Pollution Prevention Grants

July 9th, 2015

This spring, the State of Michigan DEQ department put out a call for “pollution prevention” grant applications. Recycle Ann Arbor, in partnership with the Washtenaw County Office of the Water Resources Commissioner, Ecology Center, and WISD, were awarded two grants. Here’s a brief summary of the two grants received locally, of only 16 grants awarded statewide:

Title: Zero Waste Event Initiative

Grant Award: $19,500.00

Local Grant Match: $8,661 (provided by Amcor)

Grant Lead: Recycle Ann Arbor

Grant Partners: Washtenaw County Office of the Water Resources Commissioner, Amcor Rigid Plastics

Project Description: Ann Arbor and Washtenaw County have dozens of community/public events each year, some with as few as 100 people attending, and some drawing tens of thousands of visitors.  Providing recycling/composting/zero waste services and education at these events is critical to boosting waste recovery opportunities and expectations in the community.  The goals of the grant are to expand the number of “zero waste events” in Ann Arbor and Washtenaw County, recovering a minimum of 90% of the “waste” at these events, and also build momentum for “zero waste events” to become the norm for ALL community sponsored festivals and events within Washtenaw County in the future.

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Title: Washtenaw County School Recycling and Education Program

Grant Award: $32,000.00

Local Grant Match: $24,627.58

Grant Lead: Washtenaw Intermediate School District (WISD)

Grant Partners: Recycle Ann Arbor, The Ecology Center, Washtenaw County Office of the Water Resources Commissioner, Waste Management

Project Description: The Ann Arbor Public Schools have a vibrant recycling program operating in all of the schools within its district.  Other school districts outside of Ann Arbor have less developed recycling collection and educational programs.  This grant will establish recycling systems in eight public schools in various school districts throughout Washtenaw County (outside of Ann Arbor).  The goal is to test a variety of collection and educational trainings and events within these schools, in order to identify “best practices” for ultimate expansion into all of the public schools within Washtenaw County on a permanent basis.  A related goal is to model the success of this program to other school districts in the state, providing a comprehensive “toolkit” of programs, services, practices and opportunities that can be replicated in rural, suburban and urban school settings throughout Michigan.