Investing in America through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Recycling Education and Outreach Grant Program Fact Sheet ecomaine Selected Grant Recipient Highlights • Benefits 73 disadvantaged Name: ecomaine Project Location: Maine Project Title: An Effort to Increase Maine's Recycling Rate through Outreach to Residents of Multi-Family Dwelling Units communities. • Creates access to recycling in multi-family dwelling units. EPA Information Region: EPA Region 1 Grant Funding: $2,000,000 ecomaine's project will be a targeted pilot with dedicated educational outreach and information on single-sort recycling strategies in multi-family dwelling units, where access to single-sort recycling traditionally has been limited. Outreach to residents and property owners, informational materials, social media promotion, and increased access to recycling solutions will help to divert more recyclable material from Maine's landfills, ecomaine will prioritize low-income, environmental justice communities and people who live in multi-family housing in southern, central and coastal Maine to increase recycling accessibility. REO Grants The 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provides the largest EPA investment in recycling in 30 years to support National Recycling Strategy implementation and build a circular economy for all. As part of the Investing in America agenda, this funding supports improvements to waste management systems and programs, allowing resources to be used more efficiently and reducing the impact on the climate. REO grant funding can be used to inform the public about residential or community recycling programs, provide information about the recycled materials that are accepted as part of a residential or community recycling program, and increase collection rates and decrease contamination in residential and community recycling programs. These grants also advance the Justice40 Initiative, which aims to ensure that 40% of the overall benefits of certain federal investments flow to disadvantaged communities that are marginalized, underserved and overburdened by pollution. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law also requires that 20% of the grant funding go to communities that are low-income, rural or Native American. EPA will make the award to ecomaine once all legal and administrative requirements are satisfied. Other Recycling Grant Funding in Maine Maine SWIFR State Grant Fact Sheet EPA 530-F-24-005-AA Consumer Recycling Fducation and Outreach Grant Program April 2024 ------- |