EREF Research Grants and Projects

Strategic Objectives

• Unbiased, scientific reports and analysis on waste management practices
• Scholarships for high potential graduate students and internships for highly qualified undergraduate students
• Targeted research to expand industry knowledge and understanding of the waste stream from generation to final disposition
• Improved public understanding of solid waste stream and sustainable solid waste management practices
• Increasing industry knowledge through educational programs

Typical Award Amount and Project Duration

• Projects and research previously funded by the Foundation can be viewed on its website at erefdn.org. 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 2 years. It should be noted that proposed research in excess of $300,000 or longer than 3 years should contain sufficient details that justify the need for the higher than average amount requested and longer project duration.

Submission Criteria

• Non-U.S. Institutions: There are no restrictions in regards to geographic location. Any U.S. or non-U.S. institutions are eligible to apply.
• Non-Academic Institutions: Proposals will be accepted from non-academic institutions provided the principal investigators are qualified to conduct the research.

Who Can Serve as a Principal Investigator?

• Principal investigators (PI) 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. Graduate students are not eligible to be principal investigators.
• Pre-Proposal submissions are limited to two (2) submissions per principal investigator during a particular submission period. Beyond this, the PI cannot be listed as a PI or co-PI on other submissions that round, but may be listed as a supporting investigator on other submissions.

For more information, visit EREF.