EPA Region 7 Presents $1.7M Check to City of Lincoln, Nebraska, for Recycling Education and Outreach Grant
Publilshed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
LENEXA, KAN. (JAN. 25, 2024) – Today, EPA Region 7 Administrator Meg McCollister presented a $1.7 million ceremonial check to the City of Lincoln, Nebraska, which was selected for a Recycling Education and Outreach Grant.
McCollister was joined by Lincoln Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird and Lincoln Transportation and Utilities Director Liz Elliott.
The city will use the grant funds to form three focus groups to engage minorities, new Americans, and low-income individuals living in Lincoln’s 14 underserved census tracts, using evidence-based messaging to increase access to recycling and food waste diversion and develop messages and outreach materials in a variety of methods and languages. Those census tracts include college students at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
“Reducing barriers to recycling has multiple positive impacts for the community,” McCollister said. “Whether it is saving money by reducing food waste, or being able to enjoy cleaner, healthier neighborhoods, this grant will have positive impacts on Lincoln’s overburdened communities for generations to come.”
“The City of Lincoln is grateful for this EPA Recycling Education and Outreach Grant as we pursue important local goals to reduce food waste 50% by 2030, and to decrease the amount of recyclable materials in our landfill 80% by 2040,” Baird said. “The grant will help promote sound, sustainable waste management practices that extend the life of our landfill, saving taxpayer dollars.”
Recycling Education and Outreach Grants
Recyling Education and Outreach Grants are funded by the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which provides unprecedented funds to support state and local waste management infrastructure and recyling programs. The 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.
To learn more about the Recycling Education and Outreach funding, please visit EPA’s Recycling Grant Selectees and Recipients page.
Visit EPA’s website to learn more ways to reduce, reuse, and recycle. EPA offers many free online resources, including:
- Model Recycling Program 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
- Creating Messages that Drive Behavior Change
- Recycling Infrastructure and Market Opportunities Map
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Read the full article at: https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-region-7-presents-17m-check-city-lincoln-nebraska-recycling-education-and-outreach
