Advancing Sustainable Materials Management | EPA R4 RCRD 19 01

Opportunity Information: Apply for EPA R4 RCRD 19 01

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) offered a discretionary funding opportunity called "Advancing Sustainable Materials Management" (Funding Opportunity Number: EPA R4 RCRD 19 01) to support projects that move beyond small, incremental improvements and instead accelerate practical, substantial solutions for capturing, using, and reusing materials. The program is focused on Sustainable Materials Management (SMM), meaning efforts that reduce waste, conserve resources, and strengthen circular systems where materials stay in productive use longer. Rather than funding general recycling education alone, the solicitation emphasizes approaches that deliver measurable results and that can be replicated or scaled, particularly when they are driven by clear economic logic and market demand.

The opportunity is organized around four main project areas. First, it seeks proposals that improve the sustainable management of food and other organics, with an emphasis on prevention (reducing food waste before it happens), donation (redirecting edible food to people), and recycling (such as composting or anaerobic digestion for what cannot be eaten). Second, it supports efforts to expand the capture and reuse of glass cullet and to strengthen glass recycling infrastructure, which can include collection, processing, contamination reduction, end-market connections, and systems that make cullet more valuable and consistently usable by manufacturers. Third, it targets recycling market development in the Southeast, specifically calling for projects that use clear marketing strategies to increase material reuse and strengthen end markets, recognizing that recycling performance often depends on stable buyers, consistent quality, and well-developed supply chains. Fourth, it invites proposals that advance SMM in the built environment, including buildings and infrastructure, with attention to resiliency; this can include strategies that reduce construction and demolition waste, promote material reuse, improve procurement practices, and encourage design and management choices that lower lifecycle material impacts.

A central priority across all four areas is the use of economically-driven strategies. In practice, this means applicants are expected to show how their approach makes financial sense and can sustain itself beyond the grant period, whether through cost savings, revenue generation, reduced disposal costs, stronger local markets, improved logistics, or partnerships that create durable demand for recovered materials. The solicitation is oriented toward practical implementation and market-based solutions that change how materials flow through a region, rather than one-off cleanups or short-term pilots without a path to continuation.

The funding instrument for this program is a cooperative agreement, which typically indicates the EPA anticipates being substantially involved during the project period (for example, through collaboration, technical input, or coordinated planning), rather than simply awarding funds with minimal interaction. The maximum award amount listed is $125,000, and the EPA expected to make about three awards. The opportunity was created on March 25, 2019, with an original closing date of May 10, 2019, and applicants were directed to consult the full announcement, including Section IV, for specific submission instructions, methods, and final due-date details.

The listing identifies the funding activity category as Environment and includes CFDA number 66.808. Eligibility is described broadly as "Others" with clarification deferred to the full announcement’s additional eligibility information, suggesting that a range of non-traditional or varied applicant types may be considered depending on the detailed requirements, such as nonprofits, local governments, institutions, or other organizations operating in the relevant region and able to deliver the proposed outcomes. Overall, the grant is positioned as a targeted investment to strengthen circular materials systems in the Southeast, focusing on organics, glass, market development, and the built environment, with a consistent emphasis on solutions that work economically and can endure.

• The Environmental Protection Agency in the environment sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Advancing Sustainable Materials Management" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 66.808.
• This funding opportunity was created on Mar 25, 2019.
• Applicants must submit their applications by May 10, 2019 Please refer to the full announcement, including Section IV, for additional information on submission methods and due dates.. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $125,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 3 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for EPA R4 RCRD 19 01

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