The City of Tacoma, Washington has been awarded a $1,999,806 Project Grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the Reduce, Reuse, Recycling Education and Outreach (REO) Grant Program (CFDA 66.921). The purpose of this award is to enhance Tacoma's efforts to increase waste prevention, boost recycling participation rates, and decrease contamination in the recycling stream.
Key activities funded through this grant include expanding Tacoma's Community Ambassador Program, implementing an educational campaign using AI-powered recycling feedback, and conducting waste characterization studies. Sub-awards totaling $200,000 will be provided to several local nonprofit organizations to support the Community Ambassador Program, which aims to engage diverse community members in recycling education and outreach. The expected outcomes include translating outreach materials into 6 languages, training 600 community ambassadors, and providing direct recycling feedback to 250,000 residents. This funding will enable Tacoma to advance its goals of improving municipal solid waste management and reducing greenhouse gas emissions through enhanced recycling and composting programs.