LANSING — The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy has announced $500,000 in available funding for Rural Electronics Grants.

The deadline for grant applications has been extended and applications are due no later than July 2. The original Friday deadline was extended to support requests from communities for additional time to prepare proposals.

This grant opportunity will support increased access to electronics recycling in the state. Grants can be used to: support improvements to current collection facilities; support electronics recycling events leading up to the establishment of permanent collection locations; support the collection, handling and proper recycling of consumer electronics; and provide collection and recycling infrastructure support to registered electronics recyclers.

The funding is made available through the Renew Michigan Fund. Eligible entities include cities, villages, townships, charter townships, counties, tribal governments, conservation districts, municipal solid waste or resource recovery authorities, non-profit organizations, health departments, colleges or universities, and regional planning agencies. For-profit Michigan based registered electronics recyclers are eligible for infrastructure funds.

The maximum request amount per collection location and collection event grants is $15,000 per location. Applicants are encouraged to discuss their proposal with Electronics Program staff prior to submittal. Funds are available on a first come first served basis.

To view the Request for Proposal and for more information, visit Michigan.gov/MIRecycles and click on the Grants tab.