
Recycling & Reuse
Rural Issues
Human Services
Solid Waste