(AGENPARL) - Roma, 24 Ottobre 2023 - (AGENPARL) – mar 24 ottobre 2023 Issued: Oct 24, 2023 (2:01pm EDT)
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Municipality of Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico Selected for
$4 Million Grant in First-Ever Funding to Promote Less Waste
Puerto Rico Also Slated to Get Funding
Contacts:
San Juan, Puerto Rico (October 24, 2023) – Today, the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) announced that the Municipality of Trujillo Alto,
Puerto Rico has been selected to receive $4 million in the first-ever EPA
funding under EPA’s new Solid Waste Infrastructure for Recycling (SWIFR)
program.  Puerto Rico will also receive more than $612,000 to increase
efforts to reduce waste across the Island. The funding will allow Trujillo
Alto to collect recyclable material from homes and schools of six
neighborhoods where there was no recycling program due to lack of funds,
equipment, and personnel.  The grants will be awarded using funding from the
Biden Administration’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL). 
The grant will help Trujillo Alto expand a recycling program into previously
unserved rural areas. The project will provide a convenient way for the almost
37,000 people living in the municipality to divert waste from the landfill. 
A bonus is that the project will create almost 20 jobs.  This will help
Puerto Rico mitigate its a solid waste crisis, as so with many of its
landfills filling up.  Reducing waste and bolstering recycling are critical
components to addressing this crisis. 
“The SWIFR grant program put the common adage ‘waste not want not’ into
action.  This funding will support the work that EPA is already doing with
Puerto Rico to help reduce waste and improve the way materials are managed. It
will also allow Trujillo Alto to take a big step forward in expanding its
recycling program,” said EPA Regional Administrator Lisa F. Garcia. 
“This is great news for our people. With the allocation of $4 million, we will
be expanding the Municipal Recycling Program to rural areas in the
Municipality. The approved proposal will provide compactor trucks and hooks,
shredding machines and about 30,000 containers for the recovery of recyclable
materials,” said Trujillo Alto Mayor, Pedro A. Rodriguez. “Our goal is to
provide a direct service to our residents and continue to promote recycling as
a benefit to our municipality and the environment. We thank the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for approving our application, which
will benefit residents of rural areas.” 
Aside from Puerto Rico, all states and territories received SWIFR funding. The
money for states and territories will help support their efforts to improve
post-consumer materials management programs through planning, data collection,
and the implementation of plans. The funding is part of EPA’s overall
efforts to invest in America by strengthening infrastructure and implementing
programs for lasting change. It will aid communities and states in modeling
what’s known as a “circular economy” by building a program to keep
materials and products in circulation for as long as possible. 
The Secretary of the Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental
Resources (DNER), Anais Rodriguez Vega, highlighted: “With the allocation of
these funds, DNER will standardize the collection of data on recycling, thus
ensuring the efficiency and effectiveness of our efforts.  These resources
will also strengthen our training program, facilitating specialized training
for both our internal team and representatives of Puerto Rico’s 78
municipalities.  In addition, we will be hiring a Project Manager, an
Attorney, and an Environmental Specialist; which expands and strengthens our
operational structure.  This collaboration with EPA demonstrates our firm
objective to lead Puerto Rico towards a sustainable future in harmony with our
natural environment.” 
EPA has selected 25 communities to receive grants totaling more than $73
million under the newly created SWIFR funding opportunity. In addition, the
agency is making available approximately $32 million for states and
territories to improve solid waste management planning, data collection and
implementation of plans. Thanks to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, this
investment totaling $105 million is EPA’s largest recycling investment in 30
years.  
Today’s announcement for states, territories, and communities is the first
round of funding from this new grant program. In the coming months, EPA will
announce the selected recipients of the recycling grants for Tribes and
intertribal consortia, as well as the recipients of EPA’s new Recycling
Education and Outreach grant program.   
The Solid Waste Infrastructure for Recycling (SWIFR) grant program is a new
grant program funded through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which provides
$275 million to implement the program. The SWIFR program provides grants to
implement EPA’s National Recycling Strategy to improve post-consumer
materials management and infrastructure; support improvements to local
post-consumer materials management and recycling programs; and assist local
waste management authorities in making improvements to local waste management
systems. 
For more information about SWIFR visit the SWIFR website. To learn more about
how EPA is Investing in America visit Investing in America.