Minnesota Composting Council

DESCRIPTION:THIS AGREEMENT PROVIDES FUNDING FROM THE INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT AND JOBS ACT (IIJA). EPA'S CONSUMER RECYCLING EDUCATION AND OUTREACH (REO) GRANT PROGRAM WILL FUND A RANGE OF PROJECTS THAT WILL INCREASE WASTE PREVENTION ACTIVITIES, INCREASE THE COLLECTION OF RECYCLABLE MATERIALS AND PROGRAM PARTICIPATION RATES, AND DECREASE CONTAMINATION OF THE RECYCLING STREAM, FUND PROJECTS THAT FOCUS ON COMMONLY RECYCLED MATERIALS SUCH AS MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE (E.G., PLASTICS, ALUMINUM, PAPER, GLASS, ETC.), INCLUDING FOOD WASTE AND ORGANICS, AND/OR FUND PROJECTS AND PROVIDE TOOLS AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE THAT WILL LEAD TO LONG-TERM, SUSTAINED CHANGE, BENEFITS, AND SUPPORT BEYOND THE LIFE OF THE GRANT. THE PURPOSE OF THIS AWARD IS TO ENHANCE THE MINNESOTA COMPOSTING COUNCIL'S (MNCC'S) EFFORTS TO MEET THE REO GRANTS ELEMENTS. SPECIFICALLY, MNCC WILL DEVELOP A TOOLKIT THAT CAN BE USED BY COMMUNITIES AROUND THE STATE - AND THE COUNTRY - TO INCREASE PARTICIPATION AND DECREASE CONTAMINATION IN THEIR RESIDENTIAL DROP-OFF AND CURBSIDE ORGANICS RECYCLING PROGRAMS.ACTIVITIES:THE MNCC WILL DEVELOP A TOOLKIT TO INCREASE PARTICIPATION AND DECREASE CONTAMINATION IN RESIDENTIAL DROP-OFF OR CURBSIDE ORGANICS RECYCLING PROGRAMS. THE MNCC WILL STRATEGICALLY SELECT AND WORK WITH LOCAL COMMUNITIES WITH NEW OR EXPANDING ORGANICS RECYCLING PROGRAMS TO USE THE TOOLKIT PIECES. FEEDBACK FROM LOCAL COMMUNITY STAFF AND COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS WILL BE USED TO DEVELOP AN EFFECTIVE ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN SPECIFIC TO AN AREA. TOOLKIT PIECES WILL BE TRANSLATED FOR ACCESSIBILITY TO NON-ENGLISH SPEAKING COMMUNITIES AND USED IN THE ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS WHERE APPROPRIATE. TO QUANTIFY PROJECT IMPACT, THE MNCC WILL TRACK INCREASED PARTICIPATION RATES, REACH RATES, MATERIALS DIVERSION, AND OTHER METRICS IN THE TARGET COMMUNITIES; THE MNCC WILL ALSO TRACK THE USE OF INDIVIDUAL TOOLKIT ASSETS OUTSIDE OF THE TARGET COMMUNITIES. THE OBJECTIVES OF THIS PROJECT ARE TO ENCOURAGE THE COLLECTION OF FOOD SCRAPS AND OTHER COMPOSTABLE ITEMS THAT ARE SOLD TO AN EXISTING OR DEVELOPING MARKET; INFORM THE PUBLIC ABOUT RESIDENTIAL OR COMMUNITY COMPOSTING PROGRAMS; PROVIDE INFORMATION ABOUT THE COMPOSTABLE MATERIALS; AND INCREASE COLLECTION RATES AND DECREASE CONTAMINATION IN COLLECTION PROGRAMS.SUBRECIPIENT:NO SUBAWARDS ARE INCLUDED IN THIS ASSISTANCE AGREEMENT.OUTCOMES:THE ANTICIPATED DELIVERABLES INCLUDE A MULTILINGUAL ORGANICS RECYCLING TOOLKIT CONTAINING TEMPLATES FOR BROCHURES, MAILERS, BILL INSERTS, NEWSLETTER AND SOCIAL MEDIA CONTENT, EDUCATIONAL TAGS FOR CARTS, BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES DOCUMENTS (BMPS) AND A LIBRARY OF PHOTOS AND VIDEOS SHOWCASING ACCEPTED AND NOT ACCEPTED MATERIALS AT COMPOSTING FACILITIES IN MN. OTHER DELIVERABLES INCLUDE 5 ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS TO PROMOTE RECYCLING PROGRAMS IN SELECT COMMUNITIES; 3 WORKSHOPS TO INTRODUCE AND PROMOTE THE TOOLKIT AND/OR SHARE THE OUTCOMES OF OUTREACH CAMPAIGNS; AND DATA ON THE NUMBER OF COMMUNITIES USING TOOLKIT PIECES AND BMPS, PARTICIPATION RATES, MATERIAL DIVERSION TONNAGES AND CONTAMINATION RATES. THE ANTICIPATED OUTCOMES INCLUDE A 20% INCREASE IN PARTICIPATION IN ORGANICS RECYCLING PROGRAMS, 5,850 TONS OF ADDITIONAL ORGANICS DIVERSION OVER GRANT PERIOD, GHG SAVINGS ASSOCIATED WITH INCREASED DIVERSION, AND A DECREASE IN CONTAMINATION TO LESS THAN 5% CONTAMINATION IN PARTICIPATING COMMUNITIES. DIRECT BENEFICIARIES INCLUDE AT LEAST 150,000 HOUSEHOLDS WITHIN BOTH EJ AND RURAL COMMUNITIES.