The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality this week announced $1.2 million in grants this week to 14 recipients in 11 counties to be used for community-based waste prevention projects.
Benton County was among those receiving a Reduce, Reuse, Reimagine grant with an application that “stood out for their vision, creativity and potential to make a meaningful difference in waste prevention.”
The county will receive $29,235 to be used for waste prevention at community events.
According to DEQ, Benton County partnered with the city of Corvallis to reduce waste at community events by providing community organizations and residents with low or no-cost, easy-to-implement alternatives to single-use water bottles.
The funding will make water bottle filling stations available to be checked out by the public for various events in Corvallis.
DEQ said it received 110 applications from across the state in which applicants demonstrated innovation, dedication, and community impact in their project proposals.
“The grant program supports statewide efforts to reduce the environmental and human health impacts of materials at all stages of their lifecycle,” DEQ Grants Coordinator Haley Miller said through a press release. “After a pause in 2020, our team has been hard at work reigniting a program that can more effectively invest in community solutions to the environmental, social and health impacts created by production, consumption, use and disposal of materials.”
The Reduce, Reuse, Reimagine grant will have a different focus for its funding each year, DEQ said, with this year’s focus being waste prevention.