Shrewsbury receives largest EPA municipal recycling grant in state history

The town of Shrewsbury has been awarded the largest federal recycling grant for a municipality in Massachusetts history, winning $2.7 million from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for innovative waste management plans that will benefit residents and the environment.

The competitive Solid Waste Infrastructure for Recycling grant program drew 307 applicants nationwide, with requests totalling more than $1 billion in infrastructure support. On March 3, the EPA announced that it had selected 17 projects nationwide, including Shrewsbury.

The town will use the funding to launch a Comprehensive Recycling and Composting Program, designed to maximize sustainability and expand service equity for all residents through a new municipal recycling facility and upgrades to the town’s curbside collection program to include food waste composting.

A new recycling drop-off center at the town’s Department of Public Works facility will provide a local, year-round solution for hard-to-recycle items such as electronics and household hazardous waste (such as paint).

The introduction of townwide curbside composting will significantly expand access to sustainable disposal. While a limited number of residents have been able to participate in the town’s pilot food waste drop-off program since last year, others had to contract with private services.

Town Manager Kevin Mizikar said the food composting program could remove up to 1,000 tons per year of general waste from the waste stream that’s currently being incinerated.

“Every chance that we have to divert recycling from the solid-waste stream and get it recycled — it’s better for the community, it’s better for the environment,” he said.

The grant builds on earlier environmental initiatives in Shrewsbury: a plastic bag ban in 2017, a Massachusetts Green Community designation in 2018, a polystyrene ban in schools in 2020, and a Climate Action and Resiliency Plan launched in 2023. The town also has a Sustainability Committee.

“Since her first day, Solid Waste and Recycling Program Manager Gosia Stolarska has been focused on bringing a visionary future for recycling to life,” said Shrewsbury Select Board Chair Theresa Flynn. “Her persistence turned that vision into a reality, and we are deeply grateful.”

Congressman Jim McGovern said the town’s SWIFR grant “will provide a cleaner and healthier community for all residents” and “significantly reduce contamination and promote sustainability for years to come.”

The EPA’s Solid Waste Infrastructure for Recycling program, established by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, provides funding to state, local and tribal governments to improve post-consumer materials management and infrastructure.

The city of Greenfield won a $2 million SWIFR grant in 2025 to transition to a single-stream, fully automated recycling collection system, create a promotional and enforcement campaign, and increase the transfer station’s transloading capabilities.