The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing nine selectees across the nation’s Pacific Southwest region to receive a total of $7,915,660 in Solid Waste Infrastructure for Recycling grants for Tribes and Intertribal Consortia.
EPA’s nine selectees are:
- Cher Ae Heights Indian Community of the Trinidad Rancheria ($950,679) in California will construct a zero waste facility, purchase equipment, hire and train staff, and install and service compost and recycling bins throughout the community. The Trinidad Rancheria zero waste facility will process the Tribe’s food waste, green waste, paper waste, fish waste from sport and charter fishers, serve as a transfer station for sorting and backhauling common recyclables, and provide an example for the development of circular economies for tribes and rural communities.
- Gila River Indian Community ($1,276,606) in Arizona will evaluate its current waste stream for contamination issues and opportunities to create baseline data to track recycling progress and build physical and programmatic capacity to address recycling needs. The purchase of recycling bins and two automated side loader recycling trucks to expand curbside recycling collection, along with community education will increase recycling rates by conducting education for the population of 12,000 residents to maximize community participation and reduce contamination of the recycling stream.
- Iipay Nation of Santa Ysabel ($1,500,000) in California will build and staff a small-scale sorting and transfer station and implement an outreach campaign to manage post-consumer materials and divert waste from landfills. The project will consist of an education and outreach phase, a construction phase, and an operations and data collection phase, all phases including consistent reporting. The sorting station will divert waste from landfills by recovering, reusing, recycling, repairing, and refurbishing appropriate materials and ultimately assist in creating a circular economy by developing a business model that allows post-consumer products to maintain their highest value for as long as possible.
- Mesa Grande Band of Mission Indians ($173,750) in California will procure infrastructure to allow the Tribe to implement its integrated waste management plan to improve collection and materials management infrastructure, increase the reuse of used and discarded materials, reduce contamination in the waste and recycle streams, and identify markets for recyclables.
- Pechanga Band of Indians ($1,065,473) in California will establish a curbside recycling program for the tribal community on Pechanga Reservation, design and build infrastructure to support a materials recovery facility for the tribal community, and increase diversion of recyclable and compostable materials and household hazardous waste. Funding will be used for equipment and infrastructure, including a designated facility for household hazardous waste, and staff time.
- Rincon Band of Luiseño Indians ($1,500,000) in California will expand the materials management infrastructure at the Rincon transfer station to facilitate greater reuse, recycling, composting, collection, and storage of recyclable and organic materials on the Rincon Reservation. The project includes asphalt paving; installation of a filtered drainage system; purchasing equipment including a tub grinder and a recycling station for plastic bottles, cans, cardboard, and glass; and roofing and secondary containment for tires, composting, hazardous waste, and e-waste collection areas for added safety.
- Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians ($406,837) in California will improve solid waste management planning and infrastructure, maximize diversion rates and community participation, and improve zero waste education. The project will develop a tribally approved Integrated Waste Management Plan to serve the community, develop educational programming and an enforceable regulatory framework to enhance residential participation.
- Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians ($653,120) in California will enhance their recycling program to increase recycling self-reliance capacity within the reservation by purchasing improved recycling infrastructure and supplies that will create an updated recycling center on the reservation. The Tribe’s Environmental Department plans to recycle all recyclable materials, produced both on and off the reservation, including from the administrative buildings, Tribal membership housing, economic development properties, and the clinic.
- Shoshone-Paiute Tribes of the Duck Valley Indian Reservation ($389,194) in Nevada will improve recycling practices for the Tribe by fully staffing their recycling program, purchasing needed recycling equipment including a baler, and improving their education and outreach program. This project aims to expand materials management infrastructure and reduce waste.
These recycling grants will help tackle consumer confusion and outdated recycling infrastructure, the largest barriers to proper recycling.