The Illegal Disposal Site Abatement Grant Program, administered by the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle), supports public entities in their efforts to clean up widespread illegal dumping of solid waste. This program addresses critical environmental and public health concerns by providing financial assistance for projects that remediate affected sites and implement preventive measures against future dumping.
The grant is intended exclusively for public entities within the State of California, including counties, cities, districts, state agencies, and Joint Powers Authorities. Eligible projects must involve solid waste cleanup within the applicant’s jurisdiction and must be deemed necessary to protect public health and safety or the environment. These may include the removal and disposal of waste and the implementation of preventive infrastructure such as fences, warning signs, and barriers.
Funds may also be used for essential health and safety measures, including contractor services, public agency labor, equipment rentals, and consultant services directly linked to eligible cleanup work. However, expenditures on preventive measures such as security infrastructure and public information materials are capped at 25 percent of the total grant amount.
Each fiscal year, the program makes $1,000,000 available in total funding, with a maximum of $500,000 per applicant. The most recent application deadline was October 15, 2025, for Cycle 104 of the 2025–26 fiscal year. If funding remains, another round (Cycle 106) will open in Winter 2025–26. Past award cycles include SWC100 (FY 2024–25), SWC96 and SWC98 (FY 2023–24), and SWC90 and SWC92 (FY 2022–23), although not all cycles issued awards.
Applications must be submitted online via CalRecycle’s Grants Management System (GMS). Updates about the program and new funding opportunities are distributed via a dedicated Listserv. Notices of Funding Availability are published on both the CalRecycle Funding page and the California Grants Portal. Interested applicants are advised to monitor these platforms closely for updates on upcoming cycles and deadlines.
