The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that the Municipality of Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico has been selected to receive $4 million in the first EPA funding under EPA’s new Solid Waste Infrastructure for Recycling (SWIFR) program. Puerto Rico will also receive more than $612,000 to increase efforts to reduce waste across the Island. The funding will allow Trujillo Alto to collect recyclable material from homes and schools of six neighborhoods where there was no recycling program due to lack of funds, equipment, and personnel. The grants will be awarded using funding from the Biden Administration’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL).
The grant will help Trujillo Alto expand a recycling program into previously unserved rural areas. The project will provide a convenient way for the almost 37,000 people living in the municipality to divert waste from the landfill. A bonus is that the project will create almost 20 jobs. This will help Puerto Rico mitigate its a solid waste crisis, as many of its landfills are filling up. Reducing waste and bolstering recycling are critical components to addressing this crisis.
“The SWIFR grant program put the common adage ‘waste not want not’ into action. This funding will support the work that EPA is already doing with Puerto Rico to help reduce waste and improve the way materials are managed. It will also allow Trujillo Alto to take a big step forward in expanding its recycling program,” said EPA regional administrator Lisa F. Garcia.
“This is great news for our people. With the allocation of $4 million, we will be expanding the Municipal Recycling Program to rural areas in the Municipality. The approved proposal will provide compactor trucks and hooks, shredding machines and about 30,000 containers for the recovery of recyclable materials,” said Trujillo Alto Mayor, Pedro A. Rodriguez. “Our goal is to provide a direct service to our residents and continue to promote recycling as a benefit to our municipality and the environment. We thank the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for approving our application, which will benefit residents of rural areas.”
Aside from Puerto Rico, all states and territories received SWIFR funding. The money for states and territories will help support their efforts to improve post-consumer materials management programs through planning, data collection, and the implementation of plans. The funding is part of EPA’s overall efforts to invest in America by strengthening infrastructure and implementing programs for lasting change. It will aid communities and states in modeling what’s known as a “circular economy” by building a program to keep materials and products in circulation for as long as possible.
The secretary of the Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources (DNER), Anais Rodriguez Vega, highlighted: “With the allocation of these funds, DNER will standardize the collection of data on recycling, thus ensuring the efficiency and effectiveness of our efforts. These resources will also strengthen our training program, facilitating specialized training for both our internal team and representatives of Puerto Rico’s 78 municipalities. In addition, we will be hiring a project manager, an attorney, and an environmental specialist; which expands and strengthens our operational structure. This collaboration with EPA demonstrates our firm objective to lead Puerto Rico towards a sustainable future in harmony with our natural environment.”
EPA has selected 25 communities to receive grants totaling more than $73 million under the newly created SWIFR funding opportunity. In addition, the agency is making available approximately $32 million for states and territories to improve solid waste management planning, data collection and implementation of plans. Thanks to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, this investment totaling $105 million is EPA’s largest recycling investment in 30 years.