§6966d Consumer Recycling Education and Outreach Grant Program; Federal Procurement

Summary

Creates a competitive EPA grant program to pay for public education and outreach that makes home and community recycling work better. "Administrator" means the EPA Administrator. The grants must fund projects that tell people about local recycling programs, explain what materials are accepted, and raise collection rates while cutting contamination. Eligible recipients include States, local governments, Indian Tribes, Native Hawaiian organizations, the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, nonprofits, and public‑private partnerships. Two or more of these groups can get a grant to coordinate across different programs. Grant money can pay for things like ads, door‑to‑door outreach, social media, toolkits and training, business outreach, labeling of bins, and other EPA‑approved education efforts. Grants cannot go to programs that do not separately collect trash and recyclables unless the money helps switch to separate collection, and grants cannot promote systems that remove separate collection. Recipients must show the funding will support collecting materials that are sold to an existing or developing market; they can show business plans and financial data, and the EPA must treat those documents as confidential. Grantees must report to EPA no earlier than 180 days and no later than 2 years after a grant about changes in volume collected, participation, and contamination, using a standard measurement guide that EPA will create. EPA must make a model toolkit, help bring recycling into school lessons, and send yearly reports to Congress on program results and suggestions. Congress authorized $15,000,000 each year for fiscal years 2022–2026, and at least 20 percent must be allocated to low‑income communities, at least 20 percent to rural communities, and at least 20 percent to Native American communities.