(HARTFORD)— The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) and the RecycleCT Foundation are pleased to announce more than $150,000 in grants awarded to local municipalities and organizations in the inaugural grant round of the Lee Sawyer Community Waste Reduction & Recycling Grant program, which supports waste reduction and reuse in addition to recycling and composting efforts.

The grant program was created earlier this year in memory of former DEEP Chief of Staff Lee Sawyer, who passed away on Oct. 31, 2020. Lee was incredibly dedicated to the mission of DEEP, and was instrumental in the creation of the RecycleCT Foundation, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to promote the importance of managing materials more sustainably through waste reduction, reuse, recycling and composting. 

The RecycleCT Foundation is a Connecticut based 501c3 nonprofit that was started as a result of legislation in 2014 through Public Act 14-94. RecycleCT was created to help bring Connecticut from an estimated 35% to a 60% diversion of solid waste from disposal by 2024, as described in the Connecticut Comprehensive Materials Management Strategy, adopted by CT DEEP in 2016. 

RecycleCT coordinates its What’s IN, What’s OUT program, which offers educational materials on its webpage, the RecycleCT Wizard APP or webpage search tool, research and grant programs. The School Recycling Grant program is seeking applications until October 25, 2021. Information and application forms can be round on RecycleCT’s webpage here. 

Anyone is invited to make contributions to support RecycleCT generally, or to support the Lee Sawyer Community Waste Reduction and Recycling Grant. Those interested in contributing may do so on www.recyclect.com. 

Hear about next steps for implementing legislation from last session including the Bottle Bill, DEEP's SMM Grant program, and updates about Food Waste, Commercial General Permit, RecycleCT, Extended Producer Responsibility and Municipalities.