FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Monday, Jan. 11, 2010

CONTACT
Mark W. Salley
Communications Director
303-692-2013

Grant Funding Available for Colorado Entities That Recycle

DENVER – The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment now is accepting grant applications for waste diversion and recycling projects in Colorado. The application deadline is March 3. Approximately $1.1 million in grant funding is available for 2010.

Entities eligible to apply are

* public and government agencies, including universities and schools;
* private sector organizations, both for-profit and nonprofit, that have the approval and/or support of a local government agency;
* private sector organizations, both for-profit and nonprofit, without approval of local government, when the application includes documentation that the project will be beneficial to the local community;
* out-of-state companies or organizations that are expanding in or relocating to Colorado, or have an in-state business presence, and are registered as doing business in Colorado and whose project benefits Colorado directly. Such organizations must be registered with the Colorado Secretary of State’s office prior to application submittal.

Grant applications may be downloaded from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment’s Web site at http://www.cdphe.state.co.us/oeis/p2_program/rreogrants.html . Awards will be announced in early May. The start date for projects is July 1.

The grant funding comes from landfill surcharges being collected by the state. The surcharge is part of Colorado’s Recycling Resources Economic Opportunity Act of 2007 passed by the Legislature.

This grant program is scheduled to sunset or end on June 30. The grant funding for this request for applications is contingent upon the repeal of this sunset provision. See C.R.S. § 25-16.5-106.7(8). If the sunset provision of the statute is not repealed, the program will end on June 30, and the new grants selected through this application process will not be funded.

Grant selection guidelines were prepared by the Pollution Prevention Advisory Board’s Assistance Committee, composed of 13 representatives of Colorado’s recycling community and appointed by Jim Martin, former executive director of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.

To provide immediate results to legislative sponsors and demonstrate that the funding is a good investment in Colorado’s health and prosperity, the grants will be awarded for projects of 12 months in duration. Applications must clearly reflect the economic goals and criteria articulated in the Recycling Resources Economic Opportunity Act of 2007. http://www.state.co.us/gov_dir/leg_dir/olls/sl2007a/sl_278.htm

In making recommendations about which grant proposals to fund, the committee will rely on data produced by consultants who were commissioned to analyze gaps and shortfalls in the state’s recycling infrastructure, as well as the geographic and demographic distribution of recycling resources, and the consultants’ quantification of the state’s recycling and waste diversion levels. These reports will be available at the Department of Public Health and Environment’s Web site: http://www.cdphe.state.co.us/oeis/p2_program/rreogrants.html .

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