USEPA News Release:
EPA Announces More Than $700,000 to Bandera County, TX, Group for Recycling Education and Outreach Projects as Part of America Recycles Day
On America Recycles Day, EPA announces grants under President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, funded in part by the largest recycling investment in 30 years
DALLAS, TEXAS (November 30, 2023) –In conjunction with America Recycles Day, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the Bandera County Committee on Aging will receive a $704,736 Recycling Education and Outreach (REO) grant to educate surrounding communities about recycling opportunities. As part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, a key pillar of Bidenomics, these grants will expand education for waste management systems across the region.
“Today, on America Recycles Day, we are putting historic recycling investments into communities, made possible by President Biden’s Investing in America agenda,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “Two years ago today, the President signed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and with it, unleashed unprecedented funding to enable Tribes and communities to update recycling and composting infrastructure, while also advancing education programs to increase recycling rates and reduce waste.”
“Many rural communities are left out of services urban areas take for granted, especially for waste management. But these areas still have options, and partners like the Bandera County Committee on Aging are essential in helping educate people on how and where to recycle used items,” said Regional Administrator Dr. Earthea Nance. “With this grant, the committee can help increase sustainability for many Hill Country communities.”
The committee’s grant will go toward developing outreach projects to inform residents of recycling opportunities. The project will reach 14 rural communities with information about new and existing recycling programs through community events, door-to-door outreach, social media posts, radio and newspaper ads, and billboards.
These grants reflect the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to tackling environmental justice and the climate crisis. Many communities with environmental justice concerns carry a disproportionate environmental and human health burden from waste management. As part of President Biden’s Justice40 Initiative, 100% of the funding allocated in EPA’s SWIFR for Tribes grants and 74% of the funding allocated in the REO grants will benefit underserved and overburdened communities. Increasing recycling is also an important way to reduce pollution because natural resource extraction and processing make up half of all global greenhouse gas emissions that drive the climate crisis. Recycling reduces the need to extract resources such as timber, water, and minerals for new products.
Recycling Education and Outreach Grants
The Recycling Education and Outreach grant projects will help inform the public about local recycling and composting programs and focus on increasing collection rates and decreasing contamination of recycling streams across the nation. EPA has announced 25 selectees to receive over $33 million in Recycling Education and Outreach grants.
To learn more about the Recycling Education and Outreach funding, please visit: EPA’s Recipients and Selectees webpage.
America Recycles Day
Today marks both the 29th America Recycles Day, the second anniversary of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and the second anniversary of EPA’s National Recycling Strategy. The National Recycling Strategy was the first in a series of EPA strategies devoted to building a circular economy – one that reduces material use, redesigns materials, products, and services to be less resource intensive, and recaptures “waste” as a resource to manufacture new materials and products.
To build upon the goals of the recycling strategy, EPA released the Draft National Strategy to Prevent Plastic Pollution for public comment in April. The Draft Strategy outlines steps to reduce pollution during production, improve management of plastic materials throughout product lifecycles, and encourage actions to keep plastics out of national waterways and the environment. Future strategies will address food waste and electronics.
EPA also recently announced over $105 million for the selectees of the historic SWIFR grants for states and communities. These improvements will support a circular economy, help lower greenhouse gas emissions, as more efficient waste management systems are key to reducing energy consumption and the need for raw materials, while rebuilding our nation’s infrastructure, powered by well-paying jobs that don’t require four-year degrees.
Visit EPA’s website to learn more ways to reduce, reuse, and recycle.
EPA offers many free, online resources, including:
- Model Recycling Toolkit.
- Composting Food Scraps in Your Community: A Social Marketing Toolkit.
- Wasted Food Scale: Updated Recommendations.
- Standardized Terms for Materials Accepted by Municipal Recycling Programs.
Learn more about America Recycles Day.
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