The Reduce, Reuse, Repair Micro-Grant provides funding to eligible businesses, nonprofits, regional authorities, municipalities, and schools/colleges for short-term waste reduction projects.
Donor Name: Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection
State: Massachusetts
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant | Reimbursement
Deadline: 05/15/2025
Size of the Grant: $1000 to $10,000
Grant Duration: 1 Year
Details:
Goals
Goals of this grant program:
- Increase access, interest, and participation in reuse and repair
- Build sustainable infrastructure that supports widespread adoption of reuse and repair in MA
- Encourage innovation through testing or expanding new approaches, systems, or technologies that help achieve the first two goals
- Projects must focus on reducing waste in Massachusetts by extending the life of products through donation, sharing, rescue, reuse and/or repair.
Funding Information
- Grant funding will be distributed on a reimbursement basis
- The Reduce, Reuse, Repair Micro-Grant provides grant awards from $3,000 (minimum) to $10,000 (maximum).
Grant Period
Approved projects must be completed within one year of receiving the fully executed Standard Contract.
Eligible Expenses
Grant funds must be used for costs associated with implementing the proposed project such as equipment/tools/software specific to the new project; event promotion/marketing; event space rental fees; and the employment of temporary workers for a specified and finite period of time (e.g. consultants, contractors, paid interns, and specialists).
Eligible Projects
Eligible projects include but are not limited to:
- Develop or expand programs that collect and redistribute and/or resell reusable clothing, footwear, electronics, furniture, and other household goods
- Implement reusable transport packaging systems that eliminate or replace limited-life packaging used in manufacturing, transportation and/or distribution. Examples include the replacement of cardboard boxes with reusable crates, switching to reusable pallet wraps instead of plastic film, and replacing pallets with stackable crates
- Convert from single-use to reusable food service ware at schools, food service businesses, or institutional cafeterias (e.g., dishwasher installation, third-party dishwashing services, and/or reusable dishware). Note: Purchase of food service ware for establishing a new program or construction is not eligible
- Install bulk dispensing systems in school, commercial, retail and/or hospitality settings for food, beverages, personal care products (i.e., soap, shampoo, lotion), or cleaning products. Projects must replace single-use packaging
- Develop or expand programs that repair used clothing, furniture, appliances, electronics, bicycles, and other durable goods for resale or distribution. May include a training program
- Creation or expansion of food donation collection, storage, and distribution programs
- Develop and host trainings on deconstruction techniques targeting the construction industry, tech/carpentry schools, or individuals engaged in building and renovation work
- Pilot a deconstruction project involving one or more buildings (municipal or private). Funds may be used to contract a deconstruction practitioner to guide the project
- Promote recovery and resale of used building materials in remodel, renovation, and new construction projects
- Develop and/or promote statewide community repair or fix-it events open to anyone in MA. Set up a community repair space that can be used by multiple municipalities
- Purchase inventory technology or other software to increase capacity to reuse and repair items. Examples include inventory management systems, online marketplace platform development, and reporting systems.
Eligibility Criteria
- An organization or business (for-profit or non-profit) properly licensed to do business in Massachusetts
- A regional entity, such as a solid waste management district, solid waste/recycling cooperative or regional planning authority, that is recognized as a governmental body under Mass General Laws
- An individual Massachusetts city or town, or one acting as the lead for a multi-town regional initiative
- Pre-K-12 schools, colleges and universities, both public and private.
For more information, visit MassDEP.
