Composting, Waste Diversion, and Healthy Soils Funded Under $4.3 Billion EPA Grants

In the fall of 2023, ILSR in coalition with Zero Waste USA and the National Recycling Coalition launched the CPR Campaign: Resuscitate the Climate to uplift waste reduction and materials conservation projects under the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Climate Pollution Reduction Grants Program (CPRG) under the Inflation Reduction Act.

The EPA recently announced award recipients for the historic $4.3 billion in CPRG funding for the Implementation Grants General Competition. 25 applications were selected for funding to implement “community-driven solutions to the climate crisis, reduce air pollution, advance environmental justice, and accelerate America’s clean energy transition.” These grants are projected to reduce 148 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO₂e) greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) by 2030 and nearly 1 billion metric tons by 2050 (971 million metric tons of CO₂e).

The selected applications fund projects across 30 states and include awards to 13 state applicants, 11 municipal applicants, and one Tribal applicant. Eight awarded applications were submitted by coalitions of multiple entities. Awards range from $3 million to $500 million, with an average of $172 million per grant.

Award recipients for the CPRG Implementation Grants Tribes and Territories Only Competition have yet to be announced. These grants are projected to award $300 million in funding to Tribes, Tribal Consortiums, and territories.

The largest pools of funding are going to projects related to transportation and buildings sectors ($1.18 billion and $1.06 billion respectively) as well as $931 million for projects related to Agriculture and Natural and Working Lands. Projects in the Industry and Electric Power sectors received $636 million and $372 million in awards, respectively. The Waste and Materials Management sector projects received $121 million in funding representing 2.8% of all funding awarded.

Most grant awards include projects from multiple sectors, and many grant measures relate to more than one sector.

Stop Trashing the Climate Report, June 2008

A History of Miscalculation

The low allocation of funding for addressing waste issues reflects the need for a revision of how production and consumption are accounted for in GHG calculations. GHGs from the waste sector look misleadingly low because only end-of-pipe emissions are accounted for rather than reflecting how holistic solutions to wasting have upstream impacts on electrical power, industrial, transportation, and agriculture emissions. EPA found that more than 40% of U.S. GHG emissions result from production, transportation, use, and disposal of material goods. Wasted food, if it were a country, would be the third largest source of GHGs in the world. As reported in ILSR’s 2008 Stop Trashing the Climate report, a zero waste approach is one of the fastest, cheapest, and most effective strategies we can use to protect the climate and the environment. This is why funding for these programs is so critical.

CPRG Funds Composting, Waste Diversion, and Healthy Soils

At least three awards fund composting projects – part of a dozen awards supporting healthy soils, climate-smart agriculture, waste, and diversion projects. Waste and Materials Management sector awards will divert millions of tons of food and organic waste from landfills and fund as many as 100 projects to capture methane from landfills and reduce emissions equivalent to approximately 4 million metric tons of CO₂ through 2030.

Grant Spotlights

Award Information
Applicant: Oregon Department of Environmental Quality
Sectors: Waste and Materials Management, Buildings, Transportation
Estimated GHGs Reductions
- 2025-2030: 1.2 million metric tons CO₂e
- 2025-2050: 6.6 million metric tons CO₂e
Oregon’s Priority Climate Action Plan (2024)
Grant Description: The selected application will support the state of Oregon to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by targeting Oregon’s three largest GHG emissions contributors: transportation, buildings, and waste. The grant will fund projects aligned with the state’s goals of creating sustainable and transformative approaches to tackling the climate crisis and reducing emissions. The financial support of the grant will accelerate Oregon’s emission reduction efforts through programs such as a) heavy-duty and light-duty electric vehicles and charging rebates, b) incentives for building decarbonization and smart development, c) programs to reduce food waste, and d) programs to reduce methane from landfills.
Project Highlights
- Invest in composting, food waste recovery infrastructure, and landfill methane controls at landfill sites.
- Provide nearly 4,500 electric vehicle rebates to lower-income households.
- Expand weatherization assistance for nearly 3,000 homes prioritizing environmental justice communities and low-income households.

Award Information
Applicants: Virginia Department of Environmental Quality & Virginia Energy
Sectors: Waste and Materials Management, Industry, Electric Power
Estimated GHGs Reductions
- 2025-2030: 3.4 million metric tons CO₂e
- 2025-2050: 24.8 million metric tons CO₂e
Commonwealth of Virginia Priority Climate Action Plan (2024)
Grant Description: The selected application will establish competitive grants for projects to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from coal mines and landfills across Virginia, that will particularly benefit residents of low-income and disadvantaged communities. In partnership with other state agencies, the selected application will fund a statewide competitive grant program for food rescue and composting programs at Commonwealth agencies, colleges, and university campuses.
Project Highlights
- Launch 15-20 programs at agencies, colleges, and universities to rescue edible food prior to disposal to feed hungry people and divert wasted food to composting.
- Reduce methane emissions equivalent to over 3 million metric tons of CO₂.
- Improve air quality in low-income and disadvantaged communities.

