Dear Eartha,

I heard about some recycling grants through High Country Conservation Center, and I have some ideas to get recycling started at my condo. How do the grants work?

You heard right. Funding is available for recycling projects in your homeowner’s association, neighborhood, school, business or nonprofit. If you’re thinking about applying, consider going beyond recycling with composting or waste prevention.

For a condo or homeowners association, maybe that means changing your waste enclosure (often a small shed where the trash dumpster lives) to accommodate extra bins for food scrap recycling. And for a business, Strong Future grants could even provide the extra cash needed to offer a new recycling service in the community. Let’s begin with the timeliest opportunities, which also happen to be the largest.

Strong Future community grants

With grant awards ranging from $25,000 to $75,000, this program is perfect for big, creative ideas and larger recycling projects that require significant investment. Created by Summit County government and managed by the High Country Conservation Center, the grants support local projects that prevent waste altogether or increase recycling and composting. It’s all thanks to the Strong Future mill levy approved by Summit County voters in 2018.

This marks the second year of the grant program, and the 2023 grant recipients are already making major strides toward waste diversion. Last year, the program helped Breckenridge Grand Vacations reduce plastic waste. Also with support from Strong Future grants, Copper Mountain Resort added a new community food scrap drop-off location, CAFÉ Food Rescue is preventing food waste while feeding the local community, and Garbage Gurus is set to begin curbside compost pickup later this month.

Applications for this year are due on Monday, May 27, by 5 p.m. The process was designed to be an easy lift, and High Country Conservation Center staff are available to help. Grant projects that support the local workforce and/or underserved community members will be prioritized. Detailed applications instructions are available online at HighCountryConservation.org/grants.

Mini-grants for recycling

If your condo association (or business, school, nonprofit, etc.) just needs a little extra support, High Country Conservation Center offers mini grants up to $2,000. Also funded by the Strong Future ballot measure, the mini-grants have helped local organizations start composting, reduce confusion about recycling rules add glass recycling and more.

To get started, interested organizations should set up a site visit with High Country Conservation Center. They’ll take a look at your space, see how and where trash is collected and make best-practice recommendations to simplify recycling at your property. Once that site visit is complete, you’ll open the door to cash grants up to $2,000. While there is no deadline to apply, limited funds are available each year on a first-come, first-served basis.

Town recycling grants and other funding

As local towns work to reduce waste while improving recycling access for all residents and visitors, they’ve created grants to support their communities. Frisco and Breckenridge both offer financial assistance to help residents and businesses get up to speed on universal recycling and pay-as-you-throw programs. The town of Frisco offers additional business recycling grants up to $10,000. And finally, the Resource Wise program can unlock additional rebates and funding to support business recycling projects as well as many other sustainability initiatives.

With so much funding on the table, now’s the time to turn your recycling ideas into reality. See all the opportunities and learn more at HighCountryConservation.org/grants.

Ask Eartha Steward is written by the staff at the High Country Conservation Center, a nonprofit dedicated to waste reduction and resource conservation. Submit questions to Eartha at info@highcountryconservation.org.