EPA-I-OLEM-ORCR-24-12.pdf

AGENCY: ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (EPA)

TITLE: Consumer Recycling Education and Outreach (REO) Grant Program

ACTION: Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO)

FUNDING OPPORTUNITY NUMBER: EPA-I-OLEM-ORCR-24-12

Assistance Listing No: 66.921

KEY DATES:

NOFO OPENS September 13, 2024

NOFO CLOSES – APPLICATIONS DUE BY December 20, 2024, 11:59 PM (EST)

COALITION MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT DUE BY March 1, 2025

ANTICIPATED NOTIFICATION OF FUNDING SELECTION March 2025

ANTICIPATED AWARD September 2025

APPLICATION SUBMISSION DEADLINE: Application packages must be submitted electronically to the EPA through Grants.gov (www.grants.gov) no later than December 20, 2024, at 11:59 p.m. (EST) in order to be considered for funding.

Note – EPA discourages applicants from naming a contractor (including consultants) in your application as a “partner” or “collaborator.” Please carefully review Section IV.d. from EPA’s Solicitation Clauses regarding named contracts and subawards that are incorporated by reference in this announcement (refer to Section III.D: Named Contractors). EPA expects recipients of funding to comply with competitive procurement contracting requirements as well as EPA’s rule on Participation by Disadvantaged Business Enterprises in EPA Programs in 40 CFR Part 33. The Agency does not accept justifications for sole source contracts for services or products available in the commercial marketplace based on a contractor’s role in preparing an application or prior relationships with the contractor that were not established in compliance with competitive procurement requirements. Note that these competitive procurement requirements apply with equal force to contractual relationships established prior to or after the award of EPA funds.

https://www.grants.gov/ http://www.grants.gov/ https://www.epa.gov/grants/epa-solicitation-clauses https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-40/chapter-I/subchapter-B/part-33?toc=1

CONTENTS BY SECTION

SECTION I. FUNDING OPPORTUNITY DESCRIPTION

A. Background

B. Statutory/Regulatory Authority

C. Key Definitions

D. Program Vision and Goals

E. Project Labor Agreements

F. Scope of Work

G. Coalitions

H. General Environmental Results and EPA Strategic Plan Information

I. National Strategies Plan Linkage

J. Additional Provisions for Applicants Incorporated into the Solicitation

K. Minority Serving Institutions

L. Measuring and Reporting Environmental Results: Evaluation, Outputs and Outcomes

SECTION II. AWARD INFORMATION

A. Funding Structure

B. Type of Award

C. Will Applications be Partially Funded?

D. What is the Project Period for Awards Resulting from this Solicitation?

SECTION III. ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION

A. Eligible Applicants

B. Cost Share

C. Threshold Eligibility Criteria

D. Named Contractors

E. Subrecipients

F. Ineligible Costs or Activities and Other Considerations

SECTION IV. APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION

A. Requirements to Submit through Grants.gov and Limited Exception Procedures

B. Submission Instructions

C. Technical Issues with Submission

D. Application Materials

E. Project Narrative Attachment Form

F. Pre-Application Assistance

G. Confidential Business Information

SECTION V. APPLICATION REVIEW INFORMATION

A. Evaluation Criteria

B. Review and Selection Process

SECTION VI. AWARD ADMINISTRATION INFORMATION

A. Award Notification

B. Administrative and National Policy Requirements

C. Use of Funds

D. Program Income

E. Disputes

F. Quality Management Plans (QMPs) & Quality Assurance Project Plans (QAPPs) ... 48

G. Reporting Requirements

SECTION VII. AGENCY CONTACT

APPENDIX A. GUIDELINES FOR A MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT FOR A

COALITION

SECTION I. FUNDING OPPORTUNITY DESCRIPTION

A. Background

Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and other environmental impacts associated with goods result from the energy, land, and water used to produce, transport, consume, and dispose of them. Approximately 55 percent of global GHG emissions stem from the extraction and processing of materials, fuels, and food.1 Reducing, reusing, recycling, and composting are strategies that can lessen the environmental impact of goods. Increasing recycling reduces climate, environmental, and social impacts of materials use, and keeps valuable resources in use instead of in landfills. Municipal solid waste management has long suffered from a lack of investment. Some communities that lack waste management infrastructure do not have recycling programs, which increases the burden on limited landfill capacity and increases greenhouse gas emissions.

Recycling refers to the series of activities by which materials, including organic materials, are collected, sorted, processed, and/or converted into raw materials to be used for new products. (Recycling excludes the use of materials solely as a fuel substitute or for energy production.) Composting is one way to recycle organic materials, including food waste. Composting transforms organic materials into a valuable soil amendment - compost - through a controlled, aerobic (oxygen-required) biological decomposition of the organic materials by microorganisms. More than one-third (nearly 100 million tons) of the United States (U.S.) municipal waste stream is organic waste, and of that, sixty-six million tons is wasted food.2 Recycling organic waste (such as food scraps, wood, and yard waste) through composting will drive progress toward EPA’s nationwide goal of a 50% recycling rate by 2030.3 Education and outreach can expand participation in composting programs and reduce contamination in the compost stream, while significantly increasing the amount of residential solid waste recycled.

