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EPA, USDA and FDA Release National Strategy on Food Loss and Waste
On June 12, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and Food and Drug Administration announced the release of the “National Strategy for Reducing Food Loss and Waste and Recycling Organics” as part of President Biden’s whole-of-government approach. The goal of the strategy is to prevent the loss and waste of food, where possible, increase recycling of food and other organic materials to support a more circular economy for all, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, save households and businesses money, and build cleaner, healthier communities.
The actions detailed in this strategy will help the U.S. meet its National Food Loss and Waste Reduction Goal to halve food loss and waste, as well as the National Recycling Goal to achieve a 50% recycling rate by 2030. They also contribute to global achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal Target 12.3.
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EPA Renews and Expands Joint Agency Food Loss and Waste Agreement and Welcomes USAID as an Official Partner
In May 2024, EPA announced a renewed, expanded Federal Interagency Food Loss and Waste Collaboration between EPA, USDA, FDA, and the U.S. Agency for International Development. This collaboration further strengthens and expands the federal commitment on reducing food loss and waste. The federal partnership aims to leverage government resources more efficiently, saving taxpayer dollars while effectively addressing issues the agencies have in common in pursuit of the national goal to reduce food loss and waste by 50% by the year 2030.
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EPA, USDA, and FDA renew Formal Agreement with the Food Waste Reduction Alliance
On June 1, 2024, EPA, USDA, and FDA, renewed an agreement with the Consumer Brands Association, the Food Industry Association, and the National Restaurant Association, the founding partners of the Food Waste Alliance. Through this partnership, we will continue to collaborate on industry education and outreach efforts on the importance of food waste reduction including:
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Educating and engaging the food manufacturing, retail, restaurant and food service industries to reduce food waste, including strategies to prevent, recover and recycle excess food.
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Informing stakeholders of the food waste reduction recognition programs currently available at each respective agency.
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Sharing best practices on successful, creative and innovative solutions to reduce wasted food across industry sectors.
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Increasing industry awareness of the Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Act, so as to encourage safe and effective food donation and recovery.
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Collaborating to better understand infrastructure gaps and other constraints to food donation, scrap recycling, adoption of innovative technology, and behaviors in commercial settings in order to identify potential areas for improvement.
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EPA Posts Fact Sheets About Recipients of the Recycling Education and Outreach Grants
 The Recycling Education and Outreach grant program addresses one of the largest barriers to proper recycling – confusion about what can be recycled. New fact sheets are now available with information on the REO selectees and recipients.
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provides $275 million total from fiscal year 2022 to fiscal year 2026, for grants authorized under the Save Our Seas 2.0 Act. This marks the largest investment in recycling in 30 years. More than $60 million of these BIL funds will help stimulate the Recycling Education and Outreach grant program. This funding will reduce pollution in communities across the county, including underserved communities disproportionately impacted by pollution, by teaching the public how to properly recycle and compost. In turn, collection rates will increase, and recycling contamination will decrease.
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EPA Posts Electric Arc Furnace Slag Sampling Data
 EPA continues to gather and post information about EAF slag to evaluate this material. The latest posting includes sampling of EAF slag gathered through EPA's Superfund Program in residential yards of Pueblo, Colorado. EPA collected samples from 21 properties, all located within the Colorado Smelter Superfund Site Preliminary Study Area.
Access the report that documents this sampling and the results on our website.
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EPA and USDA Release Food Waste and Methane Fact Sheet
 USDA and EPA developed a two-page fact sheet on the connection between food waste and methane, highlighting the impact of methane on climate change and how food waste is a major source of methane emissions from landfills.
Check out the fact sheet.
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DOE Announces Electronics Scrap Recycling Advancement Prize
 On March 6, 2024, the U.S. Department of Energy announced the launch of the Electronics Scrap Recycling Advancement Prize. This three-phase competition will award up to $4 million (up to $800,000 in cash prizes and $150,000 in national laboratory analysis support) for competitors to substantially increase the production and use of critical materials recovered from electronic scrap, known as e-scrap.
The three phases of the E-SCRAP competition prioritize the circularity of materials and reduction of e-scrap, identifying solutions that expand beyond a single-use life for electronics, and encouraging reuse of product materials. DOE intends for the cash prizes and assistance it will award in Phases 1 and 2 to support teams as they advance. The competition is open to private entities (for-profits and nonprofits), nonfederal government entities (such as states, counties, Tribes, and municipalities), academic institutions, and individuals that meet all eligibility requirements.
Important dates: Phase 1 submissions are due September 4, 2024, at 5pm ET; Phase 2 opens in November 2024.
Visit the E-SCRAP webpage for more information.
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Learn About the Future of Upcycling Food Waste on June 24
 On June 24, in honor of National Upcycling Day, ReFED and the Upcycled Food Association will present a webinar titled, “Upcycling Food Waste: What Does the Future Hold?” Learn about recent successes and current challenges with food waste upcycling.
Register for the webinar.
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Learn How to Use the Global Farm Loss Tool on June 26
 On June 26, the World Wildlife Fund and Consumer Goods Forum will host a webinar to introduce users to the Global Farm Loss Tool. This tool was developed to help growers of all sizes and crop types to measure and manage on-farm food losses. The webinar will cover the scale of on-farm food loss, how the tool works and how to get started, and case studies showing increased profits from using the tool.
Register for the webinar through WWF.
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Learn About Scaling Up Community Composting on June 26
 On June 26, the Institute for Local Self-Reliance is presenting a webinar titled, “Scaling Up Local Circular Composting.” This is Part 2 in a series of webinars ILSR is offering to support a distributed and diverse composting infrastructure that includes community-sized and on-farm composting.
Learn more about the June 26 webinar and register.
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USDA Opens Application Period for Composting and Food Waste Reduction Cooperative Agreements
 USDA is accepting applications for Composting and Food Waste Reduction pilot projects for fiscal year 2024. These cooperative agreements support local and Tribal governments in developing innovative, scalable waste management plans. The aim is to reduce and divert food waste from landfills and test strategies for municipal composting and food waste reduction efforts. These cooperative agreements support projects in communities of all sizes and are part of USDA’s broader efforts to support urban and climate smart agriculture. Learn more about the CFWR cooperative agreements, including past recipients.
Application deadline: September 4, 2024
Learn more and apply at Grants.gov.
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EPA Region 3 Posts Solid Waste Infrastructure Grant Opportunity
EPA Region 3 released a notice of funding opportunity designed to increase the ability of Mid-Atlantic states to manage food scraps more sustainably through composting. This funding opportunity specifically seeks to increase capacity for food scraps composting by upgrading yard waste composting facilities to accept food scraps.
Application deadline: August 30, 2024.
Learn more about this funding opportunity at Grants.gov.
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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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Reminder - Apply by June 28 for USDA’s Food Loss and Waste Training and Technical Assistance Grants Program
 Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education is leading a national Community Foods Project Food Loss and Waste Training and Technical Assistance Grants Program. The program supports projects that align with USDA activities aimed at reducing food loss and waste, getting surplus wholesome food to individuals, and developing linkages between food producers, providers, and food recovery organizations. Application deadline is June 28, 2024. Learn more about this funding opportunity.
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Reminder - Apply Aug-Nov 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).
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Reminder - Apply for USDA’s Rural Energy for America Program Loans and Grants by June and Sept
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:
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June 30, 2024.
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September 30, 2024.
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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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