Community Waste Reduction and Recycling Grant
The Community Waste Reduction and Recycling (CWRAR) grant program is a recurring annual funding opportunity for local governments to build lasting capacity to divert materials from the waste stream and / or increase public awareness of recycling. The Division of Environmental Assistance and Customer Service (DEACS) administers the CWRAR Grant through the Solid Waste Management Outreach Program.
The 2027 CWRAR Grant round is open.
Proposals must be received by 5:00 p.m. on February 11, 2027. Download the request for proposals (RFP) for the 2027 CWRAR Grant using either link below.
For more information, please contact Alex Miller at 919-707-8190.
Frequently Asked Questions
The RFP typically opens in late-fall with proposals due in mid-February. Proposals for the 2027 CWRAR Grant round must be received by 5:00 p.m. on February 11, 2027.
2027 CWRAR priorities include projects that implement new or expand existing:
- Curbside recycling programs, including a transition from bags or bins to carts;
- Regional recycling infrastructure to manage household recyclables (e.g., paper, cardboard, metal and plastic containers, glass) from more than one local government program;
- Household hazardous waste (HHW) programs; or
- Construction and demolition recycling programs.
Examples of approved uses of CWRAR grant funds include site development costs, construction of facilities to handle recyclable materials, equipment or vehicle purchases, recycling collection containers, equipment installation costs, and educational materials such as signs, mailers, handouts or brochures.
Grant funds may not be used for employee salaries, land acquisition costs, administrative expenses such as overhead, utility costs, studies or work performed by consultants, contracted collection costs, and/or payment for other contracted recycling services such as payment to a vendor for operating a household hazardous waste collection event.
Eligible applicants may request up to $60,000 for standard projects and up to $80,000 for priority projects.
No. You can request any amount up to the maximum. The amount you request does not affect the competitiveness of your proposal.
Applicants must provide a cash match equal to or exceeding 20% of the requested grant funding.
Example: The City is drafting a proposal to purchase carts and educational material to expand their curbside recycling program. Of the grant amount requested (A), the City must match at least 20% of the grant amount (B). The total project will cost C.
A = grant amount
B = applicant match amount = 0.2A
C = total project expense = A+B = A + 0.2A = 1.2A
The total project expense will be $64,200. What is the maximum eligible grant request to meet the required match amount?
C = $64,200
A = C/1.2 = $53,500
B = 0.2A = $10,700
| Budget Items | Estimated Cost |
|---|---|
| Recycling carts for residents | $57,000 |
| Educational materials (e.g., decals, brochures) | $7,200 |
| Total Budget | $64,200 |
| Budget Allocation | Budget Share |
|---|---|
| Total Budget | $64,200 |
| State Grant Request | $53,500 |
| Applicant Cash Match | $10,700 |
DEACS aims to send award notifications by April each year.
Contracts begin on July 1 each year, if all parties have signed the contract. Contracts must have signatures from both the grantee and NCDEQ to be fully executed. Expenses incurred before the start date of the fully executed contract are not reimbursable.
All CWRAR grant funds are distributed on a reimbursement basis. Purchases must be made during the grant contract period and requests for reimbursement can be made after the grantee has completed and paid for grant purchases. State and local sales taxes are not reimbursable and should be excluded from grant expenditure totals. DEACS will continue to reimburse grantees until 90% of the award amount has been expended, withholding 10% of funds until receipt of an approved final report.
Strong proposals consider the Award Criteria during project development and follow the Required Proposal Questions that outline each element of the project. Applicants should answer each question in succinct detail.
Yes. Requests typically exceed available funds, and not all proposals receive funding. DEACS may also award a grant at a lower level than requested in order to support as many qualifying projects as possible. If partial funding is offered, applicants will have the opportunity to accept or decline. Those who accept must update their proposal to reflect the revised award amount.
No, but it is encouraged to add estimated quotes when possible.
Final Report
All CWRAR grantees are required to submit a final report.
A draft final report must be submitted to DEACS at least 30 days prior to the contract end date and a final report must be submitted by the contract end date.
