sustainable materials management practices – Dec 1

Posted by Environmental Research and Education Foundation on November 11, 2025

Environmental Research and Education Foundation issues RFP for sustainable materials management practices

The Environmental Research and Education Foundation (EREF) works to advance scientific research and create educational pathways that enable innovation in sustainable materials management practices.

EREF has identified three key priorities that focus on the impacts of solid waste management, circular and sustainable materials management, and mitigating environmental risk and/or harm. The strategic priorities of the RFP are:

Climate Change Impacts/Greenhouse Gas Emissions: The solid waste sector contributes to greenhouse gas emissions in a number of direct and indirect ways. EREF is interested in research to better understand the impacts of these emissions, ways to monitor and track emissions, and how the sector can reduce emissions.

Emerging Contaminants: EREF defines the category of emerging contaminants broadly, and it can include but is not limited to issues related to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), such as microplastics, pharmaceuticals, radioactive materials, and odors. Emerging contaminants may include issues that are relatively new (microplastics) or well-established issues within the sector (PFAS). EREF aims to support research that advances the knowledge of how these contaminants are impacting the solid waste sector, how these impacts compare to other exposure pathways, and what steps the sector can take to mitigate the risks posed by these emerging contaminants.

Advancing Materials Circularity & Recycling: True circularity is not possible without the work of the solid waste sector. The sector is key producer of recovered materials; however, there can be trade-offs associated with these processes and economic changes. EREF is looking for additional research to understand these trade-offs and what successful approaches to circularity look like.

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 two years.

There are no restrictions in regard to geographic location. Any U.S. or non-U.S. institution is eligible to apply. Proposals will be accepted from non-academic institutions provided the principal investigators (PIs) are qualified to conduct the research. PIs must be qualified to do the work proposed and should be experts in the subject matter referenced in the pre-proposal/proposal. Typically, this would include full-time faculty at academic institutions, post-doctoral employees, and principals or senior personnel at non-academic institutions.

Pre-proposals are due December 1, 2025, at 5:00 p.m. ET. Upon review, selected applicants will be invited to submit a full proposal.

For complete program guidelines and application instructions, see the Environmental Research and Education Foundation website.

Deadline: December 1, 2025 at 5:00 p.m. ET (Pre-proposals)