Since 2007 OC Waste & Recycling (OCWR) has provided $4.6 million in grants to local nonprofits and cities to support programs that help divert waste from Orange County’s landfills. The grants helped communities address their own unique waste-diversion challenges. From battery recycling to school recycling programs and commercial food waste diversion, these grants have moved the needle for Orange County’s waste diversion efforts. You can view the list of past grants and programs here.
The source of the grant funding is the County’s Self-Haul Surcharge, which was established in 2006 to encourage diversion of construction waste from landfill disposal to recycling facilities. The Board of Supervisors required that surcharge funds be used exclusively for waste diversion and public education.
2018 ushers in the fourth cycle of regional waste diversion grants. New laws affecting the waste industry throughout California are now at the forefront, driving change to accelerate the rate of waste diversion. In response to these new laws, the grant criteria require recipients to focus on organic waste diversion.
The organizations receiving a portion of the $3 million available for this cycle are targeting the new state recycling and waste diversion mandates that are changing the waste industry, and whose collective impact will be felt by residents and businesses across the County.
With approximately 40 percent of OC’s waste stream consisting of organic material, it makes sense to focus on ways to divert this type of waste. One problem persists—where will organic waste go if not to be buried in the landfill? The answers are many. And none are easy. The 2018 Fourth Cycle grant recipients are ready to show the way.
Here is a list of the grant recipients, their programs and proposed grant amounts:
City of Anaheim, Commercial food recovery and organics collection program: $ 223,244
Inside the Outdoors, Composting and food recovery educational outreach program: $ 946,558
Discovery Cube, Organics recycling and composting educational outreach program: $ 988,285
City of Irvine, Commercial food recovery and organics collection program: $ 168,394
Katella High School, School recycling and composting program: $ 54,268
Costa Mesa Sanitary District, Residential organics recycling program: $ 30,000
Waste Not OC Coalition, Commercial edible food recovery : $ 588,386
