EPA Announces $140,578 in Funding for Des Moines Metro Waste Authority Sustainable Materials Management Project

The following press release was published by the US EPA on Oct. 4. It is reproduced in full below.

LENEXA, KAN. (OCT. 4, 2021) - Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that Metro Waste Authority in Des Moines, Iowa, has been selected for $140,578 in Sustainable Materials Management funding.

Metro Waste Authority’s project will create widely accessible educational programming related to diversion, waste management and sustainability in central Iowa. The educational programming will include virtual reality field trips to Metro Waste Authority facilities and a simulation game in which players manage solid waste for a community.

“Metro Waste Authority’s innovative approach to sustainability education will reach students all over central Iowa and increase their understanding of the importance of landfill diversion,” said Acting EPA Region 7 Administrator Edward H. Chu.

“Metro Waste Authority is thrilled to be chosen as a recipient of the EPA’s Healthy, Resilient, and Sustainable Materials Management Grant,” said Michael McCoy, executive director, Metro Waste Authority. “It’s important that learners and educators stay connected to unique and impactful environmental learning resources, even as classrooms and communities have shifted to remote and hybrid settings. We look forward to working closely with the EPA to make exciting learning accessible through virtual reality and simulation game programs.”

Sustainable Materials Management (SMM) is a systemic approach to using materials more productively over their life cycles. SMM looks at a product's life cycle to find new opportunities to reduce environmental impacts, conserve resources, and reduce costs. EPA’s SMM program supports efforts and projects to help build community health by reducing the use, release and exposure to toxic chemicals; using life-cycle approaches to reduce the health and environmental impacts of materials use; and employing upstream solutions that reduce the need and cost of environmental cleanup and pollution management.

# # #

Learn more about Sustainable Materials Management

Learn more about EPA Region 7

View all Region 7 news releases

Connect with EPA Region 7 on Facebook: www.facebook.com/eparegion7

Follow us on Twitter: @EPARegion7

Source: US EPA