Education and outreach can also expand the markets for compost use, building a more circular economy.

Recycling organic waste into a value-added product like compost not only keeps those nutrients circulating within the economy, but it also prevents additional greenhouse gas emissions. Food comprises nearly a quarter of landfilled municipal solid waste.4 When food and other organics decompose in a landfill, they release methane, a powerful greenhouse gas. Food waste is responsible for 58% of the landfill methane emissions released to the atmosphere,5 so preventing and diverting food waste from landfills is an effective strategy to reduce climate emissions.

In 2021, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) (Public Law 117-58), also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law or “BIL,” was signed into law. The BIL supports EPA’s implementation of the National Recycling Strategy through the Solid Waste Infrastructure for Recycling (SWIFR) Grant Program authorized by Section 302(a) of the Save Our Seas 2.0 Act (Public Law 116–22). Section

1 Data from the 2024 Global Resources Outlook Report published by UN Environment.

https://www.resourcepanel.org/reports/global-resources-outlook-2024 2 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. (2020). Advancing sustainable materials management: 2018 fact sheet. EPA 530-F- 20-009. https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2021-01/documents/2018_ff_fact_sheet_dec_2020_fnl_508.pdf 3 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. U.S. National Recycling Goal. https://www.epa.gov/circulareconomy/us-national-recycling-goal 4 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. (2020). Advancing sustainable materials management: 2018 fact sheet. EPA 530-F- 20-009. https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2021-01/documents/2018_ff_fact_sheet_dec_2020_fnl_508.pdf 5 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. (2023). Quantifying methane emissions from landfilled food waste. EPA600-R-23-

064. https://www.epa.gov/land-research/quantifying-methane-emissions-landfilled-food-waste https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/3684 https://www.epa.gov/circulareconomy/national-recycling-strategy https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-bill/1982/text https://www.resourcepanel.org/reports/global-resources-outlook-2024 https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2021-01/documents/2018_ff_fact_sheet_dec_2020_fnl_508.pdf https://www.epa.gov/circulareconomy/us-national-recycling-goal https://www.epa.gov/circulareconomy/us-national-recycling-goal https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2021-01/documents/2018_ff_fact_sheet_dec_2020_fnl_508.pdf https://www.epa.gov/land-research/quantifying-methane-emissions-landfilled-food-waste

70402 of the BIL also authorized the Consumer Recycling Education and Outreach (REO) Grant Program, and EPA received $75 million in funding for the REO grant program through the BIL. In 2023, EPA selected 25 awardees to receive the first round of REO funding and began awarding the funds in 2024.

In June 2024, the White House, along with EPA, USDA, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration released the National Strategy for Reducing Food Loss and Waste and Recycling Organics. The goal of this strategy is to prevent the loss and waste of food and increase recycling of organic materials to support a circular economy for all, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, save households and businesses money, and build healthier, cleaner communities.

For this second round of REO funding, EPA is focusing on preventing the generation of wasted food and increasing its recycling through composting. This NOFO aims to fund one grant that includes three projects:

Project #1: Develop and Implement a National Consumer Wasted Food Reduction Campaign;

Project #2: Expand the Market and Sales of Compost; and Project #3: Increase Education and Outreach to Households on Composting.

By first focusing on preventing wasted food and then on recycling the remaining food waste, people and the environment experience the greatest benefits. Preventing food from being wasted saves households money. The average family of four spends $1,500 each year on food that ends up uneaten.6 Of the approximately 66 million tons of wasted food that were generated in the food retail, food service, and residential sectors in 2019, about 40% was from households - almost all of which (96%) was landfilled, incinerated, or sent down the drain to the sewer system.7 A recent study by MITRE-Gallup found that 89% of Americans believe that throwing away food is a waste of money and 53% of Americans feel that there are actions they can take to reduce food waste.8

Food waste prevention initiatives grounded in education and outreach can also improve the effectiveness of residential and community recycling programs, which include composting programs. When households reduce the amount of food that is going uneaten and being throwing away, they can also reduce the amount of contamination in source separated recyclables and increase recycling. For example, households practicing food waste prevention are more likely to recycle clean, empty food containers, rather than throwing away to landfills or improperly recycling containers heavily contaminated with food. Food waste prevention is particularly important in municipalities that currently do not have the ability to develop municipal composting infrastructure, but aim to divert waste from local landfills, increase uptake of separated recycling, and decrease contamination in the recycling stream.

