HomeGrants and FundingWaste Reduction Project Grants

Waste Reduction Project Grants

CSWD Waste Reduction Project Grant funding is available for projects that reduce the amount of trash being sent to the landfill from Chittenden County.

Eligibility and Award Details

Who Is Eligible for Funding

All Chittenden County businesses, institutions, municipalities, community groups and nonprofit organizations are eligible.

How Much Money is Available

A total of $12,000 is available for FY23.

Applicants may qualify for reimbursement of up to 50% of the cost of approved project expenses. These applicants may receive credit for in-kind donations of goods, services, or labor to cover the remaining 50% of project expenses.

Projects Eligible for Funding

CSWD Waste Reduction Project Grants are intended to fund projects that reduce or eliminate solid waste at its source, promote sustainable reuse of existing materials, promote recycling of materials not currently being captured, or increase diversion of mandatory recyclables and compostables from the landfill.

Examples of projects that would be eligible for funds include, but are not limited to:

  • The construction or purchase and set up of on-site systems for collection of food scraps and garden debris for composting. The system must be available for use by all applicant community members or employees.
  • Establishing an on-sight, in-vessel compost (digester) system for a community, institutional facility or business.
  • Development of an innovative new program to promote and enable efforts to reduce waste at its source, provide reuse options, and/or capture recyclable materials.

Some examples of project expenses that qualify include the purchase of equipment & supplies, as well as printing and fabrication costs. As a specific example, the Town of Huntington received grant funds for the  “Huntington Packaging Exchange Center,” to construct a shed—located behind the Fire Station—where residents will be able to drop off or pick up packing materials (e.g., bubble wrap, packing peanuts, envelopes, and other packing materials) for reuse.

How To Apply

Please complete and submit the online Waste Reduction Project Grant Application Form to apply for funding.

Apply here

Selection Criteria

Applicants may submit more than one proposal, but only one project per applicant will be funded per year.

Selection criteria include:

  • Amount of waste to be diverted.
  • Likelihood of success and long-term sustainability of project.
  • Transferability of project to other communities/institutions/businesses.
  • Creativity and innovation in addressing an identified but unmet need.
  • Availability of funds.
  • Proposals for pilot projects will be considered under the terms of the project grant requirements.

Terms of Acceptance/Rejection

Review of applications will be based upon how well the applicants meet the requirements and intent of the Waste Reduction Grant Program. CSWD is the sole authority responsible for the approval of applications and reserves the right to reject any or all proposals.

Grant awards will be distributed as a reimbursement to the sponsoring municipality or institutional/commercial applicant upon receipt of paid invoices or receipts for approved project expenses.

Project expenses must be incurred and all receipts or other proof of payment submitted to CSWD by June 20, 2023.

Interim and final reports will be required documenting estimated waste diverted from the landfill, lessons learned and detailing plans for future sustainability.

Deadline

Applications will be considered on a first-come, first-served basis until all funds are disbursed or until June 1, 2023.

For More Information

  • Community groups and nonprofit organizations: Please contact the CSWD Community Outreach Coordinator at 802-872-8100 x239 or [email protected].
  • Schools: Please contact the CSWD School and Youth Outreach Coordinator at 802-872-8100 x211 or [email protected].
  • For-profit businesses: Please contact the CSWD Business Outreach Coordinator at 802-872-8100 x208 or [email protected].

Limitation of Liability

CSWD assumes no responsibility or liability for costs incurred by parties in preparing or submitting applications for Waste Reduction Grants.