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Brownfields 2026 Job Training Fact Sheet

Recycle Force, Indianapolis, IN

EPA Information

Region: EPA Region 5 Brownfields Team
Phone: 312-353-6556
Website: https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/r5

Publication Information

Office:
United States Environmental Protection Agency
Land and Emergency Management (5105T)
Washington, D.C. 20460
Publication Number:
EPA 560-F-26-022
Publication Date:
February 2026

Job Training Grant

$500,000.00

EPA has selected Recycle Force or a Brownfields Job Training Grant. Recycle Force plans to train 95 students and place 75 in environmental jobs. The training program includes over 339 hours of instructional training, as detailed in the chart below. Students who complete the training will earn up to seven state and federal certifications. Recycle Force is targeting adult Marion County residents who are unemployed with poor work history, formerly incarcerated, or suffering from long-term homelessness. Key partners include John Boner Neighborhood Services, Brookside Community Development Corporation, the City of Indianapolis, EmployIndy, Interstate Business Solutions, Keys2Work, Inc., Keep Indianapolis Beautiful, Martindale Brightwood Community Development Corporation, Neas East Side Community Organization, I Like Me, and Vision Wealth.

For further information, including specific grant contacts, additional grant information, brownfields news and events, and publications and links, visit the EPA Brownfields Web site (http://www.epa.gov/brownfields).

Grant Recipient Information

Name: Recycle Force
Address: 816 N. Sherman Drive, Indianapolis, IN 46201
Contact: Rhonda Shipley, rshipley@RecycleForce.org, (317) 506-2241
Website: https://recycleforce.org/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RecycleForce
Twitter: https://x.com/RecycleForce
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/RecycleForce
Certificates & Technical Curriculum Supported by EPA
  • 40-Hour HAZWOPER
Other Curriculum
  • Personal Protective Equipment
  • Warehouse Safety
  • Material Handling
  • Machine Guarding
  • Lockout Tagout and Effected Employees
  • Emergency Action Plan/ Fire Prevention
  • Basic First Aid
  • Blood Borne Pathogens
  • Intro to RCRA and Intro to PIT
  • HAZCOM & Global SDS
  • Forklift Safety
  • Forklift Truck FC4500
  • Forklift Truck RM6000
  • Forklift WP3000
  • OSHA SSCO Powered Industrial Truck
  • Intro to HVAC
  • Advanced EPA608 Technician Type
  • Intro to Core
  • Intro to Type 1-3
  • EPA608 Technician Type I
Additional Skills and Services
  • Job Readiness and Life Skills

Overview of the EPA Brownfields Program

EPA's Brownfields Program empowers states, Tribal Nations, communities, and other stakeholders to work together to prevent, assess, safely clean up, and sustainably reuse brownfields. A brownfield site is real property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant. The Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act of 2002, as amended by the Brownfields Utilization, Investment and Local Development Act of 2018, was passed to help states, Tribal Nations, and communities around the country clean up and revitalize brownfield sites. Under this law, EPA provides financial assistance to eligible applicants through five competitive grant programs: Multipurpose Grants, Assessment Grants, Revolving Loan Fund Grants, Cleanup Grants, and Brownfields Job Training Grants. Additionally, funding support is provided to state and tribal response programs through a separate mechanism.

Brownfields Job Training Grant funds are provided to nonprofit organizations and other eligible entities to recruit and train unemployed and underemployed residents from communities affected by environmental pollution, economic disinvestment, and brownfields and place them in environmental jobs. Since the program was created in 1998, EPA has awarded 456 job training grants totaling over $119.8 million through Brownfield Job Training Programs. To date, excluding pilot program years, approximately 22,400 individuals completed training, and over 16,600 individuals have been placed in careers related to land remediation and environmental health and safety. This equates to a cumulative placement rate of 74 percent. The average starting wage for these jobs over the last five years is approximately $23 an hour.


The information presented in this fact sheet comes from the grant application; EPA cannot attest to the accuracy of the information. The cooperative agreement is negotiated after the selection announcement. Therefore, the funding amount and activities described in this fact sheet are subject to change.
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