Press Releases
03/27/2025
DEEP Announces $15 Million in Grant Awards for Materials Management Infrastructure Grant Program
Awards made to nine municipalities and regional organizations to help them lower waste disposal costs, increase recycling and food scrap diversion
(HARTFORD, CT) – The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) is pleased to announce awards for the inaugural Materials Management Infrastructure (MMI) Grant Program. Fifteen million dollars in grant funds—to date the State’s largest investment in local and regional waste management infrastructure—have been made available through a competitive application process to Connecticut municipalities, councils of government, and regional waste authorities to support the development of waste management infrastructure in direct response to the solid waste disposal challenges that are impacting these entities.
Connecticut is facing a waste crisis, as traditional options for disposing of municipal solid waste (MSW) are diminishing or becoming more expensive. With fewer, and rapidly aging, disposal options located within the state, residents and municipal leaders can expect to see increasing disposal costs over time as more waste is shipped out of state.
The MMI grant program is designed to help municipalities and regional entities respond to this crisis, by providing grant funds to develop small- to medium-scale waste management infrastructure. This funding provided by Governor Lamont and the Connecticut General Assembly will invest in infrastructure to reduce municipal solid waste and help divert valuable recyclable and compostable material from disposal. By investing in waste separation and sorting infrastructure; composting and anaerobic digestion facilities; food scraps/food waste collection and processing equipment; infrastructure for managing hard-to-recycle materials such as plastic film and glass; and establishing a regional materials reuse exchange shop. Competition for the MMI Grant funds was very strong, with 20 applications submitted requesting approximately $30 million in funding.
“The MMI grant is another example of DEEP working to provide municipalities and regional organizations with tools and resources to help them tackle the waste crisis. These funds will assist towns and cities as they work to create MSW solutions that will help reduce costs and environmental impacts,” DEEP Commissioner Katie Dykes said. “This is the state’s largest investment to date in local and regional waste management infrastructure, and DEEP is eager to work with our partners to put these dollars to work to achieve greater system reliability, environmental sustainability, and fiscal predictability.”
To help develop workable solutions to the state’s waste crisis, DEEP originally created and managed the Sustainable Materials Management (SMM) Grant Program. Over the course of three years, the SMM Grant Program has funded waste management pilot programs in 15 municipalities, with a focus on separation of food scraps from the MSW waste stream. These pilot programs provided a wealth of data on waste diversion initiatives across a diverse subset of Connecticut’s municipalities and demonstrated that these various approaches and strategies are effective in reducing costs and environmental impacts associated with MSW disposal. Supporting municipalities that want to pursue these strategies will help Connecticut become more self-sufficient in the management of our waste, by reducing the amount of MSW tonnage that may be disposed of at out-of-state landfills. These strategies also help to advance progress towards the statewide 60% diversion rate set forth in the State’s Comprehensive Materials Management Strategy (CMMS).
“Today’s grant announcement marks a significant step forward in our commitment to creating a more sustainable and cost-effective waste management system,” said State Sen. Rick Lopes (D-New Britain), Co-Chair of the Legislature’s Environment Committee. “By investing in the diversion of food scraps from the waste stream, I am hopeful we will be able to reduce our environmental footprint, lower costs for municipalities and taxpayers, and empower communities to modernize their waste management practices ultimately build a cleaner, more efficient future.”
"As the options for disposing municipal solid waste in Connecticut become increasingly limited, we need innovative solutions like the MMI Grant Program to appropriately respond," said State Rep. John-Michael Parker (D-Madison), Co-Chair of the Legislature’s Environment Committee. "Not only will the MMI Grant Program get municipalities the support they need to develop waste management infrastructure, it also saves money, helps the environment, and provides stability moving forward."
Grants have been approved by DEEP for the following municipalities and regional entities:
- Coventry - $202,896
- Greenwich - $15,892
- Housatonic Resources Regional Authority (HRRA) - $779,750
- Manchester - $4,775,000
- Mansfield - $129,500
- New Haven - $3,347,876
- Southeastern Connecticut Regional Resource Recovery Authority (SCRRRA) - $4,500,000
- Southeastern Connecticut Council of Governments (SECOG) - $425,711
- Stratford - $544,583
Several leaders in municipalities and regions awarded MMI grants shared their excitement about what these grants mean for their constituencies:
“As the saying goes, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. When it comes to waste management, they can often be both at the same time. One person’s trash can be repurposed into another person’s compost to help grow food or another person’s biogas to help heat or fuel their home. Food scraps make up over 20 percent of our waste stream, and we’re committed to managing our city’s waste in a more environmentally responsible way,” said New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker. “This $3.3 million grant from CT DEEP will enable the City of New Haven to build a modern food scrap diversion sorting facility that will support the launch of a citywide residential curbside composting program, which will benefit our residents, our city and our environment. I want to thank Commissioner Dykes and CT DEEP for their support of this plan and for their commitment to advancing smarter, greener, and more responsible waste management across the state.”
“The Southeastern CT Regional Resources Recovery Authority (SCRRRA) is planning the construction of a commercial scale food waste composting facility to serve the residents and businesses of the southeastern region of the state. This project will facilitate the diversion of up to 7,500 tons of food waste from incineration and recycling it into an eco-friendly soil amendment for use by our communities and local agricultural businesses,” said David Aldridge, Executive Director of SCRRRA. “SCRRRA appreciates the financial support the State and DEEP is providing with the MMI grant program that will make our project possible.”
“We are excited to have been awarded the MMI Grant,” said Coventry Town Manager Jim Drumm. “As a town we have been seeking a more affordable and sustainable way to dispose of solid waste for our residents. We thank DEEP for this funding assistance as it will provide us with the infrastructure we have been needing to begin a program of diverting food waste in our community. Our plans for food composting will save money with reduced transport costs and lower dumping fees. Environmentally, it will reduce the use of landfill space, and it will produce a quality compost product that we can provide to our residents for use in their yards and gardens.”
“Manchester is very happy to have been selected for the DEEP MMI grant. Our proposed initiatives will increase organics from the waste stream, facilitate plastic film recycling, and provide much needed food waste collection and processing facilities for our region. We look forward to implementing our proposed waste diversion and recycling initiatives to the benefit of our community and the surrounding region,” said Steve Stephanou, Town Manager of the Town of Manchester.
"On behalf of HRRA and its member towns, we are very grateful for the opportunities this grant will bring to help our communities reduce waste, improve recycling and composting and move us closer to our goal of a circular economy,” said Matt Knickerbocker, Chairman of HRRA. “Thank you to our state's hard-working DEEP staff and leadership for this terrific opportunity."- Twitter: @CTDEEPNews
- Facebook: DEEP on Facebook
Contact
DEEP Communications
DEEP.communications@ct.gov
860-424-3110