Indiana Awards Recycling Grant Money

The Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM), under its Recycling Market Development Program, has awarded $525,000 in grant money to six companies in the Hoosier State. The money is part of a $2.6 million commitment designed to improve the environment and increase the number of jobs in the state.

“IDEM is pleased to aid Indiana businesses in their recycling efforts,” says IDEM Commissioner Thomas Easterly. “The Recycling Market Development Program funding improves efficiency in manufacturing, reduces wastes and contributes to the sustainability of Indiana businesses.”

The companies receiving the funding, as well as the amount and a profile of the project are:

• Ace Recycling Inc., Fort Wayne, will receive $50,000 to upgrade and purchase new equipment to automate and support its electronic scrap demanufacturing processes. The R2 (Responsible Recycling Practices) certified company says it is seeking to triple its recycling volume.
• Better World Books, Mishawaka, will receive $100,000 to purchase inventory software and equipment to further automate its system to track book donations and sales. The company’s network collects materials from more than 5,000 colleges, universities, libraries and nonprofit organizations to help reuse or recycle more than 120 million books.
• Green Plus Plastics LLC, Fishers, will receive $150,000 to expand operations to recycle plastic films and bottles into pellets. The additional equipment will allow the company to process dirtier materials such as film from the agriculture sector and lower grades of film waste haulers and retail distributors.
• Legal Chop Shop, Fort Wayne, will receive $25,000 to purchase equipment, including a rack and storage system and pallets for its end-of-life vehicle component reuse operation.
• Midwest Veal, North Manchester, will receive $50,000 to update its current manufacturing facility by expanding reuse and recycling efforts in its partnership with Mead Johnson Nutrition. The equipment will include a compression auger and feed conveyor, allowing the company to reclaim baby formula from packaging and reuse the nutrients in animal feed.
• Plastic Recycling Inc., Indianapolis, will receive $150,000 to purchase and install equipment including a reclaim pelletizing extrusion line, melt filter and water ring pelletizer. The company says it will increase its recycling volume by more than 8 million pounds of plastic scrap, including polystyrene, polypropylene and other resins. Its emphasis will be on producing polystyrene pellets for manufacturing products like cups, plates and packing materials.