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DEEP: bottle redemption grant funding exhausted; sustainable materials management grants and food-recovery investments planned
Summary
DEEP testified that earlier one-time grants to support bottle redemption centers have been exhausted, that program registration remains possible, and that the agency will put out additional sustainable materials management (SMM) grant rounds focused on organics diversion and technical assistance for food recovery.
DEEP staff told the subcommittee that funding authorized to support bottle redemption centers through a one-time grant round has been exhausted and that no new grant funding from the 10-cent expansion is currently allocated to attract additional centers.
Jennifer Perry, bureau chief for materials management and compliance assurance at DEEP, said the agency administered a grant program to help establish new redemption centers and that those grant funds have been fully awarded. "We have used all of that available funding," Perry said, adding that additional redemption centers may still be registered but there is no new grant funding currently available to provide start-up grants.
Andrew Hoskins, DEEP chief of staff, confirmed the agency received a $30,000,000 allocation for passport-to-parks last October and clarified that passport funds primarily support park operations rather than park capital projects.
On waste diversion more broadly, DEEP said it recently announced $15,000,000 in bond awards to municipalities for small- and mid-sized infrastructure upgrades to improve diversion of organics and reduce reliance on out-of-state disposal. Agency staff also said roughly $7.5 million remains in an SMM authorization that will be put out in an upcoming request for proposals; DEEP plans to allow proposals that support organics diversion and technical assistance for food donation where appropriate.
Why it matters: municipalities, food-recovery organizations and community providers have said equipment and transport capacity gaps limit their ability to divert edible food to people in need and to expand organics diversion programs.
Ending: DEEP said it will provide lists of prior grantees and is willing to coordinate with other agencies (for example, social services) on deploying funds for refrigeration and logistics where appropriate.
