Background
Through its Technical Assistance Program (TAP), Ramsey County partners with our team to support municipalities with solid waste planning, contracting, and innovative program development. In 2024, the County sought to embed environmental justice (EJ) principles into its annual distribution of SCORE funds—a Minnesota state program supporting recycling, waste reduction, and hazardous waste management.
The goal was to create a more equitable funding model that better aligns resources with communities experiencing greater environmental and social burdens.
Approach
Our team evaluated four environmental justice screening tools from the CDC, EPA, Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), and Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA). The CDC’s EJ Index (EJI) Explorer was selected for its comprehensive indicators and ability to rank municipalities consistently.
Using this framework, we developed a data-driven funding model that included:
- A guaranteed $10,000 base allocation for each municipality to increase equity for smaller communities
- Grouping municipalities into three EJ tiers, with higher-tier communities receiving more funding per household
- A revised Incentive Grant Program (IGP) structure, shifting funding from population-based formulas to EJ-based rankings
- Splitting IGP funding into two components to encourage additional outreach and engagement efforts
Results
By combining base and incentive funding with environmental justice rankings, Ramsey County established a transparent, equitable funding strategy that aligns dollars with community need. The updated model advances EJ goals, expands opportunities for underserved municipalities, and provides a replicable framework for other counties seeking to integrate equity into solid waste and recycling funding programs.
Markets: Solid Waste
Services: Community Development, Environmental and Regulatory Services, Strategic Consulting and Planning
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