This agreement provides funding from the infrastructure investment and jobs act (IIJA)

EPA Region 5 awarded the City of Chicago $4.999988 million on April 1, 2026, under the Solid Waste Infrastructure for Recycling (SWIFR) Infrastructure Grants program (CFDA 66.920) to establish and operate a curbside yard waste collection program.

The City will hire staff to collect yard waste on a year-round, biweekly schedule across 60 collection routes serving approximately 36,000 households in Chicago. The program will distribute 14,271 95-gallon yard waste carts and divert an estimated 6,048 tons of yard waste from landfills to composting over the three-year performance period. Resident education will occur through mailers, community presentations by Department of Streets & Sanitation staff, cart tagging for improper setouts, and free composting resources.

Performance runs from April 1, 2026, through March 31, 2029, with work performed in Chicago, Illinois. The SWIFR program supports improvements to post-consumer materials management systems and assists local waste management authorities in making improvements to local waste management infrastructure, including municipal recycling programs, composting, and safe disposal of unrecoverable waste. No sub-recipients are included in this award. The assistance type is a Cooperative Agreement.

The U.S. EPA's solid waste infrastructure for recycling (SWIFR) grants for political subdivisions of states and territories will fund activities that will result in a significant decrease in the generation of municipal solid waste (MSW) and/or an increase in the diversion of MSW from landfills and incineration, as well as fund innovative solutions and programs that provide or increase access to prevention, reuse, mechanical recycling, anaerobic digestion, and composting. The purpose of this award is to enhance the city of chicago's efforts to meet the SWIFR grants elements. Specifically, the city of chicago will establish a curbside yard waste collection program. Funding will be used to hire staff to collect yard waste on a year-round, biweekly schedule along 60 collection routes that would service roughly 36,000 households. The yard waste collected will be diverted from landfills to composting. Activities:the activities to be performed include hiring staff to collect yard waste on a year-round, biweekly schedule along 60 collection routes that would service roughly 36,000 households. Subrecipient:no subawards are included in this assistance agreement.outcomes:the anticipated deliverables include the establishment of a curbside yard waste collection program established/created to serve 36,000 households on a year-round, biweekly schedule and the distribution of 14,271 95-gallon yard waste carts to aide in collection. The expected outcomes include an estimated 6,048 tons of yard waste diverted from landfills to composting over the 3-year project period. Residents from these 36,000 households will also learn how to properly use the new yard waste program and about the benefits of composting yard waste through mailers, presentations at community meetings by DSS staff, cart tagging when improper yard waste set out is observed, and through the availability of free bags of compost for interested households along collection routes. The intended beneficiaries include residents of the city of chicago.