<b>Arizona Awards Recycling Grants</B>

The state of Arizona's Department of Environmental Quality approved about $181,000 for six recycling projects statewide. Glendale received $11,250 to hold a series of six events in city parks during the spring to explain recycling. Glendale is phasing in its curb-recycling program during the next few months to 50,000 households. About 15,000 households are now participating.

Meanwhile, Glendale and Phoenix have joined Mesa, Scottsdale, Tempe, Chandler and Gilbert in a recycling educational campaign using $60,000 in state money. Each community will promote its own program as well as work with the others to focus on the overall benefits of recycling. From November through May, about 2.8 million people will be targeted through television and radio ads, movie theater slides, Web pages and truck signs.

Recycling education will emphasize the importance of conserving natural resources through waste reduction, reuse, recycling and buying recycled products, said David Esposito, state Department of Environmental Quality programs division director.