Recycling Equipment Grant

Division of Solid Waste Management

Eligible Applicants:

Tennessee counties, cities, solid waste authorities and organizations which have been determined to be tax exempt nonprofit recycling organizations who are designated as 501(c)(3) by the Internal Revenue Service may apply for grants under T.C.A. § 68-211-825.

Counties and the cities within those counties eligible to receive a recycling rebate, as directed by T.C.A. § 68-211-825(b), are not eligible to receive a recycling equipment grant. The rebate credits are in lieu of recycling equipment grants. The following Recycling Rebate counties and cities within those counties are not eligible for the recycling equipment grant for FY 2019-2020: Davidson, Hamilton, Knox, Rutherford, and Shelby.

There are three priorities for this grant:

• Applicants that received or were eligible to receive the Recycling Rebate between the Fiscal Years 2011 and 2015
• Applicants that develop public/private or public/public partnerships
• Applicants that employ developmentally disabled individuals, as defined in T.C.A. §33-1-101 (11)

Eligible Projects: 

Eligible recycling equipment includes key recycling equipment needed for collection, processing, operations, or to prepare recovered materials for transport and marketing. Key recycling equipment includes, but is not limited to recycling carts made with recycled content and embedded RFID tags, containers, compactors, balers, glass crushers, densifiers, and sorting systems, and fork lifts. Collection trucks with a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of 10,000 pounds or higher will be considered.

Equipment that causes the applicant to directly compete with existing private enterprises in the applicant’s geographical area (T.C.A. § 68-211-825(a)) is not eligible under this grant. Other ineligible requests include collection trucks with a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) less than 10,000 pounds, measurement equipment eligible in the FY2018 Measurement Grant, and any equipment that aides in increased disposal of materials in Class I disposal facilities.

Furthermore, applicants previously awarded a Recycling Equipment Grant from the Solid Waste Management Fund in the last two years that are currently under contract with open balances or who have failed to meet the obligations of additional Division of Solid Waste grant contracts are ineligible.

Funding & Matching Requirements:

The Recycling Equipment Grant takes an allocated funding amount into consideration by providing two funding allocations for applicants based upon the Four Tiers of an Integrated Solid Waste Management System, found in Table XV-1 of the 2025 Plan (pages 149-156).

Rural counties with populations less than or equal to 50,000 and the cities, solid waste authorities, or non-profit organizations within those counties. Tiers 1 and 2 will compete.

Suburban and urban counties with populations of 50,001 or greater and the cities, solid waste authorities, or non-profit organizations within those counties. Tiers 3 and 4 will compete.

Applications are rated on a blind, competitive basis. A local match of 10 to 50 percent is required based on an economic index that includes factors such as per capita income and property values in the jurisdiction to be served. In-kind contributions will not be considered. Only materials identified in and approved from the application will be funded therefore an appropriate amount of research and planning should be conducted by the applicant.

• View currently offered Materials Management program grants

If you are interested in applying for this grant offering, please register and apply via the TDEC Online Grants System.