Environmental Heroes Wanted

Each year the Mississippi Recycling Coalition (MRC) honors outstanding environmental efforts of organizations, businesses, schools, and local governments around the State of Mississippi.  Please help us by nominating a deserving person or organization that you believe should be recognized for one of MRC’s annual “Environmental Hero” awards.  A panel of judges will use the following criteria to select award winners:

• Promotes recycling as a way to create a better community;
• Conducts continuous recycling and/or environmental programs rather than a one-time project;
• Practices and improves awareness of environmental stewardship; and
• Improves community waste handling and environmental practices.

Deadline for submissions is approximately 48 hours before the Annual MRC Membership and Business Meeting.

Mississippi School Recycling Grants

The Mississippi Recycling Coalition has made a total of $10,000 available in the form of ten $1000 grants to Mississippi public schools for the creation, expansion, and/or continuation of a recycling program.  MRC has a review committee in consultation with the Mississippi Department of Education, the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, and other program sponsors to review the applications. The deadline for applications is November 15th.

Applications will be judged according to the amount of student leadership and/or student participation in the recycling program; the emphasis on educating students about the benefits of waste reduction, reuse, recycling, and composting; and community involvement, participation, and/or outreach of the program.  Other major components that will be evaluated include, but are not limited to, the creativity of the program; technical design of the program; sustainability of the program; and maximization of resources.

Guidelines and Instructions

All entrants must follow the following guidelines and instructions:

• No more than one application per school will be accepted.  If necessary, combine all areas of your recycling program into one application. 
• A budget outline must be included in response to Question 6.  A budget outline should account for the full $1,000 grant award and cannot include classroom or office expenses unless these expenses are explained elsewhere in the questionnaire.
• All signatures should be completed in an ink other than black and the original should be submitted to the Mississippi Recycling Coalition by U.S. Mail to:
  
  Mississippi Recycling Coalition
  Attn: School Recycling Grant Committee
  Post Office Box 23294
  Jackson, MS 39225
• Please complete and submit all forms electronically from the locations above.  Printed applications will be accepted, but must be clearly printed on recycled paper and printed on both sides of the paper.

Annual College Scholarship

The Mississippi Recycling Coalition (MRC) and Mississippi Beverage Association (MS Bev) are offering up to a maximum of eight $750 scholarships to undergraduate college students majoring in agricultural sciences, biochemistry, biology, biological engineering, environmental education and technology, forestry, microbiology, wildlife management, and other fields related to environmental science.

Interested applicants can download and complete the scholarship application form and submit it along with a college transcript (high school transcript for enrolled freshmen) to:

or by completing the online form. Applications without transcripts will be considered incomplete and will not be considered.

Scholarship applications must be submitted by October 15.  A review of the applications should occur shortly thereafter.  Students will be notified in writing (sent to their permanent address and/or email address) of their award status by November 15.  Scholarship Awards will be mailed by December 31, to the student’s parent’s address. 

MRC and MS Bev are pleased to support environmental education in Mississippi by sponsoring these scholarships.  For more information concerning our scholarship program or the MRC, please contact Dr. Jimmy Bonner, Scholarship Committee Chair, at (662) 325-3155 or by e-mail at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . 

Thank you for supporting our educational efforts and encouraging interested applicants to take advantage of this opportunity.

2013 Coca-Cola Foundation/Keep America Beautiful Bin Grants

The Coca-Cola Foundation and Keep America Beautiful have announced the availability of the 2013 Bin Grant Program. The bin grant program has two focus areas: Public Space Bin Grants and Collegiate Bin Grants. The public space bin grant program is open to non-profit organizations, government agencies, schools, and religious organizations. The collegiate bin grant program is open to degree granting colleges and universities. Proposals for both grant offerings will be accepted online January 28 - March 4, 2013.  MRC encourages interested communities and colleges to consider applying for these grants. 

USDA Grants

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) offers two grants which may be used for recycling and/or waste reduction. The Solid Waste Management Grant (SWMG) is available to nonprofit organizations, county and/or city governments, Native American tribes, or academic institutions to provide technical assistance and/or training to help communities reduce the solid waste stream which can include recycling and compost operations in rural areas. The grant funds are not intended to pay for capital costs. For the purposes of the SWMG, rural areas are defined as any area not in a city or town with a population in excess of 10,000 according to the latest decennial census.

The USDA also offers the Community Facility Grant (CFG) to assist in the development of essential facilities in rural areas and towns of up to 20,000 in population. CFG funds may be used to construct, enlarge, or improve community facilities which could include publicly owned material recovery and recycling facilities. Assistance may be available for up to 75% of poject costs with funding limitations based on population and income, economic feasibility, and availability of funds.