$800k available for recycling, illegal dumpsite, and scrap tire cleanup
NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
March 19, 2024
Contact: Jorge Estrada, Public Relations Coordinator
New Mexico Environment Department
505.690.5326 | george.estrada@env.nm.gov
$800k available for recycling, illegal dumpsite, and scrap tire cleanup
Grants available to municipalities, tribes, counties, and other entities
SANTA FE — The New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) is now accepting applications for fiscal year 2025 Recycling and Illegal Dumping (RAID) Fund grants for scrap tire management, illegal dumpsite abatement, recycling, and composting projects. Municipalities, counties, pueblos, nations, tribes, solid waste authorities, cooperative associations (as defined in the RAID Act), and land grant communities are eligible for funding.
A total of $800,000 will be available in the upcoming fiscal year. Two-thirds of the RAID fund will be awarded for scrap tire management and abatement projects, and one-third of the fund will be awarded for recycling projects and illegal dumpsite abatement. Matching funds and in-kind contributions are not required but are encouraged.
The RAID grant is a reimbursement grant program which provides funding for the prevention and abatement of illegal dumpsites, scrap tire abatement and management, and the development of recycling programs and infrastructure. Grant funding may also be used to develop educational outreach and marketing campaigns. A list of previously funded projects is available on the NMED website at https://www.env.nm.gov/funding-opportunities under Solid Waste Bureau, RAID Grants.
From fiscal year 2007 to fiscal year 2024, NMED awarded over $12.6 million dollars for 377 projects and helped to abate over 181 illegal dumpsites throughout the state. The RAID Alliance recommended funding of 13 projects totaling approximately $751,000 in FY24.
In FY23, the Village of Los Ranchos received a $30,357 grant to assist in constructing and maintaining community compost sites in designated urban areas. These sites serve as community drop off locations for food scraps and yard waste. Each partnering site constructed a 3-bin composting system that produces compost which is used in the local community.
“Composting transforms food scraps and yard waste into a valuable soil amendment—and it extends municipal landfill life by diverting organic materials and saving space in landfills. 50% of our waste is compostable but on average only 8.5% is currently composted,” said Isabelle Jenniches, Co-Founder NM Healthy Soil Working Group . “The Recycling and Illegal Dumping grant program offers a great opportunity for municipalities, tribes and other eligible entities to start reaping the benefits of composting.”
Los Ranchos Agri-Nature Center Grand Opening
North Valley Senior Center Bins
Santa Fe Botanical Garden Bins
RAID grants benefit New Mexicans more broadly by raising awareness of the importance of proper solid waste management. The New Mexico Environment Department provides financing in the forms of grants and loans to the public and private sector to improve air quality, ensure safe and healthy drinking water, and clean-up solid and hazardous wastes. The RAID grant program will further the department’s goal of investing in $65M in communities this fiscal year, one of the economic performance measures as discussed in NMED’s Quarterly Performance Assessment Report .
Applications for FY25 are available at https://www.env.nm.gov/forms and are due by 5:00 p.m. on April 12, 2024. Applicants may submit their completed application by e-mail (preferred), mail, or fax. Grants will be awarded on a competitive basis for the state fiscal year starting on or about July 1, 2024, and ending on or about June 30, 2025. Funded projects must be completed within the fiscal year.
For more information about RAID grants and eligibility requirements, or to discuss project ideas, contact the Solid Waste Bureau, Outreach Section at SWB.inbox@env.nm.gov or (505) 827-0197.
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NMED does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, disability, age or sex in the administration of its programs or activities, as required by applicable laws and regulations. NMED is responsible for coordination of compliance efforts and receipt of inquiries concerning non-discrimination requirements implemented by 40 C.F.R. Parts 5 and 7, including Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended; Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973; the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, and Section 13 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972. If you have any questions about this notice or any of NMED’s non-discrimination programs, policies or procedures, you may contact: Kate Cardenas , Non-Discrimination Coordinator | NMED |1190 St. Francis Dr., Suite N4050 | P.O. Box 5469 | Santa Fe, NM 87502 or (505) 827-2855 or nd.coordinator@env.nm.gov . If you believe that you have been discriminated against with respect to a NMED program or activity, you may contact the Non-Discrimination Coordinato r.
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