This grant program is part of the Biden Administration’s Justice40 Initiative, which aims to deliver 40 percent of the overall benefits of certain federal climate, clean energy, affordable and sustainable

6 Buzby, J. C., H. F. Wells, and J. Hyman. (2014). The estimated amount, value, and calories of postharvest food losses at the retail and consumer levels in the United States. U.S. Department of Agriculture. EIB 121.

https://www.ers.usda.gov/webdocs/publications/43833/43680_eib121.pdf 7 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. (2023). 2019 wasted food report. EPA 530-R-23-005.

https://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/2023-03/2019%20Wasted%20Food%20Report_508_opt_ec.pdf 8 MITRE | Gallup. (2023). The State of Food Waste in America. https://sites.mitre.org/household-food-waste/wp-content/uploads/sites/41/2023/11/The-State-of-Food-Waste-in-America-11-14-23.pdf https://www.epa.gov/circulareconomy/national-strategy-reducing-food-loss-and-waste-and-recycling-organics https://www.whitehouse.gov/environmentaljustice/justice40/ https://www.ers.usda.gov/webdocs/publications/43833/43680_eib121.pdf https://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/2023-03/2019%20Wasted%20Food%20Report_508_opt_ec.pdf https://sites.mitre.org/household-food-waste/wp-content/uploads/sites/41/2023/11/The-State-of-Food-Waste-in-America-11-14-23.pdf https://sites.mitre.org/household-food-waste/wp-content/uploads/sites/41/2023/11/The-State-of-Food-Waste-in-America-11-14-23.pdf housing, clean water, and other investments to disadvantaged communities. For more information on the Justice40 Initiative at the EPA, visit: Justice40 at EPA.

B. Statutory/Regulatory Authority

Section 70402 of the BIL established the “Consumer Recycling Education and Outreach Grant Program” (REO grants). The BIL provides EPA with $75,000,000 for REO grants for Federal Fiscal Years 2022 through 2026 at $15,000,000 per year. Pursuant to Section 70402(b) of the BIL, the purpose of the competitive REO grant program is to improve the effectiveness of residential and community recycling programs through public education and outreach. REO grants must:

• 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.

As provided in Section 70402(d)(2) of the BIL, EPA must allocate at least 20% of the funding Congress appropriated each fiscal year for:

• low-income communities;

• rural communities; and

• communities identified as Native American pursuant to section 2(9) of the Native American

Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (25 U.S.C. 3001(9)).

C. Key Definitions

Coalitions, Coalition Members, and Coalition Member Subrecipients: A coalition is a special type of partnership, subject to subaward requirements, including the EPA’s Subaward Policy for Assistance Agreement Recipients. For purposes of this grant program, a coalition is a group of two or more eligible applicants that share a strong and substantial commitment to the projects (e.g., financially, materially, or operationally) such that withdrawal by any single member from the coalition would fundamentally alter the design or expected outputs and outcomes of the projects. One entity must be responsible for the grant (i.e., the grant recipient/lead applicant) and the other entities would be brought on via subawards. For purposes of this NOFO, the entities brought on by subawards to be part of the coalition will be referred to as “coalition members” or “coalition member subrecipients.” All applications for this funding opportunity are required to be coalition applications. Please see Section I.G: Coalitions, Section III.A:

Eligible Applicants, Section III.C: Threshold Eligibility Criteria, and Section III.E: Subrecipients for more information.

Competitive Campaign Implementation Subrecipients: subrecipients who receive subawards to implement campaigns locally. Please refer to Section III.E: Subrecipients for more information.

Composting: Composting is the managed, aerobic (oxygen-required), biological decomposition of organic (carbon-based) materials by microorganisms.

Disadvantaged Community: A disadvantaged community is a census tract identified by the Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool that is at or above the threshold for one or more environmental, https://www.epa.gov/grants/grants-policy-issuance-gpi-16-01-epa-subaward-policy-epa-assistance-agreement-recipients https://screeningtool.geoplatform.gov/en/ https://screeningtool.geoplatform.gov/en/ https://www.epa.gov/environmentaljustice/justice40-epa https://www.epa.gov/grants/grants-policy-issuance-gpi-16-01-epa-subaward-policy-epa-assistance-agreement-recipients climate, or other burdens, and is at or above the threshold for an associated socioeconomic burden; or is a Federally Recognized Tribe.

Environmental Justice (EJ):

“Environmental justice” means the just treatment and meaningful involvement of all people, regardless of income, race, color, national origin, Tribal affiliation, or disability, in agency decision-making and other Federal activities that affect human health and the environment so that people:

• are fully protected from disproportionate and adverse human health and environmental effects (including risks) and hazards, including those related to climate change, the cumulative impacts of environmental and other burdens, and the legacy of racism or other structural or systemic barriers; and

• have equitable access to a healthy, sustainable, and resilient environment in which to live, play, work, learn, grow, worship, and engage in cultural and subsistence practices.

Disproportionate and adverse environmental, human health, climate-related and other cumulative impacts, as well the accompanying economic challenges of such impacts, may result when greater pollution burdens and/or consequences, and the impact of them, are more likely to affect or have affected communities described. The impacts may result from various factors including but not limited to being a function of historical trends and policy decisions.

