The Department of Environmental Protection is now accepting applications for a new round of Recycling Implementation Grants under Act 101.  The deadline to apply is October 28.  (formal notice)

Municipalities who received a section 902 grant award in 2022 are not eligible to apply for funding during this solicitation period, unless they are a newly mandated municipality based on the 2020 decennial census.

Only those projects involving municipalities that have a mandatory trash collection program or projects seeking support for a residential recycling program that have a corresponding commercial recycling program will be considered for funding.

The following elements will receive priority for funding:

-- Newly mandated municipalities based on the 2020 decennial census by the Bureau of the Census of the United States Department of Commerce.

-- Development and implementation of incentive-based pricing and collection programs designed to increase the quantities and types of recyclable materials and reduce the quantity of waste collected.

--Development and implementation of an organics collection or management program, or both.

-- Development and implementation of multimunicipal collection, processing or a materials marketing program, or both, where capital costs are reduced or recycling marketability is enhanced, or both, due to intergovernmental cooperation.

-- Municipal recycling programs that will develop and implement methods of collection and processing of recyclable materials through source-separation, dual-stream or commingled practices. The applicant must demonstrate that these recyclable materials have value and greater marketability.

-- New and innovative recycling educational programs that support the applicants' recycling collection efforts.

In addition, communities whose existing recycling programs contain the following components will receive additional consideration:

-- Publicly provided or municipally contracted waste and recycling services.

-- The collection of six or more of the following materials: newsprint, office paper, corrugated paper, other marketable grades of paper, aluminum cans, steel or bimetallic cans, colored glass containers, clear glass containers and plastics.

-- Municipal recycling programs that are currently collecting and processing recyclable materials through source-separation, dual-stream or commingled practices. The applicant must demonstrate that these recyclable materials have value and greater marketability.

-- Incentive-based pricing and collection programs designed to increase the quantities and types of recyclable materials and reduce the quantity of waste collected.

Special consideration will be given to those applicants identified in Environmental Justice (EJ) Areas:

-- The Department identifies an EJ area where 20% or more individuals live at or below the Federal poverty line, or 30% or more of the population identify as non-white minority, or both, based on data from the United States Census Bureau and the Federal guidelines for poverty.

Read the entire PA Bulletin notice for more information.

Preapplication Conference

Potential applicants must contact the appropriate Department regional planning and recycling coordinator to schedule a preapplication conference to discuss application requirements and program particulars.

A list of coordinators is in the formal notice.

More Information

Visit DEP's Section 902 Recycling Grants webpage for all the details.  Questions Mark Vottero, Recycling Grants Coordinator, mvottero@pa.gov  or (717) 772-5719.

For more information on environmental programs in Pennsylvania, visit DEP’s website, Click Here to sign up for DEP’s newsletter, sign up for DEP Connects events, sign up for DEP’s eNotice, visit DEP’s Blog,  Like DEP on Facebook, Follow DEP on Twitter and visit DEP’s YouTube Channel.

[Posted: August 19, 2022]

8/22/2022