Summary:

The purpose of this program is to improve community resilience and sustainability through sustainable materials management (SMM). For the purposes of this program, SMM is defined as a systemic approach to using and reusing materials more productively over their entire lifecycles. Funded projects must align with EPA's priorities for reducing waste, increasing materials recovery and recycling, or promoting sustainable SMM practices.

Applicants must select at least one of the following technical assistance methods:

• Research
• Investigation
• Experiments
• Education
• Training
• Studies
• Demonstration of innovative techniques

Applicants must also address at least one of the following SMM priorities:

• Addressing municipal recycling markets in EPA Region 4: projects that will encourage collaboration and coordination across EPA Region 4 geographies, organizations, and/or businesses to enhance rural recycling systems, making them stronger and more agile to address changing materials markets; project examples include:
  • Establishing and maintaining a collaborative network or cooperative in EPA Region 4 to foster improved approaches to the collection, marketing, and distribution of municipal recycling materials and provide feedstock to manufacturers in the United States
  • Developing methods to improve market information and/or connection between markets for recovered municipal recyclable material
  • Establishing programs that encourage public or private partners to utilize or invest in recycled municipal materials, and ultimately supporting economic development, creating jobs, and expanding educational outreach around recycled materials markets
• Strategies for preventing food loss and waste in EPA Region 4: projects that align with the National Strategy for Reducing Food Loss and Waste and Recycling Organics objectives, which include preventing food loss, preventing food waste, increasing the recycling rate for all organic waste, and supporting policies that incentivize and encourage the prevention of food loss and waste and organics recycling; project examples include:
  • Encouraging the development of policies and practices that effectively divert excess food to new markets and/or expand food rescue capacity
  • Increasing capacity for food waste composting
  • Upgrading and/or facilitating the transition of yard waste composting facilities to composting facilities that also process food scraps
  • Establishing and maintaining a collaborative network in EPA Region 4 to foster improved approaches to address food system challenges
  • Increasing public awareness of the environmental, social, and economic benefits of reducing wasted food via source reduction and distribution to people, particularly in underserved and under-resourced communities
  • Improving data quality, including establishing baseline food waste metrics, assessing progress on current food waste intervention activities, or measuring the potential for increased food rescue efforts

Anticipated outcomes of funded projects include:

• Reduction in solid waste going to the landfill
• Conservation of natural resources, energy, and improved air and/or water quality
• Dollars saved through recycling or reuse efforts
• Jobs created or retained

Eligibility is limited to projects that take place within EPA Region 4, which includes Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee.