Dow, Keep America Beautiful open fourth Hefty EnergyBag Grant Program for up to $125,000

Through July 12, 2019, communities are eligible to apply for grants to establish local plastics recovery program

Originally Published by Dow.

Dow is again teaming up with national nonprofit and long-standing collaborator Keep America Beautiful® to award up to $125,000 in grants for organizations to establish the Hefty® EnergyBag® program in their communities. The Hefty® EnergyBag® program, a collaboration between Dow and Reynolds Consumer Products, offers an innovative approach to diverting hard-to-recycle plastics, such as chip bags, standup pouches, foam containers, candy wrappers and juice pouches, from landfills and converting the materials into valuable resources.

For a fourth cycle, Dow is offering, via the 2019 Hefty® EnergyBag® grant program, up to $125,000 in grant funding to eligible communities across the nation. Previous grant recipients include: Boise, Idaho and Cobb County, Georgia (Keep Cobb Beautiful Inc.), as well as Lincoln, Nebraska, which will launch its Hefty® EnergyBag® Program at the end of April, and a second grant for Cobb County to expand their existing program. The first permanent Hefty® EnergyBag® program launched in the Omaha area in October 2016.

Recipients of the third grant program will be announced in mid-2019. Recipients of the fourth grant will be announced in late 2019, after submissions have been fully evaluated.

“We’re pleased to encourage the growth of the Hefty EnergyBag Program with grant funding in collaboration with Keep America Beautiful, so that we can recover the value of used plastics that can’t currently be recycled,” said Jon Pyper, associate director of sustainability for Dow. “The Omaha-area, Boise-area and Cobb County programs have already proven that we can successfully and sustainably divert more plastics from landfills and reuse those molecules. We’re eager to continue expanding this program and to encourage improved recycling in communities throughout the country.”

The grant application is open to municipalities, nonprofits, materials recovery facilities and other qualifying organizations through July 12, 2019. Dow will equip grant recipients with a framework to aid in developing successful Hefty® EnergyBag® programs in their communities, and will facilitate planning, implementation and metrics tracking. Dow also consults with recipients as they manage their local programs and solicit involvement from key community stakeholders. Dow and Keep America Beautiful will host a one-hour webinar on Wednesday, May 9 to review the application process and describe how the grant applications will be evaluated.

“The Hefty EnergyBag program is an exciting opportunity that directly supports Keep America Beautiful’s commitment to reducing waste in communities across the country,” said Helen Lowman, president and CEO of Keep America Beautiful. “We look forward to continuing our relationship with Dow and other organizations that see the value in reducing landfill waste and advancing the collection of hard-to-recycle plastics.”

From inception through March 2019, the Hefty® EnergyBag® program has collected more than 536,700 bags and diverted over 357 tons of hard-to-recycle plastics from landfills – the equivalent of producing approximately 1,700 barrels of diesel fuel from collected materials and eliminating approximately 51 full trash trucks. The Hefty® EnergyBag® grant program demonstrates Dow’s commitment to advancing a circular economy as part of its 2025 Sustainability Goals.

To apply for the Hefty® EnergyBag® grant, visit www.heftyenergybag.com.

Dow’s long-standing relationship with Keep America Beautiful is built on more than 10 years of collaboration through the Great American Cleanup. This annual event is the largest community improvement program in the U.S., which provides an opportunity to engage employees, customers and communities for environmental impact.

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