New Recycling Bill Authorizes $30M Annually to Fund Infrastructure in Underserved Communities

The newly proposed Recycling Infrastructure and Accessibility Act of 2025 is setting up a major federal grant program designed to fix a persistent problem: the recycling gap in rural and underserved areas. Essentially, the bill creates the Recycling Infrastructure and Accessibility Program, authorizing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to hand out up to $30 million every year from 2025 through 2029 to build out the physical infrastructure needed to get recyclables from your curb to the processing plant.

The Hub-and-Spoke Solution for Remote Areas

This isn't just a general funding bill; it’s specifically targeting communities that don’t have good recycling access because of distance or high transport costs. The bill defines an “underserved community” as one where getting materials to a Materials Recovery Facility (MRF)—the big sorting centers—is too expensive or the existing facility is overwhelmed. The EPA will prioritize projects that use a “hub-and-spoke” model, meaning they will fund things like new transfer stations where local trucks can drop off materials, which are then consolidated onto bigger trucks for the long haul to the nearest MRF. If you live in a town that currently has to drive recyclables 100 miles, this program is designed to bring that collection point much closer, making curbside pickup actually affordable for your local government.

Who Gets the Money and What They Can Build

Grants will range from $500,000 to $15 million, and the money is available to states, local governments, Indian Tribes, and even public-private partnerships. The EPA has to earmark at least 70 percent of the total pot for projects serving these underserved communities. To make sure the money goes where it's needed most, the EPA will give priority to applications coming from communities that don't have an MRF within a 75-mile radius. For a small town or a county struggling to manage its waste, a grant of this size could be a game-changer, allowing them to finally build that transfer station or expand their collection routes.

The 90% Federal Check and the Missing Piece

For most projects, the federal government will cover up to 90 percent of the total cost, leaving the local entity to cover the remaining 10 percent. This is a huge incentive for cash-strapped local governments. Crucially, the bill gives the EPA Administrator the power to waive that 10 percent local share if paying it would cause “significant financial hardship” to the applicant. This flexibility is important for very small or struggling communities, but it also gives the EPA a lot of discretion in deciding who truly qualifies for the full ride. While this funding is focused on building infrastructure—the trucks, the stations, the collection points—there is one explicit exclusion: grant funds cannot be used for recycling education programs. This means local governments will still need to find other sources of funding to teach residents how and what to recycle, even as they build the shiny new collection points.