Previous CWRAR Grant Projects

2025 CWRAR grant award projects are expected to help divert an estimated 478 tons of material from landfill and impact an estimated 438,911 households. 

12 local governments, which included 7 counties and 5 municipalities, were awarded a total of $339,400 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.

Selected 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.
• *Guilford County ($22,200) will purchase trailers to use as drop-off locations for foam, plastic bag, and cardboard recycling.
• 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.

*Project was not executed.

2024 CWRAR grant award projects were expected to help divert an estimated 1,432 tons of material from landfill and impact an estimated 747,582 households.

26 local governments, which included 11 counties and 15 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.

Selected 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 drop-off 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.

2023 CWRAR grant award projects were expected to help divert an estimated 2,176 tons of material from landfill and impact an estimated 207,397 households.

15 local governments, including 7 counties and 8 municipalities, received a total of $356,000 in funds for fiscal year 2023-2024. Grants supported implementations of cart tagging projects, improvements to convenience site infrastructure, and transitions to curbside recycling.

Selected projects (with award amount) include:

• Alleghany County ($20,000) purchased and installed a compactor, roll-off octagon receivers, and a concrete pad for efficient cardboard recycling.
• Town of Black Mountain ($40,000) purchased carts and educational materials to transition the curbside recycling program from blue bags to carts.
• Caldwell County ($14,000) created informational signs for convenience sites to educate residents on proper recycling and help reduce contamination.
• Cherokee County ($6,000) purchased a roll-off container to add aluminum to a convenience center to increase recycling tonnage.
• City of Concord ($20,000) purchased educational materials (e.g., door tags, advertising, other materials) for a cart tagging program implemented as a neighborhood challenge/competition to engage residents and garner community support.
• Durham County ($18,000) created two swap shop sites in remote areas of the county to divert reusable items from the landfill.
• Town of Edenton ($40,000) restarted its curbside recycling program and purchased a walking floor trailer to haul recyclables to the MRF.
• Town of Holly Springs ($12,500) purchased tagging and educational materials (e.g., postcards, brochures, magnets) to help reduce contamination.
• Lenoir County ($20,000) added a stationary compactor and receiver to a convenience site to increase the efficiency of its recycling collection systems.
• City of Lexington ($20,000) purchased 16-yd roll-off containers with vinyl wraps to promote recycling at city events as well as educational materials and signage.
• Town of Nags Head ($15,000) purchased dumpsters to recycle cardboard from the Town's most substantial cardboard-waste producers.
• Perquimans-Chowan-Gates (PCG) Landfill ($20,000) expanded recycling collection at the transfer station by installing a concrete pad with electricity and purchased a 40-yard receiver for a new commingled recycling area.
• Town of Rocky Mount ($5,500) purchased educational materials (e.g., postcards, cart vinyl stickers, handouts, oops tags) in an effort to reduce contamination.
• Wilkes County ($21,000) purchased 6- and 8- yard containers, customized bin decals, and outdoor signage for a new recycling center.
• Town of Wilson ($8,000) purchased educational materials (e.g., cart stickers, postcards, brochures) to implement a cart tagging promote and reduce contamination.

2022 CWRAR grant award projects were expected to help divert an estimated 498 tons of material from landfill and impact an estimated 255,352 households.

21 local governments, including 8 counties and 8 municipalities, received a total of $325,500 in funds for fiscal year 2022-2023. Grants supported food waste diversion programs, convenience center enhancements, and contamination reduction campaigns. This was the last cycle where food waste reduction projects were eligible.

Selected projects (with award amount) include:

