2024 Traffic Safety Improvement Program

The Re+ Circular Economy Grant Program, supported by the King County Solid Waste Division (SWD), is designed to foster projects that actively minimize waste, extend the lifespan of materials, and rejuvenate natural systems. This initiative directly aligns with the broader mission of promoting a circular economy, moving beyond traditional linear models of production and consumption. By focusing on prevention and reuse upstream, and robust recycling actions downstream, the program seeks to create a more sustainable material flow within King County, while also addressing and reducing existing inequities. The program targets a diverse range of beneficiaries, including nonprofit organizations, fiscally sponsored organizations, businesses, self-employed individuals, tribal governments, and universities/colleges that operate within or support communities in King County (excluding Seattle and Milton). The overarching impact goals are to significantly reduce the volume of materials generated and subsequently sent to the Cedar Hills Regional Landfill, and to enhance the overall sustainability and equity of King County's solid waste system. This is achieved by supporting projects that offer higher uses for materials, focus on waste prevention, or improve the quality, quantity, and availability of recycling infrastructure. The Re+ Circular Economy Grant has two primary focus areas: Prevention and Reuse, and Recycling. Prevention and Reuse projects encompass efforts to reduce material consumption, build infrastructure for reusable products, increase food rescue, and encourage sharing or donating items. Recycling projects aim to create or expand markets for recycled materials (including organics), improve the quality and access to recycling in various communities, and even commercialize technologies that replace virgin materials with recycled content. Projects addressing plastic, paper, and organics (food waste, yard waste, and wood) are given higher priority during the evaluation process, reflecting a strategic emphasis on key waste streams. With approximately $2.2 million in grant funding available for the 2024-25 cycle, the program expects measurable outcomes such as increased food rescue for human and animal consumption, stimulated demand for reused and recycled products, expanded access to reuse and recycling programs, and enhanced collection and processing capacity for recyclable materials. Furthermore, the program anticipates the commercialization of new technologies that utilize recycled content and the development of new uses for recycled materials, all demonstrating future waste diversion potential. The King County Solid Waste Division's strategic priority is a whole system approach that balances upstream prevention with downstream recycling, underpinned by a theory of change that by supporting innovative projects in these areas, King County can achieve substantial reductions in landfill waste and foster a more equitable and resilient circular economy.