Past CWRAR Grant Awards
Grant projects awarded in the 2026 CWRAR round are expected to help divert an estimated 685 tons of material from landfill and impact an estimated 678,000 households. Seventeen local governments, which included 9 counties and 8 municipalities, were awarded a total of $410,630 in funds for fiscal year 2026-2027. Grants supported infrastructure for lithium-ion battery collection, improvements to convenience site infrastructure, and enhancements to away-from-home recycling programs. Projects (with award amount) include:
- City of Asheboro ($40,000) will purchase an open-top collection truck to start a municipal glass recycling program serving City businesses with ABC permits.
- Town of Boiling Springs ($50,000) will purchase a collection vehicle to support bringing their recycling program in-house and expanding services to multifamily residents and businesses.
- Chatham County ($20,000) will purchase and install a stationary compactors at two of their busier collection centers to improve hauling efficiency.
- Town of Edenton ($30,000) will purchase a skid steer to support their growing residential and business recycling program by improving the efficiency of material handling and contamination removal.
- Gaston County ($7,560) will purchase seven lithium battery storage containers and accompanying signage to expand access to safe drop‑off locations.
- Guilford County ($5,900) will purchase battery storage containers to improve safety of collecting lithium-ion and other household batteries.
- City of Henderson ($50,000) will purchase recycling carts and educational outreach materials to upgrade their curbside collection program from bins to carts.
- McDowell County ($6,825) will purchase recycling bins and educational materials to improve recycling in County office buildings.
- New Hanover County ($41,270) will purchase a structure with material handling equipment and fire suppression to expand its household hazardous waste program to collect solar panels and electric vehicle batteries for recycling.
- Onslow County ($37,205) will purchase battery storage containers and handling equipment to improve safety and efficiency of collecting lithium-ion batteries.
- Orange County ($17,320) will purchase and install educational signage with uniform messaging in several languages to improve the efficacy of its multifamily recycling program.
- City of Salisbury ($21,720) will purchase fire-safe lithium-ion battery collection bins to establish safe and accessible household battery collection points at multiple locations throughout the City.
- Scotland County ($10,170) will purchase signage and outreach materials to improve communication at convenience centers and promote recycling.
- Wake Forest ($15,400) will purchase 25 public recycling receptacles and accompanying signage to expand away-from-home recycling in their downtown area.
- Town of Waynesville ($30,000) will purchase 30 public recycling receptacles and accompanying signage to expand away-from-home recycling in their downtown area.
- Wilkes County ($17,500) will construct a new storage building for the safe storage and handling of lithium-ion and other household batteries.
- Town of Yadkinville ($9,760) will purchase sidewalk trash and recycling receptacles to improve cleanliness and capture recyclable materials in their downtown area.
Grant projects awarded in the 2025 CWRAR round are expected to help divert an estimated 452 tons of material from landfill and impact an estimated 223,000 households. Eleven local governments, which included 6 counties and 5 municipalities, were awarded a total of $317,200 in funds for fiscal year 2025-2026. Grants supported infrastructure upgrades to drop-off sites, improvements in electronics recycling programs, and addressing contamination through educational outreach. Projects (with award amount) include:
- Avery County ($24,000) will expand recycling access by purchasing and installing a new recycling compactor for a convenience center.
- Cherokee County ($26,100) will increase efficiency and expand recycling by purchasing a roll-off container for aluminum and two roll-offs for cardboard for two public elementary schools.
- City of Durham ($24,000) will decrease curbside recycling contamination through targeted education as well as provided uniform recycling receptacles for city facilities.
- Town of Edenton ($35,000) will expand recycling access by purchasing recycling carts for residents and recycling dumpsters for commercial properties.
- Gaston County ($25,600) will expand and enhance the electronics recycling program by purchasing e-waste trailers for residential collection as well as new signage.
- City of High Point ($20,000) will purchase outreach and advertisement materials (e.g., truck wraps, magnets, decals, social media boosts) about the City's recycling app.
- Macon County ($23,500) will improve the battery recycling program by purchasing a pre-engineered metal storage building, a concrete pad, and associated safety and fire prevention equipment for lithium-ion battery collection as well as educational materials.
