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.”
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.