Factors that may indicate disproportionate and adverse impacts as referenced above include:

differential proximity and exposure to adverse environmental hazards; greater susceptibility to adverse effects from environmental hazards (due to causes such as age, chronic medical conditions, lack of health care access, or limited access to quality nutrition); unique environmental exposures because of practices linked to cultural background or socioeconomic status (for example, subsistence fishing or farming); cumulative effects from multiple stressors; reduced ability to effectively participate in decision-making processes (due to causes such as lack of or ineffective language access programs, lack of programs to make processes accessible to persons with disabilities, inability to access traditional communication channels, or limited capacity to access technical and legal resources); and degraded physical infrastructure, such as poor housing, poorly maintained public buildings (e.g., schools), or lack of access to transportation.

Food Waste Composting: In this NOFO, this term refers to composting of food waste along with other organic materials (e.g., yard and tree trimmings and other organic (carbon-based) materials in the waste stream).

Low-Income Community: A low-income community is defined as a community in which the median household income is at or below 200% of the Federal poverty level.

Native American Community: Communities identified as Native American pursuant to section 2(9) of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act will mean communities of, or relating to, a Tribe, people, or culture that is indigenous to the United States.

Nonprofit Organization: Consistent with the definition of nonprofit organization at 2 CFR 200.1, the term nonprofit organization means any corporation, trust, association, cooperative, or other organization that is operated mainly for scientific, educational, service, charitable, or similar purpose in the public interest and is not organized primarily for profit; and uses net proceeds to maintain, improve, or expand the operation of the organization. The term includes tax-exempt nonprofit neighborhood and labor organizations. Eligible nonprofit organizations may, but are not required, to be exempt from taxation under section 501 of the Internal Revenue Code. Workforce Investment Boards and organized Labor Unions that meet these criteria may be eligible nonprofit organizations. Nonprofit colleges, universities and other institutions of higher education including minority serving institutions are also eligible to apply for funding under this NOFO as are public institutions of higher education that are agencies or instrumentalities of state, Tribal or local governments.

For-profit colleges, universities, trade schools, and hospitals are ineligible.

Nonprofit organizations that are not exempt from taxation under section 501 of the Internal Revenue Code must submit other forms of documentation of nonprofit status, such as certificates of incorporation as nonprofit under state or Tribal law. Nonprofit organizations exempt from taxation under section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code that lobby are not eligible for EPA funding as provided in the Lobbying Disclosure Act, 2 U.S.C. 1611.

Public-Private Partnership: A public-private partnership (P3) is a formal relationship between a unit of government and a non-governmental organization (for-profit or nonprofit) that is memorialized in a legally binding document. The public-private partnership must have the authority to enter into binding legal agreements with the Federal government, an organizational structure that ensures accountability for the proper expenditure of Federal funds, and written agreements that specify which party or parties is liable for claims for recovery of unallowable costs incurred under Federal grants. Public-Private Partnership agreements must be in place at the time of application submission to be eligible for funding under this grant.

Rural Communities: One of the following:

a) Local areas with populations of 50,000 or less that have limited access to public or private resources commonly found in metropolitan areas; or

b) Community Network areas selected by the Rural Partners Network (See rural.gov for a complete list of communities).

Statutory Set-Aside: The amount per fiscal year that must be allocated to (A) low-income communities; (B) rural communities; and (C) communities identified as Native American pursuant to section 2(9) of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (25 U.S.C. 3001(9)), as specified in Section 70402(d)(2) of the BIL.

Subrecipients: Subrecipients receive subawards from the grant recipient. For purposes of this NOFO, the subrecipients brought on by subawards to be part of the coalition will be referred to as “coalition member subrecipients” or “coalition members” to distinguish them from the subrecipients who receive subawards to implement campaigns locally, who will be referred to as “competitive campaign implementation subrecipients.” The grant recipient may also choose to bring on other types of subrecipients via subaward. Please refer to Section III. E: Subrecipients for more information.

D. Program Vision and Goals

This funding opportunity under the Recycling Education and Outreach grant program aims to fund projects that will meet the following objectives and reduce GHGs:

• Decrease wasted food from households (project #1);

• Expand markets for and sales of compost (project #2); and

• Inform the public about new or existing residential food waste composting programs; provide information about the materials that are accepted as part of a residential food waste composting program; and increase collection rates and decrease physical contamination in residential food waste composting programs (project #3).

E. Project Labor Agreements

EPA encourages project labor agreements (i.e., pre-hire collective bargaining agreements between unions and contractors that govern terms and conditions of employment for all workers on a construction project); the use of an appropriately trained workforce (i.e., through registered apprenticeships and other joint labor-management training programs that serve all workers, particularly those historically excluded); the use of an appropriately credentialed workforce (i.e., requirements for appropriate and relevant professional training, certification, and licensure); and neutrality with respect to union organizing (i.e., BIL funds should not support or oppose union organizing).

