Deadline: 6 January 2016
EREF (Environment Research & Education Foundation), a IRS 501(c)(3) non-profit organization is currently inviting proposals to undertake research in sustainable Solid Waste Management in North America.
The sustainability movement has reached the business models of nearly every industry in the United States, and many companies, municipalities and states have set aggressive sustainability goals that include how waste stream are being managed.
The EREF defines solid waste to include:
- Municipal solid waste (e.g. residential, commercial, institutional)
- Construction & demolition debris
- Certain industrial wastes (e.g. exploration & production waste, coal ash) and
- Other wastes typically managed by the solid waste industry or generated by the public not included in the above items (e.g. electronic waste, disaster debris, etc).
Agricultural wastes (that aren’t handled by the waste industry), nuclear waste, and land applied wastewater treatment sludge are generally not included in this definition.
Award & Duration
Previously awarded grants have ranged from $15,000 to over $500,000 with the average grant amount in recent years being $160,000. Typical project durations are about 2 years. It should be noted that proposed research in excess of $300,000 and longer than 3 years should contain sufficient details that justify the need for the higher than average amount requested and longer project duration.
Research Areas(Topics)
Pre-proposal topics must relate to sustainable solid waste management practices and pertain to the following topic areas:
- Waste minimization
- Recycling
- Waste conversion to energy, bio fuels, chemicals or other useful products. This includes, but is not limited to, the following technologies:
- Waste-to-energy
- Anaerobic digestion
- Composting
- Other thermal or biological conversion technologies
- Strategies to promote diversion to higher and better uses (e.g. organics diversion, market analysis, optimized material management, logistics, etc.)
- Land filling
Priority Topics
- Development of life-cycle/process models to evaluate solid waste.
- Evaluating specific applications of pyrolysis/gasification to manage niche/minor waste streams.
- Development of specific gasification/pyrolysis techniques or technologies.
- Using algae to create bio fuels from waste.
Eligibility Criteria
- Non-U.S. Institutions: There are no restrictions in regards to geographic location. Any U.S. or non-U.S. institutions are eligible to apply.
- Non-Academic Institutions: Proposals will be accepted from non-academic institutions provided the principal investigators are qualified to conduct the research.
- Multiple Institutions: Submissions may include multiple institutions.
How to Apply
All pre-proposals must be submitted electronically via email . All pre-proposals must use the template provided in the website.
For more information, please visit Solid Waste Research.
