EPA awards $38M for re-use, recycling, composting infrastructure and outreach projects in Alaska and the Pacific Northwest

Grant programs part of largest state, tribal and community recycling investment in 30 years

November 15, 2023

SEATTLE (Nov. 15, 2023) – Today, on America Recycles Day, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced $34,874,064 in Solid Waste Infrastructure for Recycling (SWIFR) grants and $3,595,736 in Recycling Education and Outreach (REO) grants in Alaska and the Pacific Northwest. The grants are funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and will expand recycling infrastructure and education for waste management systems in states, tribes and communities across the region.

“Through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we are expanding federal funding for local and tribal priorities that improve environmental health,” said EPA Region 10 Administrator Casey Sixkiller. “These funds will help advance innovative recycling services, resulting in good-paying jobs and repurposing useful resources that would otherwise end up in landfills.”

The grants support the implementation of EPA’s National Recycling Strategy to build an economy devoted to keeping materials, products, and services in circulation for as long as possible – what’s known as a “circular economy.” Recycling grants will also help tackle consumer confusion and outdated recycling infrastructure, the largest barriers to proper recycling.

“This federal grant will enable developing a local, sustainable organic materials management program and supporting infrastructure,” said Matanuska-Susitna Borough Manager Mike Brown. “This aligns with ongoing efforts to improve recycling in our community while diverting organic material from our waste stream. We appreciate the federal support for advancing this program and our local partners such as Valley Community for Recycling Solutions and their commitment to the Mat-Su.”

Communities awarded SWIFR funding:

• Matanuska-Susitna Borough ($3,540,340) Develop a local sustainable materials management system with residential recycling and composting.
• City of Seattle ($4,000,000) Establish a salvaged wood warehouse to help build a circular wood economy.

“For thousands of years Alaska Native people have been showing us the importance of resourcefulness and adaptability,” said Cook Inlet Tribal Council President & CEO Gloria O’Neill. “This grant from the EPA will allow us to teach important skills and values to Our Youth while working with our Tribal partners to build plastics recycling infrastructure that helps restore land, reduce waste and environmental contamination, and support healthy, sustainable communities.”

Tribal governments awarded SWIFR funding:

Alaska

• Aleut Corporation ($1,500,000) Establish a solid waste collection and recycling program on Adak Island.
• Aleutian Pribilof Islands Association ($1,499,090) Build a regional sustainable materials management plan to reduce landfilling and burning of solid waste.
• Cook Inlet Tribal Council, Inc. ($1,500,000) Establish and expand materials management infrastructure to support plastics recycling, 3d printing and other fabrication technologies in Alaska Native villages. For example, a community may wish to use recycled plastic to create toys for in-school use, while another may envision a use that supports local fishing operations or produce beads for traditional crafting activities.
• Native Village of Ekwok ($817,497) Expand solid waste recycling program activities and increase community participation with a new stand-alone Solid Waste Recycling program.
• Igiugig Village ($1,475,782) Build a new year-round Igiugig Village Recycling Center. 
• Kawerak, Inc. ($1,497,988) Develop a regional recycling center serving Nome and surrounding communities, diverting materials from 16 local, unlined landfills in rural and remote areas.
• Knik Tribe ($212,197) Establish green waste collection and composting systems on tribal land in coordination with the food bank, schools and partners.
• Kodiak Area Native Association ($1,338,254) Assist all six Kodiak village communities with rural waste stream inventories and improve waste management infrastructure for efficient management, waste reduction and recycling.
• Metlakatla Indian Community ($555,707) Develop a community composting program with the MIC S’ndooyntgm Galts’ap Community Garden by building a composting facility and providing community education.
• Nelson Island Consortium ($1,500,000) Backhaul hazardous waste materials from each of the 7 communities in the Consortium by building capacity through training and community engagement, purchasing shipping equipment and recycling sheds.
• Nenana Native Association ($973,500) Provide dumpsters and logistics support for local use and recycling, collection and transfer to the landfill in Fairbanks for recycling and proper disposal, and clean up illegal dump sites.
• Orutsararmiut Native Council ($1,372,833) Expand the Bethel Community Recycling Program with recycling accessibility, e-waste and hazardous waste backhaul, and establish a community composting program.
• Qawalangin Tribe of Unalaska ($1,186,753) Build a recycling hub and recycling program for the Aleutian Island chain, raise awareness on the recycling process, produce recycled end products, and educate on the use of these recycled products.
• Native Village of Shaktoolik ($1,413,014) Expand the local waste management system by purchasing five pieces of heavy equipment which will allow the community to relocate recyclables to a safe and easily accessible area to reduce contamination in the recycled materials stream.
• Central Council Tlingit & Haida Indian Tribes ($1,499,998) Expand the Tribe’s composting and food waste reduction program and bolster its recycling program while serving Southeast Alaska’s broader tribal network by establishing a regional solid waste management hub.
• Yakutat Tlingit Tribe ($559,548) Develop a community-wide composting program, create and share outreach and education materials with the community to help the program succeed in diverting food waste from the community landfill, and support the tribal greenhouse and community garden.