F. Scope of Work

Applications must include all three projects:

Project #1: Develop and Implement a National Consumer Wasted Food Reduction Campaign;

Project #2: Expand the Market and Sales of Compost; and Project #3: Increase Education and Outreach to Households on Composting.

These projects should demonstrate how they will meet the objectives listed in Section I.D: Program Vision and Goals.

The total amount of funding available under this funding opportunity is $39,094,000. The budget for project #1 must be no less than $30,000,000 and no more than $34,094,000, and the budgets for projects #2 and #3 combined must be no less than $5,000,000 and no more than $9,094,000 in total.

Project Number

Description Objectives Funding Range

1 Develop and Implement a National Consumer Wasted Food Reduction Campaign

Decrease wasted food from households

$30,000,000 to $34,094,000

2 Expand the Market and Sales of Compost

Expand markets for and sales of compost

$5,000,000 to $9,094,000 (combined) 3 Increase Education and

Outreach to Households on Composting

Inform the public about new or existing residential food waste composting programs; provide information about the

Project Number

Description Objectives Funding Range materials that are accepted as part of a residential food waste composting program; and increase collection rates and decrease physical contamination in residential food waste composting programs

Applicants must demonstrate that they will subaward a portion of the total award funding to competitive campaign implementation subrecipients (see Section I.C: Key Definitions) to implement education and outreach locally for project #1 and #3, and they must plan to use a competitive process to select those subrecipients. Those competitive campaign implementation subrecipients could use the funds for staffing and local campaign implementation, including media planning and buying. Entities do not have to request a subaward from the grant recipient to implement campaigns locally, but some may wish to do

so. For purposes of this NOFO, the subrecipients brought on by subawards to be part of the coalition that will administer the grant are referred to as “coalition member subrecipients” or “coalition members” to distinguish them from the subrecipients who receive subawards to implement education and outreach locally, who are referred to as “competitive campaign implementation subrecipients.” Coalition members would not be brought on via a competitive process.

In addition, under this announcement, the grant recipient must allocate 20% of the funding they are requesting to low income, rural, and Native American communities, in compliance with section 70402(d)(2) of the BIL. EPA is requiring that applicants meet this 20% allocation through subawards to entities that target authorized education and outreach activities to members of those communities. See Section I.C: Key Definitions for definitions for these communities and subrecipients.

EPA will evaluate applications based on the extent to which they describe a clear plan for how they will conduct a competitive subaward process for competitive campaign implementation subrecipients, taking into account the 20% statutory set aside requirements; how they will ensure the subaward process is accessible to low income, rural and Native American communities and the entities that serve them; and how they will ensure competitive campaign implementation subawards will be distributed geographically across the U.S. and ensure that the total amount allocated to competitive campaign implementation subawards will go beyond the 20% statutory set aside requirements. Applications that allocate more than 20% of the total amount requested are more likely to receive a higher evaluation score (see evaluation criterion #6 in Section V.A: Evaluation Criteria).

Additionally, because the Justice40 Initiative sets a goal that 40% of the overall benefits of certain federal climate, clean energy, and other investments flow to disadvantaged communities, which is defined in Section I.C. Key Definitions for the purposes of this NOFO, applicants must demonstrate in their proposals that 40% of the overall benefits created by the projects funded in this assistance agreement will flow to disadvantaged communities. This could be achieved via:

• subawards from the grant recipient to subrecipients whose work benefits disadvantaged communities;

• targeted outreach and use of media channels as part of campaigns that ensure members of disadvantaged communities receive campaign messages and information about saving money by wasting less food while also benefitting communities at large by diverting waste from local landfills;

• targeted outreach to disadvantaged communities aimed at increasing their participation in composting programs and reducing contamination in the compost stream, which can result in cleaner, more valuable compost available to disadvantaged communities; or

• promoting the development and sale of compost to realize economic, environmental and community benefits in disadvantaged communities (such as green jobs or building soil health).

These activities, in communities located in a U.S. Territory (Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands), will also count towards the Justice40 goal.

Funding requirements for this NOFO are summarized in the following table:

Project # What are the requirements for the overall budget per project?

Are subawards required to implement outreach and education locally?*

How is the 20% set aside required to be met?

Project #1 Not less than $30,000,000 and not more than $34,094,000.

Yes, and they must be competitive.

At least 20% of the total funding requested will be allocated to low income, rural, and Native American communities through subawards to entities that target authorized education and outreach activities to members of those communities.

Project #2 Not less than $5,000,000 and not more than $9,094,000 (in total for both Project #2 and Project #3).

Allowed but not required.

Project #3 Yes, and they must be competitive.

Total budget

Not less than $35,000,000 and not more than $39,094,000

* Applications that allocate more than 20% of the total amount requested to competitive campaign implementation subawards are more likely to receive a higher evaluation score (see evaluation criterion #6 in Section V.A. Evaluation Criteria).

