Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced over $1.6 million from President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda to expand recycling infrastructure and waste management systems across Missouri.
EPA has selected the Boonslick Regional Planning Commission in Missouri to receive grants totaling over $1 million under the newly created Solid Waste Infrastructure for Recycling funding opportunity. In addition, the agency is making available approximately $572,000 for Missouri to improve solid waste management planning, data collection, and implementation of plans. Thanks to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, this investment, totaling $105 million nationwide, is a part of EPA’s largest recycling investment in 30 years.
These grants support the implementation of EPA’s National Recycling Strategy to build an economy devoted to keeping materials, products, and services in circulation for as long as possible – what’s known as a “circular economy.”
“Reducing waste is one very important step we can take to fight the climate crisis and ensure environmental justice in our Heartland communities,” said EPA Region 7 Administrator Meg McCollister. “Thanks to President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, this funding will help our region’s states reduce gases like methane by diverting waste from landfills. These funds will also ensure that our overburdened communities get the resources needed for a cleaner and healthier environment for all.”
“We are excited that the Boonslick Regional Planning Commission (BRPC) has been awarded this project through EPA’s Solid Waste Infrastructure for Recycling Grant Program,” said Boonslick Regional Planning Commission Chairman Ryan Poston. “This grant will increase and improve the capacities of the East Central Missouri Recycling Center. The outcomes of this opportunity will greatly impact our community and will allow residents of the Boonslick Region and surrounding areas further access to recycling drop-off locations, as well as increase the amount of materials that the Recycling Center handles.”
President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda is growing the American economy from the bottom up and middle out – from rebuilding our nation’s infrastructure to driving over $470 billion in private-sector manufacturing and clean energy investments in the United States to creating a manufacturing and innovation boom powered by good-paying jobs that don’t require a four-year degree, to building a clean energy economy that will combat climate change and make our communities more resilient.
EPA’s Solid Waste Infrastructure for Recycling Grant Program is also advancing President's 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. Approximately $56 million out of the $73 million (or 76%) of the total funding for communities will go toward projects that benefit disadvantaged communities.
Source: epa.gov
Categories: Missouri, Government & Policy