Battery Collection Tip Sheet: General Assistance Program Funding for Battery Recycling Programs

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Introduction
What Should You Include in General Assistance Program Funding Applications?

Introduction

This webpage provides specific information for federally recognized Tribes to consider when pursuing General Assistance Program funding for battery recycling efforts on Tribal lands. You can find broader guidance on General Assistance Program funding on EPA's General Assistance Program website.

What is General Assistance Program Funding?

The General Assistance Program is a grant opportunity for federally recognized Tribal governments and intertribal consortia. The purpose of the General Assistance Program is to support recipients in:

Planning, developing, and establishing the capacity to implement programs administered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Developing and implementing solid and hazardous waste programs for Indian lands.
Collecting, transporting, backhauling, and disposing of solid waste and recovered materials.

Additionally, the General Assistance Program authorizes EPA to provide technical assistance to Tribes and intertribal consortia in the development of multimedia programs to address environmental issues. Establishing battery recycling programs aligns directly with the General Assistance Program's purposes.

Why Focus on Battery Recycling?

Battery chemistries, such as lithium-ion, alkaline, lead-acid, and others, can pose health and safety risks when they are damaged or when disposed of improperly. These risks include:

Fires.
Toxic chemical leakage.
Soil and water contamination.

Establishing a Tribal battery recycling program can reduce these risks by:

Protecting community health and property.
Preserving the environment.
Reducing landfill waste through materials recovery.
Enhancing Tribal waste management capabilities.

What Should You Include in General Assistance Program Funding Applications?

Batteries in Buckets — *E-waste and battery components in designated disposal bins. Source: Morongo Band of Mission Indians*

To have the best chance of receiving funds for your battery recycling program, ensure that your application responds to four key factors that EPA considers when awarding General Assistance Program grants:

Statement of need.
Program environmental goals and objectives.
Project activities and timeline.
Budget.

The following sections provide additional details and examples of how to incorporate the four key factors into your application. The ideas included in each section are examples and should help guide your application. They do not represent the only options for your battery program.

Statement of Need

Show EPA you understand the current situation and clearly demonstrate the need. Some examples include:

Identify battery waste volumes and types generated. Perform spot waste audits or gather data collected by states or municipalities.
Highlight gaps in community awareness or infrastructure. Consider collecting community feedback through surveys or outreach at community events. This information can also help set a baseline for measuring progress.
Highlight current disposal practices and any past fire or contamination issues associated with batteries. Include news articles, photographs, and other documentation to illustrate these issues and emphasize urgency.

Program Environmental Goals and Objectives

Demonstrate how your project will lead to measurable results through clear metrics. You may consider including metrics related to:

Number of pounds of batteries diverted from landfill.
Number of participants trained.
Reduction in battery-related safety incidents.
Improvements in baseline environmental indicators (if available).
Improvements in collection rates.
Increase in collection site access (i.e., the percentage of population within a certain number of miles from a drop-off site).

Demonstrate that your activities will help build Tribal capacity to implement these programs now and in the future. Examples that demonstrate capacity building include:

Outreach and education campaigns on batteries and battery recycling, which can help ensure that communities get the information they need to change behavior over time.
Partnerships with nearby recycling centers or hazardous waste contractors, which demonstrate an ability to carry grant dollars further by using existing resources.
Staff or community member trainings to manage battery collection sites. Creating a battery waste collection and handling policy helps build this knowledge.
Assistance from nonprofit organizations such as Call2Recycle, which has resources available to support Tribal collection programs in states that have battery extended producer responsibility laws.

Align your battery program with other Tribal environmental priorities that are described in your EPA-Tribal Environmental Plan. Examples of priorities include:

Creating a broader integrated waste management plan.
Developing Tribal environmental codes and ordinances.
Protecting culturally significant land and water.

Project Activities and Timelines

In your application, you will describe various tasks that will help achieve your stated project goals. When writing about these tasks, include timeframes or sequences, when possible, to demonstrate program planning and development. The following table demonstrates one way to align tasks to a specific timeline and outcome.

Task	Description	Timeline	Outcome
Community education	Create culturally relevant outreach materials and consider tailored outreach for elders and youth.	Months 1–3	Raised community awareness of where to recycle batteries and battery-containing products.
Partnership development	Coordinate with contractors, regional recycling facilities, and nonprofit organizations to determine existing resources and infrastructure.	Months 3–5, ongoing	Expanded network of partners to help establish a sustainable battery program, resulting in a range of resources and strategies.
Collection infrastructure	Establish battery drop-off points and include ideas for drop-off events at commonly visited locations to improve community member access.	Months 5–7	A functional collection system that can safely and efficiently receive batteries from community members.
Staff training	Conduct training on safe handling and storage.	Month 5	An established certified team that knows how to properly collect and store batteries.
Data collection and reporting	Track the volume of batteries recycled through your program.	Quarterly	Clear metrics that demonstrate impact, such as recycling rate, collection rate, or percentage of the population with access to a battery collection program.

Budget

You should thoroughly explain budget information in a budget narrative. If you have or are using matching funds, be sure to include those as well. For comprehensive guidance and information on allowable costs for EPA grants, refer to Title 2 of the Code of Federal Regulations Part 200 Subpart D. The following list is not comprehensive but contains specific budget categories that may be applicable to battery collection and recycling programs.

Category	Explanation
Personnel	Include salaries, time commitments, and position titles that will be involved in the battery recycling activities. Include individuals across activities such as education and outreach, collection, special collection events, and transportation.
Travel	Include travel costs for staff training and for attending relevant conferences that will help enhance and share information about your program. Include number of travelers and trips, as well as anticipated expenses.
Equipment over $10,000	Include costs for large items, such as storage sheds that are durable enough to store batteries safely with ample separation for batteries of different types. These items could also include fencing and other materials to control site access. Include costs for fire monitoring or suppression equipment that may also be helpful, depending on the type of batteries you plan to collect.
Supplies under $10,000	Include costs for other materials you might need, such as shipping materials, public collection bins, fire suppression equipment, outreach materials, and signage.
Contractual costs	Enter a contract with a firm or your existing waste hauler to collect batteries. Include the increases in contractual costs that may be associated with these additional activities.