Project #1: Develop and Implement a National Consumer Wasted Food Reduction Campaign

The objective of this project is to decrease wasted food from households, by developing and implementing a national consumer campaign aimed at helping consumers reduce wasted food in their households. EPA will evaluate the extent to which applicants root the design and implementation of such a national campaign in social marketing principles in accordance with Section V.A. Evaluation Criteria. The campaign should be a cohesive and coordinated effort where consistent messages are delivered to consumers through a variety of channels, implementers, and collaborators. While consistent messaging is important, EPA strongly encourages applicants to develop the campaign in a way that allows for local implementers to customize materials and messaging to fit their needs. A coordinated effort will help all involved entities be more effective and efficient with the resources they invest.

Campaign Design EPA will evaluate applicants on the extent that they address the following elements in the design of the national campaign, in accordance with Section V.A: Evaluation Criteria. Applicants may also propose other elements as necessary.

• The campaign purpose, goals, and objectives describe why the campaign is being developed, what the campaign is trying to achieve, and what needs to occur to achieve the goals.

• Priority audiences refers to the audiences that the campaign is working to reach. For REO grant applicants, the priority audiences include those groups of people who are more likely to practice behaviors that waste more food (or whose type of food waste has the greatest environmental impact) and are likely to be more open to adopting new behaviors. Grant applicants should describe how they would build on existing audience segmentation research to identify priority audiences for the campaign, being mindful to take equity considerations into account in priority audience selection. Grant applicants should describe how they would include an emphasis in campaign development on lower income families who stand to receive the most economic benefit from preventing wasted food.

• Grant applicants should also outline a plan to transcreate materials, which involves going beyond literal translation and considering the cultural context, making sure materials are culturally specific and relevant. Transcreation is especially important when drafting materials for Spanish-speakers and other limited English proficient (LEP) populations.

• EPA is committed to providing equitable access to Information and Communication Technology for all. Applicants should outline plans to provide equitable access to outreach campaign materials. As the campaign evolves, equity considerations may continue to shift and expand.

EPA strongly encourages grant applicants to encourage entities that will be implementing the campaign locally to consider equity and LEP in their planning and priority audience decision-making.

• Desired behavior changes are those that can be promoted through interventions. EPA strongly encourages applicants to describe how they would categorize behavior changes based on their impact and on the probability of change (i.e., the likelihood of adoption).

• Barriers, benefits, and motivators. Barriers reduce the probability of the priority audience engaging in the desired behavior. Barriers can include a lack of awareness of the problem of wasted food and/or lack of awareness that people waste food themselves. Other barriers include lack of time/busy lifestyles and lack of knowledge around cooking skills, proper storage, date labels, etc. Benefits are what will be delivered to the audience if they practice the behavior.

Motivators are what will move the audience to act to change their behaviors.

• Collaborator recruitment. A successful campaign will include a significant focus and effort on getting a wide range of national and local collaborators from both the private and public sector engaged with the campaign who can amplify each other's efforts to create greater change.

Consumers should see the cohesive campaign at multiple touchpoints from brands they trust, lending gravity and credibility to the messaging. Collaborators can include funders, implementers, allies, and messengers. Applicants should describe what strategies they would use to recruit collaborators in campaign development. While collaborators support successful campaign implementation, they should not be confused with coalition member subrecipients; in addition, some collaborators may wish to seek funding as competitive campaign implementation subrecipients, but the term “collaborator” encompasses many more entities than only those who seek subawards for implementation.

• Messages and materials. In social marketing campaigns, consistent campaign messages should help drive the desired behavior changes by presenting compelling calls to action and overcoming audience barriers by emphasizing the benefits of taking that action. Materials and collateral (e.g., advertisements, factsheets, guides, and social media posts) should deliver those messages.

Campaign Development and Implementation Applicants should plan to conduct the campaign at the national level and act as a resource for collaborators helping to implement the campaign. EPA will evaluate applications on the extent to which they address the following development and implementation activities, in accordance with Section V.A:

Evaluation Criteria. Applicants may also propose other elements as necessary.

• Campaign development: strategic planning, initial collaborator development, creating an advisory board of key people with a deep level of expertise in wasted food prevention, campaign creative and materials development, website development, and creating a toolkit for collaborators.

• Campaign research: addressing audience segmentation; consumer awareness, attitudes and self-reported behaviors related to wasted food prevention; and other research necessary to help inform the creation and iterations of the campaign. Applicants should take into account relevant existing research and stay abreast of relevant research underway.

• Campaign implementation: media planning and buying, media relations, national promotions, social media, and local community and collaborator implementation support.

• Campaign maintenance: creative campaign and material updates, collaborator coordination and recruitment, website maintenance and project management.

Applicants must provide funding for local campaign implementation via subawards and must describe their approach to making subawards via a competitive process (as referenced in this section).