Award Information
Applicant: Minnesota Pollution Control Agency
Sectors: Waste and Materials Management, Agriculture and Working Lands, Buildings, Industry, Transportation
Estimated GHGs Reductions:
- 2025-2030: 3.5 million metric tons CO₂e
- 2025-2050: 19 million metric tons CO₂e
Minnesota Priority Climate Action Plan (2024)
Grant Description: The selected application will support a transformative initiative to decarbonize the state’s food system, advance economic opportunity, fight hunger, and support the health and wellbeing of all Minnesotans. The grant will fund a collaborative effort across five state agencies on a peatland restoration project, climate-friendly agricultural practices, industrial innovation, vehicle and equipment replacement, and food waste prevention. By focusing on the state’s food system, the effort will reduce climate impacts while improving food security in low-income and disadvantaged communities throughout Minnesota.
Project Highlights
- Accelerate the transition to climate-friendly refrigerants for food storage.
- Strengthen Tribal food sovereignty by providing funding to support planning and implementation of projects within Tribal communities that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions while building local food economies.
- Assist with the transition of gasoline and diesel vehicles and equipment used in food systems to electric and advanced clean fuels, which will improve air quality in low-income communities.
- Protect and restore 10,000 acres of degraded peatlands by converting them into carbon sinks which will also support culturally significant food sources.
- Expand food waste diversion programs to keep valuable nutrients in circulation to feed people and livestock while simultaneously reducing methane emissions.

Create new seasonal jobs in Tribal communities to support forest management and wildfire mitigation. (Montana Forest, Community and Working Landscapes Climate Resiliency Project)
Collaborate with nonprofit agriculture organizations, industry groups, and educational institutions to implement an adaptive approach for managing livestock to improve grazing management on ranchlands, allow the soil to sequester more carbon, and reduce livestock waste. (Montana Forest, Community and Working Landscapes Climate Resiliency Project)
Reduce methane emissions from 14 closed landfills in municipalities across the Hudson Valley area, half near low-income and disadvantaged communities. (Mid-Hudson Municipal Landfill Emissions Mitigation – Hudson Valley, NY)
Improve biodiversity and habitat by installing native pollinator gardens to restore local ecosystems and support climate resilience. (Mid-Hudson Municipal Landfill Emissions Mitigation – Hudson Valley, NY)
Improve the management of 93,000 acres in the Appalachians and bottomland forests of South Carolina, Virginia, and Maryland. (The Atlantic Conservation Coalition – NC, MD, SC, VA)
Restore 10,000 acres of shorelines and habitats in Virginia and 10,000 acres of forests, current or future coastal habitats, or agricultural lands in Maryland. (The Atlantic Conservation Coalition – NC, MD, SC, VA)
Improve water quality of the Chesapeake Bay and other waterways by reducing soil runoff and nitrogen pollution. (The Atlantic Conservation Coalition – NC, MD, SC, VA)
Reduce risk of flood, wildfire, and extreme heat that disproportionately impacts vulnerable communities. (The Atlantic Conservation Coalition – NC, MD, SC, VA)
Promote adoption of climate-smart agricultural practices, including converting approximately 300,000 acres to no-till. (State of Illinois: Climate Pollution Reduction Grant Implementation Grant)
Accelerate transition from gas-powered lawn equipment to electric equipment. (State of Illinois: Climate Pollution Reduction Grant Implementation Grant)
Deploy advanced methane monitoring technology to improve available emissions data that will inform regulatory policy with a focus on measuring and addressing methane emissions in low-income and disadvantaged communities. (Colorado Decarbonization Accelerator)
Reduce methane emissions from landfills and coal mines through existing and new monitoring and measurement programs, equivalent to 1.5 million metric tons of carbon dioxide by 2030. (Colorado Decarbonization Accelerator)
Distribute subawards and technical support to local governments to implement projects that reduce GHG emissions across several sectors including buildings, transportation, electric power, waste and materials management, and land-use. (Colorado Decarbonization Accelerator)
Innovate new approaches to the deconstruction and reuse of wood products at the end of a building’s life to reduce the embodied carbon of new building products by reusing unpainted and untreated wood in new building products and locking carbon into those building products. (Accelerating Equitable Building Decarbonization Throughout the Building Lifecycle – King County, WA)

Additional Information

Explore more information about CPRG grants and selections:

CPRG Implementation Grants: General Competition Selections
General Competition Selected Applications Table
CPRG Selected Applications by Sector