A Summit County grant program aimed at improving waste diversion efforts has approval for its 2026 recipients, but taxing entities may not be eligible in future years.

The Summit Board of County Commissioners heard a presentation about the program from Heather Allen, the community programs director for the High Country Conservation Center, at its Aug. 11 work session. A grant committee approved mid-level awards and made recommendations for large grants, Allen said. 

One mid-level grant will go to the town of Breckenridge to support single-stream recycling in its boundaries. Commissioner Eric Mamula asked why the committee fully funded Breckenridge’s request while partially funding others and said he did not think the grant money, which comes from the county Strong Future fund, should go to any town or other taxing entity.

“I was part of the town of Breck,” Mamula, a former Breckenridge mayor, said. “I love the town of Breck, but this just does not smell right to me.”

Commissioner Tamara Pogue agreed with Mamula, who added that he thought grant funds would be better utilized if they only went to nonprofit organizations that are often “scraping for money.” Mamula specifically pointed to Smart Bellies, a local nutrition assistance nonprofit, which requested around $5,300 but will only receive $1,000.

Madelyn Green, the conservation center’s community programs manager, said the nonprofit could take the town out of the approved grant list. Mamula said he did not want the town removed for this year, and Green offered to adjust the eligibility requirements for the grant program in the future. 

Mamula and Pogue asked Allen and Green to exclude towns, special districts and any other taxing entities in future waste diversion grant cycles.

The commissioners also asked Allen and Green questions about a request from waste hauler Trash Pandas for funding for its concierge recycling service. Allen said the request was specifically to help purchase another truck for its fleet and establish a “pre-sorting site,” where Trash Pandas can sort waste before taking it to the county dump. She said the company services many short-term rentals, which often have high levels of contamination, or instances of recycling being put in the trash or vice versa.

Mamula questioned if the grant funds should go to a private company. Green said the committee discussed that topic, eventually deciding that it would be good to help Trash Pandas pre-sort its waste so it can add recycling to its offerings and be compliant with requirements of the pay-as-you-throw program. She said other trash concierge services are often not in compliance.

“The committee found it compelling,” Green said. “We were hoping that by supporting them, that it would prove to the other concierge services that it is possible to come into compliance.”

Mamula said he worried that this grant would lead to other waste concierge services applying for grants to buy new trucks in future years. Green said she understood the concern, but this is not the first time waste diversion grant money has been approved to help cover capital costs of haulers.

Pogue and commissioner Nina Waters said it seemed appropriate to use grant funds to incentivize businesses to recycle because waste diversion is the goal of the program, although they would prefer the businesses comply with pay-as-you-throw on their own. Pogue suggested county and conservation center staff look into ways to put more “guardrails” on how grant funds can be used by private companies.

Breckenridge, Smart Bellies and Trash Pandas’ grant applications were in the mid-level category, where 12 applications requested a total of around $107,000 and the committee approved around $77,000. The three large grant applications totaled about $181,000 in requests and $107,000 in recommended awards.

CAFE Food Rescue, Slopes to Hope and Breck Create applied for large grants of $25,000 or more. The committee recommended fully funding CAFE’s $75,000 request, which will go toward general operations and continued growth. Allen emphasized that the nonprofit has a “proven track record of success.”

Slopes to Hope, which recycles and repurposes clothing left behind in lodging, requested about $66,000 to purchase a van. The committee suggested awarding $15,000 and asking the nonprofit to lease a van instead of buying one.

“Slopes to Hope is a newer organization,” Allen said. “While they’ve had great publicity and seen some success, we would love to see if the van will increase diversion.”

Breck Create applied for $40,000 for its Precious Plastics initiative, which allows visitors to turn hard-to-recycle plastics into art. The organization intends to use the funds to expand storage space, develop an internship program and fund education programming. The committee suggested awarding $17,000.

The commissioners told staff they were supportive of the committee’s recommendations.