US EPA Grants to Fund Efforts to Reduce Plastic Bag Pollution

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster):  The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has awarded grants to fund four environmental projects along the California and Baja California border. The selected projects also include plastic bag pollution reduction campaigns. The EPA funds amounting to $326,776 will be matched by an additional $318,813 from the recipient organizations.

Scott Pruitt, EPA Administrator noted that the announced grants will fund projects that will help to mitigate health and environmental risks. Further, the grants will help to advance economic development and provide clean water and air for communities living in the region.

The University of Washington will be awarded $99,935 towards installation of six air quality monitors near the San Ysidro port of entry. The project is aimed at assessing and prioritizing sources of particulate emissions entering the U.S from Mexico. The community air study project will monitor this trans-border airshed.

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A grant of $87,556 has been allocated to The Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California San Diego towards study of impacts of transboundary wastewater spill along the Pacific coastline. The study also aims to quantify the extent of wastewater spill in the San Diego/Tijuana region during February last year.

Also, $139,285 will be awarded to two projects aimed at preventing transboundary waste from entering the Pacific Ocean, Tijuana River Estuary and New River. The above projects targets to promote recycling and improve waste management along the U.S.-Mexico border. The projects also aim to promote the use of reusable bags and reduce plastic bag marine debris.

The grants are being awarded in collaboration with the North American Development Bank under the U.S.-Mexico Border 2020 environmental program- a joint effort by the U.S. EPA, Mexico’s Secretariat of the Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT), and the Border Environment Cooperation Commission (BECC).