Idaho

• Kootenai Tribe of Idaho ($530,222) Develop a food and yard waste composting program for Boundary County, Idaho and the Kootenai Indian Reservation to decrease the amount of solid waste going to the landfill through composting, recycling and education.
• Nez Perce Tribe ($589,154) Improve the Tribe’s solid waste management program and infrastructure, focusing on environmentally sound postconsumer materials management, adding a new recycling stream, and funding additional staff to increase capacity. 

Oregon

• Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation ($915,895) Update and overhaul the Tribe’s recycling plan to focus on practical and culturally sensitive recycling options, replace and upgrade recycling equipment and expand markets for recycled commodities through Tribal user education and recycled materials management.

Washington

• Shoalwater Bay Indian Tribe ($888,415) Expand current composting efforts to scale up and accommodate collection of biodegradable materials from the surrounding rural community and businesses with a new municipal composting facility.
• Skokomish Indian Tribe ($1,354,922) Improve solid waste and recycling infrastructure and capacity on the Skokomish Reservation by building a drop-box transfer station for tribal members and the local community.
• Snoqualmie Indian Tribe ($365,085) Develop a Casino waste identification, reduction, and recycling program and form a “Green Team” to work collaboratively on waste reduction, recycling, and other projects that will create the infrastructure to reduce solid waste on the Tribe’s reservation.
• Tribal Solid Waste Advisory Network ($1,499,609) Create a pilot program for rural tribes to develop small recycling programs, including purchasing equipment, training employees and communities, creating a composting program and end market research to support collaboration for recycling in small tribal communities.

State agencies awarded SWIFR funding:

• Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation ($753,755) Evaluate and report on municipal solid waste, construction/demolition waste, composting and recycling programs.
• Idaho Department of Environmental Quality ($733,568) Develop and implement a data collection and state plan to advance sustainable materials management.
• Oregon Department of Environmental Quality ($410,563) Implement phase 2 of the Bad Apple education and outreach campaign to encourage households to reduce food waste.
• Washington State Department of Ecology ($390,375) Develop a circular economy accelerator program to support projects for waste prevention, reuse, repair, recycling and organics.

Communities awarded REO funding:

• City of Tacoma ($1,999,806) Create a Multilingual Recycling Ambassador Program to engage disadvantaged communities in recycling, food/yard waste, and waste reduction education. Artificial intelligence cameras will provide individualized feedback to residential customers to help reduce recycling contamination.
• Community Warehouse/ReClaim ($1,595,930) Partners will use community education and outreach to increase the reuse, repair and refurbishing of bulky furniture and household goods containing commonly reused materials, including metal, plastics, textiles and electronics by 50% in Portland, Oregon.

Background

The Solid Waste Infrastructure for Recycling grant program, authorized by the Save Our Seas 2.0 Act and funded through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, provides $275 million for Solid Waste Infrastructure for Recycling grants nationwide. In addition, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provides $75 million for the Recycling Education and Outreach grant program to improve the effectiveness of residential and community recycling and composting programs.

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EPA Region 10 Pacific Northwest - Serving Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, Washington and 271 Tribal Nations. Visit us online, follow us on Facebook and X and subscribe to our RSS feed.