Environmental Justice
Environmental justice means treating people of all heritage, cultures, and incomes fairly when developing, implementing, and enforcing environmental laws, regulations, and policies.
The CalRecycle Office of Environmental Justice, Tribal Relations, Education, and Outreach advances equity and Tribal relations by:
Enhancing programs, policies, and initiatives to address the needs of underserved communities, California Native American tribes, and farmworkers
Ensuring meaningful engagement and partnership with communities and local, federal, and tribal governmental agencies
Lessening pollution and increasing protections for communities who are disproportionately burdened by environmental harm
Improving access to small business guidance, technical resources and environmental education curriculum and materials
Program News
CalRecycle Environmental Justice Supports
Grants to send still-fresh, unsold food to people in need.
Grants for small Community Composting projects for green spaces.
Resources to address illegal dumping in communities.
- CalRecycle oversees industry-run Extended Producer Responsibility programs with convenient collection.
- Plastic Pollution Prevention law raises $5 billion from industry members over 10 years to:
- Cut plastic pollution and
- Support disadvantaged, low-income, and rural communities hurt most by the impacts of plastic waste.
- Live Spanish interpretation for workshops and Monthly Public Meetings
- Written translation and verbal interpretation services in any language on request for:
- Workshops
- Documents and presentations
Enforcement
On September 10, 2021, U.S. EPA Region 9 (USEPA) and CalEPA entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Collaborative Efforts on Enforcement and Compliance Assurance in Overburdened Communities. The MOU set a strategic direction and formalized a partnership between the state and federal government to focus on three areas: strategic targeting of inspections, enforcement actions, and community engagement.
CalRecycle Resources
Federal Resources
For more information, contact the Office of Environmental Justice, Tribal Relations, Education and Outreach at EnvironmentalJustice@calrecycle.ca.gov