Solid Waste Infrastructure for Recycling (SWIFR) Grants for Tribes and Intertribal Consortia - FY 2025
| Agency: | U.S. Environmental Protection Agency |
|---|---|
| CFDA: | 66.920 |
| Federal FON: | EPA-I-OLEM-ORCR-25-02 |
| Office: | Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery (ORCR) |
| Multipart Grant: | No |
| Next Due: | 12/12/2025 (Application) |
|---|---|
| Solicitation Date: | 09/08/2025 |
| Match Required: | No |
| Actual Funds: | $20,000,000 (Estimated) |
| Award Range: | $100,000 (Min) / $1,500,000 (Max) |
| Number of Awards: | 20 (Estimated) |
Summary:
The purpose of this program is to support tribes and intertribal consortia in a range of projects that will make improvements to local post-consumer materials management, including recycling programs, and assisting local waste management authorities in making improvements to local waste management systems. Specifically, this program is intended to support projects that:
- Focus on encouraging environmentally sound post-consumer materials management
- Result in a decrease in the generation of municipal solid waste and/or an increase in the diversion of municipal solid waste from landfills and incineration
- Provide or expand access to source reduction, reuse, recycling, backhaul, anaerobic digestion, and composting for tribal communities
All projects 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, collection, storage, transportation, backhaul, recycling, and/or markets for recyclables
- Establish, increase, or expand materials management infrastructure, such as facilities for reuse, recycling, or composting; collection and storage bins for recyclable or organic material; and purchasing 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
- Demonstrate an increase in the diversion, recycling rate, and/or quality of materials collected
Materials and waste streams considered under this program include municipal solid waste (MSW), including plastics, organics, paper, metal, and glass electronic waste, batteries, household hazardous waste, tire scraps, construction and demolition (C&D) debris, and disaster debris. Materials must be managed through source reduction, reuse, sending materials to material recovery facilities, composting, rendering, anaerobic digestion, or feeding animals.
Eligible projects and activities include:
- 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
- Providing or increasing 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
- Purchasing collection or storage bins for recyclables or organic material
- Purchasing or leasing recycling equipment or supplies for post-consumer materials management recovery efforts
- Activities focused on development of end markets for materials
- 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 and construction and demolition debris recycling equipment and projects
- Activities focused on reducing contamination in the recycling stream
- Activities related to the recycling of scrap tires or batteries
Refer to pages 8-9 of the NOFA file for additional eligible projects and activities.
The funding agency encourages the use of project labor agreements, an appropriately trained workforce, appropriately credentialed workforce, and neutrality in respect to union organization.
All projects must align with national strategies, as detailed on pages 10-11 of the NOFA file.
Refer to pages 7-11 of the NOFA file for additional details regarding program requirements.
Funds may be used for personnel costs, fringe benefits, travel integral to the project, equipment, supplies, contractual costs, eligible construction costs, other direct costs, and indirect costs.
An optional webinar is scheduled for this program. Refer to the Application section for details.
Eligibility Notes:
Eligible applicants are:
- Indian tribes
- Intertribal consortia
Intertribal consortia are eligible only if the consortium demonstrates that all members of the consortium meet the eligibility requirements and authorize the consortium to apply for and receive assistance by submitting documentation of both:
- The existence of the partnership between Indian tribal governments
- An authorization of the consortium by all its members to apply for and receive the award
Depending on the number and quality of applications received, the funding agency intends to make one award per Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) region.
Applicants may submit separate applications for one or more projects; however, if selected for multiple awards, the funding agency may opt to make a single award that combines separate applications.
Previous award recipients include:
- Seneca Nation of Indians (NY)
- Wyandotte Nation (OK)
- Pueblo of San Felipe (NM)
- Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians (CA)
- Igiugig Village (AK)
Refer to the Award file for additional information regarding previous award recipients.
Eligible Applicants:
ConsortiaNative American Tribe
Application Notes:
Applications must be received by 11:59 p.m. ET on December 12, 2025.
Applications must be submitted online at www.ecivis.com/grants.gov.
Applications must include:
- SF 424
- SF 424A
- EPA Form 5700-54
- EPA Form 4700-4
- Project narrative attachment, including:
- Summary information cover letter (1 page max)
- Narrative proposal (10 pages max)
- Budget table and description (4 pages max)
- Additional attachments, such as milestones, documentation demonstrating consortium eligibility, negotiated indirect cost rate agreement, and/or a copy of a financial record displaying drawdown amounts from previous awards (as applicable)
Unsolicited documents/additional information should not be submitted.
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.
