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

This Project Grant award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the Reduce, Reuse, Recycling Education and Outreach (REO) Grants program (CFDA 66.921) provides $1,547,635 in funding to Recycle Hawaii and its partner, the Ka'ū Global Learning Lab, to implement a youth-led, community-based education campaign. The objectives are to increase waste prevention activities, boost recycling participation rates, and decrease contamination in the recycling stream. Key activities include creating and implementing an immersive environmental education program for three cohorts of 20 student "Resource Ambassadors," who will design and launch education campaigns on composting, marine debris, plastic pollution, and clean stream initiatives. The student cohorts will also customize a program database, participate in community recycling events, and host local and national zero waste youth convergences to showcase the project's learning model and education campaigns. Sub-awards will support the student ambassador program, environmental waste instruction, and local/national zero waste convergence events.

EPA's consumer recycling education and outreach (REO) grant program will fund a range of projects that will increase waste prevention activities, increase the collection of recyclable materials and program participation rates, and decrease contamination of the recycling stream, fund projects that focus on commonly recycled materials such as municipal solid waste (e.g., plastics, aluminum, paper, glass, etc.), including food waste and organics, and/or fund projects and provide tools and technical assistance that will lead to long-term, sustained change, benefits, and support beyond the life of the grant. The purpose of this award is to enhance recycle hawaii's efforts to meet the REO grants elements. Recycle hawaii with its partner, the KA#699;#363; global learning lab, will foster the development of youth-led, community-based education campaigns that promote composting, raise awareness about plastic pollution, and inform the public about ongoing recycling opportunities. Recycle hawaii will create and implement an environmental education program for 3 consecutive, 20-student cohorts, known as student resource ambassadors. These students will, through immersive education and project-based learning, design and launch a series of education campaigns aimed at informing the public about the connection between climate and waste, increasing awareness about the impacts of plastic pollution, increasing participation in community recycling events and decreasing contamination in the recycling stream, customize a database for their program, and stage local and national zero waste youth convergences in hawaii that serve to disseminate their project's learning model and education campaigns. The waste reduction themes the students will explore are composting, marine debris and plastic pollution, and clean stream. Activities:recycle hawaii will perform the following activities: create and implement an immersive-based environmental education program for 3 consecutive, 20-student cohorts, known as student resource ambassadors. In this program, students will customize a database specific to the needs for their program, participate and conduct monitoring at community recycling events, launch an educational campaign aimed at increasing awareness and participation in community-based recycling programs for each theme, and stage local and national zero waste youth convergences that serve to showcase and disseminate the project's learning model and education campaigns. The objectives of this project is to inform the public about residential or community recycling programs, provide information about the recycled materials that are accepted as part of a residential or community recycling program that provides for the separate collection of residential solid waste from recycled material, and increase collection rates and decrease contamination in residential and community recycling programs through the education and outreach materials designed and launched by the student cohorts. Subrecipient:the following activities will be implemented through subawards: zero waste youth USA will provide ongoing support and instruction to the student ambassadors modeled on their zero waste youth group program currently deployed nationally and internationally in several countries. Hawaii wildlife fund will assist the lead student coordinator with in-class, environmental waste instruction as well as taking the student ambassadors on field trips to kamilo BAY (plastic beach) and assist hosting the local and national hawaii zero waste convergences in year 2 and year 3, respectively. Outcomes:recycle hawaii's anticipated deliverables and expected outcomes, and intended beneficiaries include: - hold community awareness events with local community members to inform and showcase compost/marine/plastic pollution and clean stream educatio