NRC receives two grants from Nebraska Environmental Trust

The Lincoln-based Nebraska Recycling Council (NRC) has announced that it has received two grants from the Nebraska Environmental Trust in the amounts of $290,016 for the Recycling Equipment Grants and Consultation project and $145,900 for the Feedlot Composting Planning project. The projects are two of the 118 projects receiving $20 million in grant awards from the Nebraska Environmental Trust in 2020. Of these, 73 were new applications and 45 are carry-over projects. The trust board announced funding for the projects at its meeting on June 11 in Lincoln, the NRC says in a news release.

NRC requests support for a two-year renewal of the Recycling Equipment Grant program that has funded smaller grants for recycling equipment of up to $20,000 each for 19 of the previous 22 years through the Nebraska State Recycling Association (now the NRC). The funding request will cover equipment grant funds, salaries for grants administration and consultation, travel to verify equipment purchases and provide consultation and a portion of NRC operating costs and supplies.

NRC’s objectives for this grant cycle are to:

• provide grant funding to communities and private entities across the state of Nebraska for purchasing recycling equipment that will improve recycling and composting programs and increase waste diversion from landfills;

• gather information from and provide consultation to communities and service providers that will improve recycling capacity in their region through public/private partnerships;

• facilitate partnerships that will increase volumes collected and improve economic outcomes of rural recycling programs by pooling resources; and

• expand NRC’s geographical representation of Advisory Council to help provide perspectives on resource recovery strategies for Nebraska.

The Feedlot Composting Planning project, in a collaboration between NRC and the Nebraska Business Development Center at University of Nebraska, will test the viability of creating compost at feedlot sites for cropland use. According to NRC, the large quantities of organic wastes generated by animal feeding operations, when combined with yard and wood waste collected by municipalities, could provide valuable field scale fertilizer that is better for soil and water health than manure alone while also reducing costs for municipalities and providing a value-added product for feedlots and/or compost operations. NRC adds, if the details of this business model were better understood, it could provide a pathway to business partnerships between feedlots, municipalities and growers, leading to improved soil health, water quality and lower greenhouse gas emissions in Nebraska.

The purpose of this project is to analyze business scenarios for feedlots, compost operators and municipalities to create compost by combining feedlot manure and municipal yard and wood waste at feedlot sites; to gain an understanding of stakeholder behaviors, perceptions, knowledge and motivation around public/private partnerships and the use of this product on cropland and to share the findings in a written report, webinar and web pages.

The Nebraska Legislature created the Nebraska Environmental Trust in 1992. Using revenue from the Nebraska Lottery, the trust has provided more than $328 million in grants to more than 2,300 projects across the state. Anyone–citizens, organizations, communities, farmers and businesses–can apply for funding to protect habitat, improve water quality and establish recycling programs in Nebraska. The Nebraska Environmental Trust works to preserve, protect and restore our natural resources for future generations.