• Buncombe County ($22,500) expanded its food waste diversion program by constructing four additional drop-off sites with the purchase of storage sheds, site signage, compost totes, and compost educational materials.
• Burke County ($30,000) purchased a compactor and educational materials to convert a new convenience center to single stream recycling with glass and cardboard collected separately.
• Cherokee County ($27,000) purchased four roll-offs and bedliner for recyclables at a convenience center.
• Currituck County ($2,500) printed and distributed educational materials for citizens to reduce contamination and illegal dumping.
• Town of Davidson ($5,500) purchased carts, small bins, signage and educational material to start a food waste composting program with 5 public drop-off sites.
• City of Durham ($35,000) expanded the current food waste curbside collection pilot by purchasing organics carts, counter top containers, decals and safety wear.
• Town of Elkin ($7,000) purchased away-from-home recycling containers to be paired with existing trash containers.
• Town of Elon ($6,500) purchased educational materials (e.g., tri-fold pamphlets, mailing inserts, refrigerator magnets, can tags, posters) to reduce contamination in the recycling stream.
• City of Fayetteville ($11,500) purchased away-from-home recycling containers to pair with trash bins in the downtown district
• Henderson County ($40,000) improved and expanded their Type 3 Compost Facility with the addition of a covered receiving bay, two additional aeration kits, and a cart tipper.
• City of High Point ($13,000) purchased a trailer for collecting foam for recycling and equipment to better manage electronics.
• Jackson County ($11,000) purchased recycling signage for convenience sites and implemented a recycling education campaign using household mailers to increase participation.
• Moore County ($10,000) purchased message boards to display recycling education and event information at convenience sites, as well as a storage shed for household hazardous waste to expand collection.
• Town of Nags Head ($10,000) purchased 8-yard dumpsters to start a commercial cardboard recycling program targeting the largest cardboard producers.
• Orange County ($15,000) purchased recycling cart stickers, equipment for inspection staff, and curbside audit software to start a curbside recycling inspection and tagging program.
• Town of Princeton ($18,000) upgraded the Town's curbside recycling program by purchasing recycling carts to replace recycling bins, as well as recycling education materials.
• Town of Rose Hill ($15,000) expanded and improved the Town's curbside recycling collection by purchasing recycling carts and recycling education materials
• City of Salisbury ($5,000) sent a series of recycling education inserts to all households through the City's monthly lamplighter newsletter to encourage recycling and reduce contamination.
• Town of Surf City ($9,000) implemented a recycling education campaign using educational materials (e.g., household mailers, cart tags).
• Town of Wake Forest ($24,000) printed and mailed Recycle Right postcards to all households and purchase cart tags for recycling contamination prevention and reduction.
• City of Burlington ($8,000) printed and mailed Recycle Right postcards to all households and purchase cart tags for recycling contamination prevention and reduction.

2021 CWRAR grant award projects were expected to help divert an estimated 3,145 tons of material from landfill and impact an estimated 650,086 households.

22 local governments, including 8 counties and 8 municipalities, received a total of $390,500 in funds for fiscal year 2021-2022. Grants supported recycling educational campaigns, convenience center upgrades, and curbside recycling expansion.

Selected projects (with award amount) include:

• Alleghany County ($30,000) purchased a compactor for commingled recyclables to restart the recycling program.
• Town of Aurora ($20,000) purchased a brush chipper to divert wood waste
• Brunswick County ($20,000) purchased educational material (e.g., cart tags, bill inserts, stickers) for a contamination reduction campaign.
• Town of Cape Carteret ($20,000) purchased a chipper and skid steer for yard waste.
• Town of Carolina Beach ($13,500) provided away-from-home recycling to beachgoers by purchasing "twinned" recycling and garbage bins for the Town's beach accessways.
• Town of Cary ($13,500) implemented a food scraps drop-off program by purchasing infrastructure and educational materials for one drop-off location.
• Town of Caswell Beach ($2,000) purchased educational outreach material (e.g., educational flyers, magnets).
• Chatham County ($10,500) purchased educational outreach material (e.g., educational flyers, stickers) for municipalities and haulers.
• Cherokee County ($11,000) purchased roll-off containers for convenience centers.
• Coastal Environmental Partnership ($40,000) purchased a trailer for paint collection and HHW educational outreach material.
• Durham County ($25,000) purchased a compactor for recyclables.
• City of Graham ($10,000) purchased a fenced dumpster, pads, and signage for commercial recycling.
• Haywood County ($30,000) helped to improve Waynesville's curbside recycling program by purchasing carts to replace bags as well as cart tippers and educational outreach material.
• Lincoln County ($20,000) purchased a compactor for cardboard as well as signage.
• McDowell County ($15,000) purchased roll-off containers for commingled recycling at convenience centers.
• Moore County ($12,500) implemented a contamination reduction campaign by purchasing educational material (e.g., inserts, brochures, newspaper ads, videos, signs, magnets).
• Town of Morrisville ($10,000) implemented an education campaign using magnets to promote recycling.
• New Hanover County ($30,000) purchased a portable screening plant to improve the end product of its food waste composting program.
• Perquimans-Chowan-Gates (PCG) Landfill ($6,000) purchased a trailer for electronics recycling collection.
• Rowan County ($25,000) purchased a compactor for recycling collection and a container for motor oil recycling.
• City of Sanford ($8,000) purchased educational material (e.g., carts, stickers, brochures).
• City of Washington ($18,500) purchased glass recycling carts, a dump trailer, platform, and outreach materials to provide glass recycling to the area.