Tribal group receives recycling center funding

The Pacific Southwest Region of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is providing a $650,000 grant to the Shingle Springs Band of the Miwok Indians to help build an updated recycling center on its land.

The project on the tribal land in and around Placerville, California, in the central part of the state, is part of the EPA’s Solid Waste Infrastructure for Recycling Grants for Tribes and Intertribal Consortia program.

“EPA is proud to award this grant, which will support Shingle Springs in their efforts to increase recycling rates, make significant strides in waste removal from tribal land and create good-paying jobs for the tribal community," EPA Pacific Southwest Regional Administrator Martha Guzman says. "Together, we are making progress toward a circular economy that will better protect the environment and conserve resources."

With the funding, the Shingle Springs Band will invest in creating an updated recycling center on the reservation. “With this new infrastructure, the tribe’s Environmental Department plans to recycle all recyclable materials produced on and off the reservation, including from the administrative buildings, Tribal membership housing, economic development properties and a clinic,” the EPA says.

“This funding will allow us to build a recycling center to maximize the volume of recyclable materials and organics removed from the waste stream on tribal land,” says Regina Cuellar, chair of the Shingle Springs Band. “We look forward to working with the tribal community to create a more sustainable future.”