The Northwest Missouri Regional Solid Waste Management District is looking for businesses, schools, local governments, non-profit organizations — just about anybody really — who has a plan for recycling, and who just needs a little seed money to turn that plan into reality.
Environmental Planner Linda Laderoute said Monday that recycling grant funds are currently available through the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, and that public and private entities throughout the five counties served by the Northwest Missouri Regional Council of Governments are welcome to apply. Those counties include Atchison, Gentry, Holt, Nodaway, and Worth.
The funds are earmarked for initiatives designed to encourage recycling and reduce the amount of waste entering landfills. According to a district release, eligible projects could include, but are not limited to, the proposed purchase of waste volume-reduction infrastructure and equipment, such as wood chippers, aluminum and cardboard balers, forklifts, and recycling bins.
In the past, grant funds have also been used to help pay for electronic and household waste collections, outdoor classrooms, recycling education and outreach, and business expansions for waste handling and recycling firms.
Laderoute said the application period for the current grant cycle ends Oct. 3, and that a total of $54,000 is available for waste reduction and recycling projects across the five-county region. In the past, she said, individual grants have generally been capped at $19,500, but that larger allocations might be available if the right project comes along.
Smaller grants have been awarded for as little as a few hundred dollars, Laderoute said. Money for the grant program comes from a statewide solid waste management fund established by the Missouri Legislature and supported by revenue derived from a small portion of the “tipping fees” paid by haulers who dump waste at landfills.
A total of 20 solid waste management districts exist in Missouri, each of which is working toward a statewide goal of cutting the stream of waste deposited in landfills each year by 75 percent.
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