Project #2: Expand the Market and Sales of Compost

The objective of this project is to expand the market and sales of compost by expanding the demand for and use of compost in applications outside of agriculture. The effectiveness and environmental benefits of compost in agriculture are well-understood; however, there is less awareness about the effectiveness and environmental benefits in other settings. These settings represent substantial potential for growth in the market for compost. Examples of non-agricultural uses include but are not limited to green infrastructure to limit erosion and protect water quality, restoration of disturbed soils, and remediation of contaminated sites. EPA will evaluate applications, in accordance with Section V.A: Evaluation Criteria, on the extent to which they provide a clear plan for how to conduct outreach and education promoting the use of compost in non-agricultural applications to decision-makers who could effectively achieve their objectives by using compost. Decision-makers may include businesses (e.g., construction or remediation companies); state, local, or Tribal agencies; and community organizations. By expanding demand for and use of compost, EPA expects to increase organics recycling and harness the climate change benefits of composting and compost application.

Project #3: Increase Education and Outreach to Households on Composting

The objectives of this project are to inform the public about new or existing residential food waste composting programs; provide information about the materials that are accepted as part of a residential food waste composting program; and increase collection rates and decrease contamination in residential food waste composting programs. These objectives will be attained by increasing education and outreach to households on composting.

For this project, EPA will evaluate, in accordance with Section V.A: Evaluation Criteria, the extent to which the applicants provide a clear plan for how to provide technical assistance and financial support for implementation to entities to implement education and outreach campaigns that will help them increase collection rates and decrease contamination. Assistance could include providing expertise in behavioral science, social marketing, and measurement/evaluation. EPA strongly encourages applicants to rely on existing toolkits and customizable campaigns such as EPA’s Composting Food Scraps in Your Community: A Social Marketing Toolkit rather than creating new campaign materials. Applicants must subaward a portion of the total award funding to competitive campaign implementation subrecipients to implement education and outreach locally and must describe their approach for a competitive process to select those subrecipients (see Section V.A: Evaluation Criteria).

Activities Activities funded under this grant may include (but are not limited to):

• public service announcements;

• door-to-door education and outreach campaigns;

• social media and digital outreach;

• an advertising campaign on food waste reduction or composting;

• translation and transcreation of outreach materials;

• the development and dissemination of

(i) a toolkit for implementation of outreach and education programs;

(ii) information on the importance of quality in the composting stream;

(iii) information on the economic and environmental benefits of food waste reduction and composting; and

(iv) information on what happens to materials after the materials are placed into a residential composting program;

• businesses composting outreach; and

• bin, cart, and other receptacle labeling and signs.

G. Coalitions

A range of expertise is needed to develop and implement a national wasted food reduction campaign, including social marketing, behavioral science, media relations, creative development, website development, materials/collateral creation, collaborator recruitment and development, local campaign implementation support, and campaign evaluation. Specialized expertise in wasted food prevention is https://www.epa.gov/sustainable-management-food/forms/composting-food-scraps-your-community-social-marketing-toolkit https://www.epa.gov/sustainable-management-food/forms/composting-food-scraps-your-community-social-marketing-toolkit also needed, including an understanding of drivers of behaviors that result in wasting food, and of barriers to adopting behaviors to prevent wasted food. Additional expertise is needed to develop and expand compost markets and to assist entities in doing outreach and education on composting to households. Therefore, EPA will accept applications only from coalitions, not individual applicants.

EPA will evaluate the extent to which coalition members have the necessary experience and expertise to successfully carry out all three projects.

One entity must be the primary applicant (“lead applicant”) and recipient of the grant (“grant recipient”), responsible for any grant awarded under this program. Coalition applications must identify which applicant will be the grant recipient and which eligible applicant(s) will be subrecipient(s) of the award (“coalition members”). All coalition members must be listed as subrecipients, except the eligible applicant that will be the lead applicant. Subawards must be consistent with the definition of that term in 2 CFR 200.1 and comply with EPA’s Subaward Policy for EPA Assistance Agreement Recipients. The grant recipient that administers the grant and subawards will be accountable to EPA for proper expenditure of the funds and reporting and will be the point of contact for the coalition. As provided in 2 CFR 200.332, all subrecipients are accountable to the grant recipient for proper use of EPA funding and the grant recipient is required to report on their subaward monitoring activities under 2 CFR 200.332(d).

Please note that if an identified coalition member withdraws from an application after the submission deadline, it may impact the evaluation and/or selection of the application.

Any contracts for services or products funded with EPA financial assistance must be awarded under the competitive procurement procedures of 2 CFR 200 and 2 CFR 1500, as applicable. The regulations at 2 CFR 1500.10 contain limitations on the extent to which EPA funds may be used to compensate individual consultants. Applicants should not name a procurement contractor (including a consultant) as a “partner” or “collaborator” in the application unless the contractor has been selected in compliance with competitive procurement requirements. In accordance with 2 CFR 200.320 (2) and (4), EPA does not accept justifications for sole source contracts for services or products available in the commercial marketplace based on a contractor’s role in preparing an application or existing relationships that an applicant may have established without complying with competitive procurement requirements. Refer to the Best Practice Guide for Procuring Services, Supplies, and Equipment Under EPA Assistance Agreements for guidance on competitive procurement requirements and consultant compensation.

