EPA awards $3M to Ontario, California, to reduce food waste

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has awarded a $3,571,064 grant to Ontario, California, to help the city upgrade its recycling collection infrastructure and reduce food waste through a digital donation tool. The award comes from EPA’s Solid Waste Infrastructure for Recycling (SWIFR) Grants program.

“This grant empowers the city of Ontario to pursue ambitious food waste reduction efforts, which are critical to keeping material out of landfills that can be donated, composted or recycled,” says Cheree Peterson, EPA Pacific Southwest deputy regional administrator. “The projects this grant will fund are emblematic of the great work happening across California to recover edible food and increase composting and recycling, creating significant benefits for local communities and the environment.”

With this grant, EPA says the city of Ontario will establish new recycling collection routes and optimize materials management infrastructure through the purchase of recycling equipment such as electric trucks, electric vehicle charging stations, bins and carts, a power steam wash machine and software to enhance zero waste strategies.

“The city of Ontario is excited about receiving grant funding to help expand our recycling infrastructure,” says Blaine Ishii, Ontario’s integrated waste director. “We are dedicated to improving our postconsumer waste efforts. With this grant funding, the city will make improvements to our recycling program including enhancements in tracking, education and market development. We look forward to implementing these progressive goals, reducing contaminations and enhancing our recycling and organics collections.”

The project will create a digital food donation marketplace for businesses and nearby nonprofits and expand source separation of organic food waste and mixed recyclables by distributing carts and bins to residents and businesses. EPA says the proposed project facilitates the city’s compliance with SB 1383.

SB 1383 requires California to cut organic waste sent to landfills by 75 percent and send 20 percent of edible food that would otherwise be landfilled to residents by 2025. California has committed $464 million to organics recycling and surplus food recovery grants and loans, which includes nearly $29 million for food waste prevention and rescue projects. 

“California has cut climate pollution by requiring large food businesses to send unsold food to people in need instead of landfills as part of our organics diversion initiative,” says CalRecycle Director Rachel Machi Wagoner. “So far 246 million meals have reached Californians without enough to eat with the help of state funds.”