The MPCA has announced eight grant recipients that will receive a total of over $1 million in grants for projects focused on waste reduction and reuse. These statewide efforts — which include sustainable event planning with Grandma’s Marathon and a new toy library in Saint Paul — will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and other pollutants, reduce the demand for resources, and reduce the amount of waste sent to landfills.
Based on feedback from the public and Minnesota counties, the MPCA focused on two preferred project types for this grant round. Applications received more favorable scores if they involved education and outreach, infrastructure and supplies, or technical assistance to:
- transition Minnesota organizations and communities away from single-use options and toward reusable utensils, packaging, cleaning and maintenance equipment, and other items
- expand community reuse events like swaps, lending libraries, fix-it clinics, mend-it clinics, and repair cafes across the state
These preferred focuses are well represented with the eight projects selected to receive funding.
In the last 40 years, Minnesota has seen a gradual transformation from a system solely designed to manage solid waste to one that more holistically recognizes the complete life cycle of materials and their climate, environmental, and human health impacts. According to the U.S. EPA, roughly 40 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States are associated with the production, transportation, use, and disposal of goods; this highlights how critical it is to prioritize reduction and reuse strategies before products and materials are seen as a waste to be managed through recycling or disposal.
“With a sustainable materials management lens, the MPCA continues to prioritize investments and support for projects driving these upstream strategies and changes in consumer behaviors,” says Annika Bergen, a product stewardship policy specialist with the MPCA.
This waste reduction and reuse grant round was funded as a part of the materials management and solid waste grants funding package allocated by the 2023 Legislature. Requests for funding exceeded the amount of available funds by more than three times, clearly showing the interest and demand across Minnesota for more waste reduction and reuse projects.
The MPCA will open another application round for this grant program later this fall.
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Grant recipients
Clean Water Fund
- Grant Award: $75,000
- Project Cost: $93,750
Clean Water Fund’s ReThink Disposable program aims to stop the use of single-use plastics at the source. The program will partner with 13 businesses and institutions in Minnesota to replace their single-use plastics with reusable products.
Grandma’s Marathon
- Grant Award: $91,113.60
- Project Cost: $115,963.60
Grandma’s Marathon is working to help the event industry become more sustainable by reducing the reliance on single-use items across all aspects of the planning and execution process. The marathon currently maintains a small lending library of equipment and supplies and will use the grant to expand this library and improve its inventory management.
Helping One Helping Many
- Grant Award: $140,000
- Project Cost: $329,631
Helping One Helping Many is a volunteer-run charity that provides basic necessities to under-resourced individuals and families in the community through The RAK stores and warehouses. It plans to establish a lending library in the Southwest Twin Cities Metropolitan Area which will provide residents access to equipment, space, and education.
Hennepin County Environment and Energy
- Grant Award: $104,720
- Project Cost: $144,655.62
Hennepin County Environment and Energy will develop a community swap event pilot program modeled after its existing fix-it clinic program that expands access to reuse opportunities, increases community awareness of waste reduction and reuse, and diverts materials from the waste stream. It will coordinate 12 large-scale county-run swap events.
Minneapolis Toy Library
- Grant Award: $50,200
- Project Cost: $63,500
The Minneapolis Toy Library plans to open up a Saint Paul toy library location. At its current locations in Minneapolis, it provides families and educators in the Twin Cities metro area opportunities to borrow toys that expand play options in a way that is both sustainable and accessible.
r.World
- Grant Award: $350,000
- Project Cost: $964,542
By creating an industry-leading washing and logistics facility that will eliminate millions of single-use foodservice items, r.World aims to build a successful reuse system in the Twin Cities metro area. The plan includes designing, building, and making operational a wash-hub for reusable cups and food trays as well as hiring a full team to run sales and operations.
Reuse Minnesota
- Grant Award: $84,500
- Project Cost: $114,830
Reuse Minnesota aims to bring fix-it clinics to nearly half a million residents in central and southern Minnesota in partnership with Chisago, Dodge, Olmsted, Pope, Douglas, and Stearns counties. The additional repair opportunities will reduce waste and increase reuse in these counties.
Saint Paul Public Schools Nutrition Services
- Grant Award: $169,464
- Project Cost: $410,459
Saint Paul Public Schools is working to enact its Zero2 Plan over a 10-year period. It will use this grant to replace the single-use cardboard boxes used to transport produce and fresh food to its nutrition center with reusable plastic bins in partnership with EcoConsilium, BIX Produce, and the University of Minnesota.
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