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Report on Challenges of Contamination in Composting
 The Composting Consortium and the Center for the Circular Economy at Closed Loop Partners released a report titled “Don’t Spoil the Soil: The Challenge of Contamination at Composting Sites.” The report follows an in-field study at 10 composting facilities in the U.S. which measured and characterized contamination and analyzed the financial costs of managing contamination. Download the full report.
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Composting State of Practice Report
 The Environmental Research & Education Foundation released a new report, “Composting State of Practice: Results from a National Operations Survey.” Conducted in collaboration with the U.S. Composting Council and Desert Research Institute, the survey received responses from over 300 composting facilities. Download the full report.
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ReFED Catalytic Grant Fund – Calling Restaurants!
– Apply by March 25th!
 ReFED is offering restaurants the opportunity to pilot food waste solutions for free. Selected restaurants will work with a food waste solutions provider in summer 2024 to test a food waste reduction, donation, or food waste recycling model that best fits their operations. Restaurants can learn more and apply on ReFED's website.
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New Tool for Tracking Methane Emissions from Solid Waste
 The Rocky Mountain Institute released the Waste Methane Assessment Platform, developed with the Clean Air Task Force and funding from the Global Methane Hub. WasteMAP is a tool to improve methane emissions transparency and help identify opportunities for mitigation of methane emissions from solid waste and is accompanied by a decision support tool. Explore WasteMAP.
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Participate in EPA Working Sessions to Improve Battery Recycling
 Register today for EPA’s first working session initiative to develop battery collection best practices and battery labeling guidelines to increase battery recycling—one of EPA’s latest efforts to reduce landfill waste and recover valuable materials from used products. The best practices and guidelines aim to increase the collection and recycling of used consumer electric and portable batteries, vehicle batteries, and storage and industrial batteries. During the webinar on March 19th, EPA will share background and context around the effort and discuss next steps. Webinar participants will then be able to provide input to inform this process.
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Four Part Webinar Series on Wasted Food Solutions
The Northwest Recycling Council is hosting a four part webinar series on wasted food solutions. The next and third webinar will be on March 27. Hear from operators of three successful, diverse anaerobic digestion facilities from Maine, Connecticut, and Maryland, followed by a generous question and answer period.
The presenters will cover topics including:
- Choosing the specific AD technology for their application;
- Finding the site for the facility;
- Targeting and handling feedstocks;
- Using the biogas and digestate; and
- Engaging the community and addressing environmental justice concerns during development and operations.
Sign up for the third webinar on March 27 here.
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Attend the Grant Competition Process Webinar to Learn What it Takes to Apply for EPA grants
 The EPA Competition Process Webinar will be held on Tuesday, March 26, from 1:00-2:00 pm ET. This webinar is intended to help grant applicants learn how to find and successfully apply for competitive EPA grants. EPA will also provide an overview of the competition process from application through evaluation and selection. Participants will be able to ask questions of EPA presenters during the webinar. Advance registration is required. Click here to register. If you have already registered, you should have received a confirmation email with the link to the webinar.
Presentation materials and a list of helpful links will be available on EPA’s website before the webinar: https://www.epa.gov/grants/competition-process-webinar-march-26-2024. After the webinar, a recording will be posted to the same webpage.
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Funding Competition Available to Increase Critical Materials Recovered from Electronics
The U.S. Department of Energy launched the Electronics Scrap Recycling Advancement Prize and will award up to $4 million to competitors to substantially increase the production and use of critical materials recovered from electronic scrap—or e-scrap. The cash prizes and assistance awarded in Phases 1 and 2 are intended to support teams as they advance in the competition.
E-scrap—which includes mobile phones, home appliances, medical or office equipment, and anything else powered by electricity—represents the fastest growing waste stream globally. Recovering e-scrap faces numerous roadblocks, including a fragmented recycling value chain, a complex and dynamic feedstock, and a rapidly evolving end-use market.
- The Phase 1 submission period is currently open and closes on September 4, 2024.
- Visit the website to learn more about this prize.
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Reminder - Apply for EPA’s Environmental and Climate Justice Community Change Grants Program
EPA’s Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights is awarding approximately $2 billion in grants to fund community-driven projects that address climate challenge and reduce pollution while strengthening communities through thoughtful implementation.
Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis with initial award selections beginning in March 2024. The final application deadline is November 21, 2024.
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Apply Institute for Local Self-Reliance
 ILSR is offering grants of $5,000-$20,000 to community composting projects in New England coastal states. Eligible programs are led by or serving Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC), located in Tribal communities or work in an historically excluded neighborhood. Application deadline: April 2, 2024. Learn about this opportunity.
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Reminder - Apply for USDA’s Rural Energy for America Program Loans and Grants
This program provides guaranteed loan financing and grant funding to agricultural producers and rural small businesses for renewable energy systems or to make energy efficiency improvements.
Application Window Closing Dates:
- March 31, 2024.
- June 30, 2024.
- September 30, 2024.
Visit the USDA Rural Energy for America Grants webpage for more details.
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Reminder - Apply for EPA’s Climate Pollution Reduction Grants
EPA is making available $4.6 billion across two implementation grant competitions, one general competition, and one specifically for Tribes and territories. The deadline to apply to the general competition is April 1, 2024. The deadline to apply to the Tribes and territories competition is May 1, 2024.
For more information, please visit:
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Apply for USDA Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production Grants
 USDA’s Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production grants support planning and implementation activities to initiate or expand projects in urban and suburban areas related to food production, food access, education, policy, agricultural businesses, job training, best practices for composting and soil health, and more. Eligible entities include units of local and Tribal governments including cities, school districts, or housing authorities, and non-profit organizations.
Application deadline: April 9, 2024.
Learn about this funding opportunity.
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Reminder - Apply for USDA’s Foundational and Applied Science Program Grants
These grants cover research, education, and extension projects with a wide variety of topics and eligible entities.
Application deadlines: August 1 through November 14, 2024, depending on program area.
Learn more about this funding opportunity and how to apply.
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Mention of or referral to commercial products or services, and/or links to non-EPA sites does not imply official EPA endorsement of or responsibility for the opinions, ideas, data, or products presented at those locations, or guarantee the validity of the information provided. Mention of commercial products/services on non-EPA websites is provided solely as a pointer to information on topics related to environmental protection that may be useful to EPA staff and the public. |
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By subscribing to the newsletter, you will receive periodic announcements about resources, events, webinars, funding opportunities, and more from EPA and our partners. Topics include circular economy, reduce/reuse/recycle, food loss and waste, electronics, plastics, municipal solid waste, and the built environment.
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