Recycling and Waste Diversion Grant

Recycling and Waste Diversion (RWD) Grant Program Summary

The Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD) offers the Recycling and Waste Diversion (RWD) Grant as part of the Solid Waste Trust Fund (SWTF) Grant Program.

The RWD Grant furthers the goals for the SWTF by providing financial support to projects in Georgia to reduce solid waste, recover valuable materials, support manufacturing, and encourage innovation.

RWD Grants will be awarded to projects that meet the criteria described in Rule 391-3-21-.17 of the Rules and Regulations of the State of Georgia (Rules), which are designed to ensure that projects demonstrate financial sustainability and quantitative results.

FY26 Announcement and Updates

Applications for the FY26 RWD Grant will be accepted online through the SWTF Grant Program Administration Portal starting August 11, 2025, through September 30, 2025.

The SWTF Grant Team hosted an informational webinar on August 4, 2025. You may review the presentation here: FY26 RWD and Tire Grants Informational Webinar Presentation

Project summaries, complete with metrics and pictures, are now available for completed projects! Visit the pages for the Previous Grant Cycles (at the bottom of page) to view these summaries.

To be added to the mailing list for notifications on future grant cycles or for questions, please email [email protected].

RWD Grant Portal

Questions? Contact the SWTF Grant Team at [email protected]

Access the RWD Grant Portal

SWTF Grant Administration Portal

Applications, reimbursement requests, and quarterly and final reports are now accepted through the SWTF Grant Administration Portal. Resources for the Portal can be found here.

Eligibility

Eligible applicants and recipients for the RWD Grant include:

Counties, municipalities, or any combination of the same, hereafter referred to as local governments
Public authorities, agencies, commissions, or institutions

Project Types

The RWD Grant allows eligible applicants to develop project proposals that best support their communities’ needs. Projects must focus on increasing recycling, reducing waste, and/or diverting recoverable materials from the solid waste stream as described in the authorized uses of the SWTF.

Examples of RWD Grant projects may include, but are not limited to:

Recycling and Waste Diversion Infrastructure – Projects that create, expand, or improve infrastructure at materials recovery facilities (MRF), recycling transfer stations, convenience centers, or through other equipment that will increase the capacity to serve customers
Hub and Spoke Development – Projects that create, expand, or improve the operation of recycling hub and spoke infrastructure, collection, distribution, and logistics
Hard-to-Recycle Materials – Projects that create, expand, or improve the operation of hard-to-recycle and/or household hazardous waste recycling facilities
Recovery of Additional Materials – Projects that collect and/or process new material streams
Waste Reduction – Projects that create, expand, or improve programs at the local level to reduce waste
Innovation – Projects that demonstrate innovative processes for waste reduction or innovative use of recycled products