Michigan Small Community Recycling Education Grant

The Michigan Small Community Recycling Education Grant program, administered by the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) in partnership with The Recycling Partnership, provides direct access to educational and outreach resources for small Michigan communities. The initiative is designed to increase local recycling participation rates, reduce contamination in the residential waste stream, preserve landfill capacity, and support statewide climate priorities through greenhouse gas emissions reductions.

Eligible applicants are nonprofit organizations, federally recognized tribal governments, regional planning agencies, cities, villages, townships, charter townships, counties, municipal solid waste authorities, and resource recovery authorities in Michigan that serve fewer than 10,000 households with curbside and/or drop-off recycling programs. Priority consideration is given to communities facing historic environmental or socioeconomic disparities. Applicants must be in good standing with EGLE, must not be debarred or suspended, must register in SIGMA Vendor Self Service, and must verify that materials collected through their programs are directed to manufacturing markets rather than disposed of.

Eligible projects utilize an online platform where grantees select and customize bilingual (English and Spanish) educational outreach templates, which are printed and mailed directly to community residents. Covered materials include informational postcards, top issue postcards, magnet postcards, informational sheets, recycling cart tags, and dumpster signage customized with local logos and contact information. All associated design, printing, and postage expenses are fully covered with no local matching funds required.

Applications are accepted on an ongoing, rolling basis until all allotted grant funding is disbursed. Awards are issued on a first-come, first-served basis following electronic submission through the dedicated online portal.