An optional webinar for this program is scheduled as follows:
October 7, 2025
1:00 p.m. ET
Registration: usepa.zoomgov.com
Recordings of the webinars will be made available online at www.epa.gov.
Applications will be evaluated using the following criteria:
- Project summary and approach (40 points)
- Impactful approaches and solutions (25 points)
- Measuring environmental results: anticipated outcomes and outputs (10 points)
- Programmatic capability and past performance (10 points)
- Budget and expenditure of awarded funds (15 points)
Refer to the NOFA file and Application folder for additional application information.
| Match Required: | No |
|---|---|
| Actual Funds: | $20,000,000 (Estimated) |
| Award Range: | $100,000 (Min) / $1,500,000 (Max) |
|---|---|
| Number of Awards: | 20 (Estimated) |
Match Notes:
Matching funds are not required for this program. Voluntary matching contributions will not be accepted or evaluated.
Funding Notes:
An estimated $20 million is available to support approximately 20 cooperative agreements ranging from $100,000 to $1.5 million through this program.
Depending on the number and quality of applications received, the funding agency intends to make one award per Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) region.
Award notifications are expected to be issued in April 2026. Awards are expected to be made in September 2026.
Project periods will span three years, except for projects in Alaska, which may have up to a five-year project period.
All project income must be used for approved project activities.
Application preparation costs may not exceed 5 percent of the total project budget.
Food preprocessing is only an eligible cost when paired with recycling activities.
Pre-award costs may be allowable with prior approval, as detailed on pages 3-4 of the Q&A file.
Funds may not be used for:
- Constructing, improving, or operating landfills; incineration; burn units; waste-to-energy or biofuels, except for anaerobic digestion; chemical and thermal recycling; biofuels; and environmental cleanup
- Carrying out the same activities that are already funded or in the process of being funded under other funding agency financial assistance programs
- Duplication of activities
- Designing or administering the collection of identical information from ten or more parties, such as through surveys or focus groups
- Providing a source of payment of, or security for, an obligation of interest on which is excluded from gross income under Section 103 of Title 26
- Management fees or similar charges in excess of direct costs and approved indirect costs
- Fundraising, without prior approval
- Supporting or opposing union organizing
- Purchase of waste compactors and roll-off containers used for the management of non-recyclable materials destined for a landfill
For FY 2023, 59 awards were issued through this program. Refer to the Award file for details.
Contacts:
Chris Carusiello
SWIFRTribal@epa.gov
Jamie Lutz
SWIFRTribal@epa.gov
Agency Address
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20460
Contact Notes:
Questions should be directed to the program staff. Answers to questions will be posted online at www.epa.gov.
Applications must be submitted online at www.ecivis.com/grants.gov.
The agency address provided is for reference purposes only.
Files:
NOFA File: US17294_NOFA_FY2025.pdf (709.3 Kb)Award File: US17294_Award_FY2025.pdf (173.4 Kb)
Other Pre-Award File: US17294_Q&A_FY2025.pdf (498.2 Kb)
Other Pre-Award File: US17294_Webinar_FY2025.pdf (97.9 Kb)
Application File: US17294_Application_FY2025.zip (439.9 Kb)
File Notes:
The NOFA file contains the full solicitation for this program. The Application folder contains forms that may be used for the submission of applications, as well as an application checklist. The Q&A file contains a list of questions and answers regarding this program. The Webinar file contains information regarding an optional webinar scheduled for this program. The Award file contains information regarding previous award recipients.
| Project: | Snoqualmie Tribe Casino Recycling and Waste Reduction Project (934.6 Kb) |
|---|---|
| Applicant: | Snoqualmie Indian Tribe |
| Summary: |
The purpose of this program is to support tribes and intertribal consortia in developing or updating plans focused on encouraging environmentally sound post-consumer materials management; establishing, increasing, or expanding materials management infrastructure; utilizing funds for equipment- and construction-related costs as part of their implementation plans; and identifying, establishing, or improving end markets for the use of recycled materials. Snoqualmie Indian Tribe requested $365,085 to work with the Snoqualmie Casino to implement a waste identification, reduction, and recycling program. Project activities include purchasing equipment, including a glass pulverizer, recycling compactor, and sorting bins; forming a "Green Team" to work collaboratively on waste reduction, recycling, and other projects that will create the infrastructure to reduce solid waste; hiring a solid waste and recycling monitoring consultant; and implementing policies on waste management and reduction. |
Grant Keywords
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Community DevelopmentTraining & Vocational Services
Environment/Natural Resources
Recycling & Reuse
Human Services