The North Carolina Reycling Business Assistance Center (RBAC) is offering small grants to North Carolina recycling businesses. Requests for proposals are typically issued each fall, depending on funding availability, for projects to begin the following spring.
The purpose of this grant program is to reduce the flow of solid waste to disposal facilities and encourage the sustainable recovery of materials from North Carolina’s waste stream. To achieve that purpose, RBAC seeks viable, well-planned and effective proposals from recycling businesses in North Carolina wanting to start up or expand recovery efforts.
Projects involving the collection, processing or end use of materials in the solid waste stream are eligible for funding. Generally, the grant money is intended to fund sustainable investments in equipment and buildings necessary for increasing the capacity of a recycling business to divert more materials from disposal and into economic use. Grant money cannot be used to cover labor costs, general operational costs or the cost of contract processing.
Download the request for proposals (RFP) for the 2026 grant round: https://www.deq.nc.gov/2026-rbdg-rfp/open.
Published November 2025
