Solid waste management grants

The Rural Utilities Service (RUS) awarded Rural Community Assistance Partnership Incorporated (RCAP) a Solid Waste Management Grants project grant totaling $914,113.17 on August 18, 2025, with performance through August 18, 2027. Under CFDA 10.762, this award funds technical assistance and training initiatives designed to reduce water resource pollution and improve planning and management of solid waste disposal facilities in rural communities. RCAP serves as the prime grantee, coordinating regional solid waste management services across the United States to assist rural, small, and tribal communities with infrastructure capacity building and environmental sustainability.

RCAP distributed sub-awards to six regional partners—Southeast Rural Community Assistance Project Inc., Midwest Assistance Program Inc., Communities Unlimited Inc., Great Lakes Community Action Partnership, Rcap Solutions Inc., and Rural Community Assistance Corporation—to deliver technical assistance to a combined minimum of 30 individual rural solid waste projects. Key deliverables include providing training and capacity-building support to landfill operators and community leadership, assisting communities with waste stream reduction and recycling initiatives, developing closure plans for inactive landfills, addressing emerging contaminants such as Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), and supporting household hazardous waste management efforts. Sub-awardees must track project activities in the Data Collection System and submit quarterly reports, participate in Solid Waste Working Group meetings, produce case studies, and publish at least one feature article per region in Rural Matters magazine highlighting solid waste management solutions applicable to other rural communities.