City of New Orleans Receives $3.9 Million Grant from EPA for Expansion of Residential Recycling Services and Education
NEW ORLEANS — The City of New Orleans today joined Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 6 Administrator Dr. Earthea Nance, Congressman Troy Carter Sr., Sanitation Director Matt Torri, Vice President of Grants and Community Development of The Recycling Partnership Rob Taylor and Lower Ninth Ward Center for Sustainable Engagement and Development Executive Director Arthur Johnson to announce the City’s $3.9 million grant from the Solid Waste Infrastructure for Recycling for Communities (SWIFR) program from EPA. This grant will go towards expanding the City’s residential recycling program, as well as recycling outreach and education efforts and developing a Solid Waste Master Plan (SWMP) to guide the City's future waste diversion efforts.
“The City of New Orleans is honored to have been selected to receive this $3.9 million federal grant that will undoubtedly help achieve our goal of increasing recycling rates, expanding our recycling infrastructure and educating the public on the importance of being more environmentally friendly,” said Mayor LaToya Cantrell. “This means every household throughout the city that is eligible for curbside pickup will now be a part of our circular economy. Thank you to our federal partners, as well as The Recycling Partnership, for helping make this initiative a reality. I must also applaud our dedicated, hard-working City workforce who continue to dedicate their time and effort to ensure we put our best foot forward in applying to receive these critical, one-time federal dollars. Through our shared vision, New Orleans will continue to lead in combatting the global climate crisis and promoting new ways to create a better, greener and more vibrant community.”
“We must continue to invest in comprehensive strategies that promote recycling initiatives in communities overburdened by climate change challenges,” said Dr. Nance. “By prioritizing recycling programs, EPA is fulfilling our promise of combating climate change, identifying marginalized communities and funding projects designed to improve public health. I would like to thank the City of New Orleans for continuing to fight the climate crisis and for ensuring New Orleans communities continue to receive the resources needed for a cleaner environment.”
Organic waste in the city’s trash and sewage is the source of about six percent of the community-wide greenhouse gas emissions. Currently, the City estimates that under five percent of recyclable materials are recycled and diverted from residential and commercial waste streams. The City’s latest Climate Action Plan calls for significant investment in both infrastructure and public education to increase our waste diversion rate, with a goal of reaching a 25 percent recycling rate by 2030. The funded project has three goals to work towards the Climate Action Plan:
- To purchase and deliver residential recycling carts to all eligible households that have not already opted into the service
- This will ensure universal and equitable access to curbside recycling and is anticipated to provide recycling access to about 73,000 new households and replace another 10,000 older and damaged recycling carts
- To create a 10-year Solid Waste Master Plan (SWMP) that will develop a comprehensive waste diversion strategy and roadmap for the city
- The SWMP will, at a minimum, include an evaluation of regional recycling processing infrastructure and capacity, explore opportunities to allow for organics diversion, including food waste and explore infrastructure and policy options to ensure waste diversion is happening in multifamily and commercial operations
- To educate residents on the benefits of recycling and what can be recycled in their residential carts
It is estimated that this project will initially recycle about 19,000 tons per year of readily usable recyclable materials that are currently being landfilled in the city and up to 30,000 tons annually in future years as the program matures.
Partnering with the City of New Orleans on the project is The Recycling Partnership, a mission-driven non-governmental organization advancing the circular economy by building a better recycling system in the U.S. communities and states. The Recycling Partnership has committed $1.4 million in grant funds to supplement funding from the EPA award to purchase additional residential recycling carts, as well as help the City develop and deploy a community-wide education and outreach campaign to support the rollout of expanded recycling services, increase residential recycling rates and decrease recycling contamination.
"The Recycling Partnership is thrilled to continue our ongoing work with the City of New Orleans to improve recycling," said Taylor. "We’re especially proud to have supported the City’s successful application to the EPA, and we look forward to putting The Recycling Partnership’s funding to work beside SWIFR funds. Providing every single-family residence with a recycling cart will make it easier for residents to recycle and divert more recyclable materials away from the landfill and back to manufacturers who can use them to create new materials."
“I’m excited to celebrate this funding for the SWIFR Program, which is an investment in the future of New Orleans. By expanding recycling access, developing a comprehensive Solid Waste Master Plan and educating Louisianans, we are taking meaningful steps toward a greener, more sustainable city. I’m committed to building a cleaner, healthier and more vibrant New Orleans and Louisiana for generations to come,” said Congressman Carter.
The SWIFR program provides grants to implement the National Recycling Strategy to improve post-consumer materials management and infrastructure, support improvements to local post-consumer materials management and recycling programs and assist local waste management authorities in making improvements to local waste management systems. The award for the City of New Orleans was one of 25 awards and part of approximately $73 million in SWIFR awards for communities made nationwide. More information can be found here.
Mayor Cantrell’s Federal Infrastructure Task Force crafted the City’s proposal. The City created the multi-departmental Task Force in January 2022 to analyze infrastructure needs within the city and secure funding from the new federal infrastructure law. So far, the Task Force has been successful on 10 grant applications for the City, totaling nearly $17 million. The Task Force has partnered or supported another approximately two dozen successful applications from organizations and government agencies in the city, region and state, with awards totaling hundreds of millions of dollars.
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