- Rutherford County ($22,000) will purchase 40-yard recycling containers and new signage for convenience centers.
- Town of Spindale ($35,000) will purchase a mini recycling compactor for more efficient curbside collection in hard-to-reach areas, recycling carts, and educational materials designed to increase public awareness and encourage proper recycling practices as part of its expanding recycling program.
- Town of Valdese ($30,000) will purchase recycling carts to assist in moving recycling collections to in-house operation for more financial stability and operational oversight of the program.
- Yadkin County ($12,500) will purchase compactor boxes for the new recycling compactor.
Grant projects awarded in the 2024 CWRAR round were expected to help divert an estimated 1,432 tons of material from landfill and impact an estimated 747,582 households. Twenty-four local governments, which included 11 counties and 13 municipalities, were awarded a total of $648,900 in funds for fiscal year 2024-2025. DEACS received a one-time, additional amount of funding for this cycle. Grants supported improvements to convenience site infrastructure, enhancements to away-from-home program enhancements, and upgrades for HHW and electronics collection programs. Projects (with award amount) include:
- Town of Apex ($22,500) created a twinned-bin away-from-home recycling program for town facilities, parks, and special events through the purchase of recycling containers and educational labels.
- City of Asheville ($35,000) purchased educational material and media ads for a recycling outreach campaign.
- Brunswick County ($25,000) purchased and installed a portable forklift ramp and stretch wrap machine to better manage recycled electronics at its landfill.
- Town of Butner ($4,400) purchased and installed new signage in English and Spanish at the Town's drop-off site with the goal of reducing contamination.
- Cherokee County ($15,000) purchased roll-off containers for the newest convenience site.
- Clay County ($35,000) purchased trailers acting as mobile recycling bins for the dropoff recycling site.
- Town of Davidson ($15,000) purchased recycling receptacles, as well as signage and educational materials, to improve away-from-home recycling in the downtown social district area.
- Edgecombe County ($20,000) purchased glass recycling containers, cardboard containers, and recycling signage for its drop-off sites as well as created educational material.
- Greene County ($30,000) purchased a self-contained compactor, signage, and educational materials for the convenience sites.
- City of Greensboro ($50,000) purchased cameras, computer hardware, and software to install AI-based contamination alerts on recycling trucks to provide individualized feedback for community members.
- City of Greenville ($50,000) purchased cameras, GPS, and AI-enabled computers to identify contaminates and provide customized educational materials for individual households.
- Haywood County ($60,000) purchased Hazmat collection buildings to start permanent household hazardous waste events year-round.
- Henderson County ($50,000) purchased a structure to expand, improve, and better manage the collection of household hazardous waste.
- City of Hendersonville ($40,000) purchased cameras, software, and scanners in order to install RFID technology in recycling trucks for targeted contamination reduction.
- McDowell County ($20,000) purchased 30-yard roll-off containers to improve cardboard recycling efficiency at convenience centers.
- Town of Nags Head ($15,000) purchased a roll-off for cardboard recycling at the drop-off center as well as cardboard dumpsters to be installed at local businesses.
- Town of Pine Knoll Shores ($20,000) purchased recycling carts and educational materials (e.g., magnets, mailer, brochures, stickers).
- Pitt County ($50,000) purchased educational materials (e.g., postcards, brochures, cart stickers) for municipal and county residents and advertisements.
- City of Salisbury ($7,500) purchased educational materials (e.g., cart tags, rack cards, newsletters) and truck wraps.
- Town of Topsail Beach ($30,000) launched a new curbside recycling program and purchased residential recycling carts and educational materials (e.g., acceptable recyclable materials brochures, oops tags, cart decals).
- Town of Wake Forest ($15,000) purchased educational materials and a truck wrap as a part of an ongoing contamination reduction campaign.
- Wayne County ($18,500) purchased 250-gallon bench tanks to collect cooking oil at the convenience centers.
- City of Wilkesboro ($6,000) purchased educational materials (e.g., cart decals, pamphlets, flyers).
- Yadkin County ($15,000) purchased and installed a stationary compactor, a 40-yd receiver, and signage at their transfer station.
This page was last modified on 10/13/2026