Successful applicants that do not name procurement contractors in their applications must also comply with these requirements, regardless of if the contractor was procured before or after the EPA grant agreement is awarded. For example, firms or individual consultants that develop or draft specifications, requirements, statements of work, or invitations for bids or requests for proposals must be excluded from competing for such procurements as provided in 2 CFR 200.319(b).

Please see Section I.C: Key Definitions and Section III.A: Eligible Applicants for more information.

H. General Environmental Results and EPA Strategic Plan Information

Pursuant to Section 6.a. of EPA Order 5700.7A1, “Environmental Results under EPA Assistance Agreements,” EPA must link proposed assistance agreements with the Agency’s Strategic Plan. EPA also requires that grant applicants and recipients adequately describe environmental outputs and outcomes to be achieved under assistance agreements (see EPA Order 5700.7A1, Environmental Results under Assistance Agreements).

https://www.epa.gov/grants/grants-policy-issuance-gpi-16-01-epa-subaward-policy-epa-assistance-agreement-recipients https://www.epa.gov/grants/best-practice-guide-procuring-services-supplies-and-equipment-under-epa-assistance https://www.epa.gov/grants/best-practice-guide-procuring-services-supplies-and-equipment-under-epa-assistance http://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-03/documents/epa_order_5700_7a1.pdf http://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-03/documents/epa_order_5700_7a1.pdf

The activities to be funded under this solicitation support the EPA’s FY 2022-2026 Strategic Plan.

Awards made under this solicitation will directly support Goal 6: Safeguard and Revitalize Communities, Objective 6.2: Reduce Waste and Prevent Environmental Contamination of the Strategic Plan. All applications must be for projects that support this goal and objectives.

I. National Strategies Plan Linkage

National Recycling Strategy The activities to be funded under this solicitation support the National Recycling Strategy. Awards made under this solicitation will support one or more of the following objectives of this strategy:

• Objective A: Improve Markets for Recycled Commodities,

• Objective B: Increase Collection and Improve Materials Management Infrastructure,

• Objective C: Reduce Contamination in the Recycled Materials Stream,

• Objective D: Enhance Policies and Programs to Support Circularity, and

• Objective E: Standardize Measurement and Increase Data Collection.

National Strategy for Reducing Food Loss and Waste and Recycling Organics The activities to be funded under this solicitation support the National Strategy for Reducing Food Loss and Waste and Recycling Organics. Awards made under this solicitation will support the following objectives of this strategy:

• Objective 2.A: Develop, launch, and run a national consumer education and behavior change campaign.

• Objective 2.C. Partner with the private sector to find upstream solutions to consumer food waste.

• Objective 3.A. Support the development of additional organics recycling infrastructure through grants and other assistance for all communities, especially those that are underserved.

• Objective 3.B. Expand the market for products made from recycled organic waste.

• Objective 3. E: Address contamination in the organic waste recycling stream.

J. Additional Provisions for Applicants Incorporated into the Solicitation

Additional provisions that apply to Section III: Eligibility Information, Section IV: Application and Submission Information, Section V: Application Review Information, and Section VI: Award Administration Information of this solicitation and/or awards made under this solicitation, can be found at the EPA Solicitation Clauses. These provisions are important for applying to this solicitation and applicants must review them when preparing applications for this solicitation. If you are unable to access these provisions electronically at the website above, please contact the EPA point of contact listed in this solicitation (in Section VII: Agency Contact) to obtain the provisions.

K. Minority Serving Institutions

State colleges and universities, including those that are state Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs), are eligible for funding as part of a coalition and must include in their applications proof of eligibility as an entity that is a nonprofit or an agency or instrumentality of a state depending on state law. Eligibility to apply for funding under this solicitation is discussed in more detail in Section III.A: Eligible Applicants.

https://www.epa.gov/planandbudget/strategicplan https://www.epa.gov/planandbudget/strategicplan https://www.epa.gov/planandbudget/strategicplan https://www.epa.gov/recyclingstrategy/strategies-building-circular-economy-all https://www.epa.gov/circulareconomy/national-strategy-reducing-food-loss-and-waste-and-recycling-organics https://www.epa.gov/circulareconomy/national-strategy-reducing-food-loss-and-waste-and-recycling-organics

EPA seeks to expand the environmental conversation by including members of communities which may have not previously participated in such dialogues to participate in EPA programs. For this reason, the EPA strongly encourages all eligible applicants identified in Section III: Eligibility Information, including state nonprofit Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) that meet the definition of a nonprofit or an “agency or instrumentality” of a state, to apply under this opportunity.

For purposes of this solicitation, the following are considered MSIs:

1. Historically Black Colleges and Universities, as defined by the Higher Education Act (20 U.S.C.

§ 1061(2)). A list of these schools can be found at Historically Black Colleges and Universities;

2. Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs), as defined by the Higher Education Act (20 U.S.C. § 1059c(b)(3) and (d)(1)).