Governor Ned Lamont and Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) Commissioner Katie Dykes announced that the Lamont administration is awarding $7.5 million in grants to 18 municipalities and regional organizations under the second round of DEEP鈥檚 Sustainable Materials Management (SMM) Grant Program.
The grants follow an open application period that Governor Lamont launched in April, inviting Connecticut municipalities, councils of government, and regional waste authorities to seek state funding for the purposes of supporting waste reduction and diversion initiatives spanning programmatic, operational, and technical assistance areas. These awards build on DEEP鈥檚 work to meet municipalities and regional organizations where they are as they work to bring down municipal solid waste costs.
鈥淲ith these grants, we鈥檙e continuing to support municipalities in their efforts to identify solutions to rising waste disposal costs that work for their communities,鈥� Governor Lamont said. 鈥淭he smart and sustainable programs these grants will support give residents and municipalities more control over their disposal costs.鈥�
鈥淭he grant funding awarded today is another example of the State supporting municipalities and regional entities by providing them with the tools and resources for waste management, reduction and diversion designed for their unique needs,鈥� Commissioner Dykes said. 鈥淲e are excited to continue making significant investments in our municipal and regional partners who are at the forefront of the waste disposal crisis. DEEP is eager to put these dollars to work to incorporate permanent programs and projects that will build upon the first round of this program as well as the Materials Management Infrastructure Grant Program. I thank Governor Lamont and the state legislature for their continued support of this effort.鈥�
Connecticut continues to face a growing waste crisis. With the closure of the Materials Innovation and Recycling Authority (MIRA), municipalities have fewer disposal options located within Connecticut鈥檚 borders, causing communities to rely increasingly on trucking waste to landfills in other states. Restoring Connecticut鈥檚 self-sufficiency in waste management is critical for a reliable waste system and long-term stability in tipping fees. Many municipalities and regional organizations are taking positive steps to increase diversion and invest in waste management infrastructure, and DEEP has been supporting those efforts through multiple grant opportunities, including the first round of the SMM program and the Materials Management Infrastructure (MMI) grant program.
The SMM grant program helps municipalities and regional entities respond to this crisis by providing funds to develop and implement a wide variety of waste diversion and reduction programs and initiatives. These programs and initiatives include unit-based pricing systems operated at municipal transfer stations; decentralized food scrap collection units; technical assistance for the startup of an aerated static pile composting facility; curbside food scraps collection; regional composting enhancements paired with an in-vessel composter installation; technical support for the expansion of a regional waste authority鈥檚 operations; and a major urban initiative to launch curbside co-collection of municipal solid waste and food scraps within a unit-based pricing system.
The first round of the SMM grant program resulted in more than 1,000 tons of waste diverted across participating municipalities. Given the increasing cost of municipal solid waste disposal, this represents significant potential savings for towns.
The following entities are being awarded grants under this second round:
- Capitol Region Council of Governments/Central Connecticut Solid Waste Authority: $440,300 to support the development of a regional food scraps collection program and associated infrastructure.
- Colchester: $99,556 to support enhancements to the existing transfer station-based unit-based pricing system.
- Cornwall: $15,000 to support the engineering and design of a new aerated static pile composting facility.
- Guilford: $297,700 to support the development of a preferred waste hauler program and a curbside food scraps collection system.
- Haddam: $21,940 to support the deployment of additional satellite food scraps collection units.
- Housatonic Resources Recovery Authority: $1,542,527 to support deployment of additional satellite food scraps collection units, a new aerated static pile composting system in Bethel, the expansion of the aerated static pile composting system in Newtown, waste diversion enhancements and improvements in Ridgefield and Kent, and associated regional support equipment.
- Litchfield: $99,556 to support the development of a transfer station-based unit-based pricing system and food scraps recycling program.
- Marlborough: $108,621 to support the development of a transfer station-based unit-based pricing system and food scraps recycling program.
- Montville: $161,032 to support the development of a transfer station-based Unit-based pricing system and food scraps recycling program.
- New Haven: $2,989,257 to support the development of a curbside Unit-based pricing and food scraps co-collection system.
- North Stonington: $125,426 to support the development of a transfer station-based unit-based pricing system and food scraps recycling program.
- Northwest Hills Council of Governments: $350,000 to support the operations and expansion of the Northwest Regional Waste Authority.
- Old Saybrook: $172,018 to support the development of a transfer station-based unit-based pricing system and food scraps recycling program.
- Sharon/Salisbury: $266,692 to support the development of a transfer station-based unit-based pricing system and food scraps recycling program.
- Southbury: $157,160 to support the development of a transfer station-based unit-based pricing system and food scraps recycling program.
- Southeastern Connecticut Regional Resources Recovery Authority: $299,560 to support the deployment of regional food scraps collection and recycling equipment and infrastructure.
- Warren: $92,465 to support the development of a transfer station-based unit-based pricing system and food scraps recycling program.
- Woodbridge: $214,583 to support the development of a transfer station-based unit-based pricing system and food scraps recycling program.
鈥淭hese grant awards continue the forward progress in the development of a more sustainable and cost-effective waste management system in Connecticut,鈥� State Senator Rick Lopes (D-New Britain), co-chair of the Environment Committee, said. 鈥淏y investing in a broad spectrum of our municipalities, I am confident that the SMM grant program will help support the necessary movement of waste management and waste disposal systems and practices from outdated and inefficient models to ones that are fiscally and environmentally more sustainable and stable for taxpayers.鈥�
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