Alabama communities receive $1.7M in recycling grants

The Alabama Department of Environmental Management has presented grants to 16 local government agencies to purchase equipment such as balers and compactors.

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The Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) has awarded $1.7 million in recycling grants for the 2022 fiscal year. The goal of these grants is to enhance recycling and aid economic growth.

According to a news release from ADEM, the money will be used by local governments to purchase equipment such as balers, compactors, recycling trailers, recycling bins and collection vehicles as well as educational and promotional items to encourage recycling and educate citizens. 

The following Alabama communities and organizations have been selected as this year’s grant recipients: 

  • city of Huntsville – $200,000;
  • Madison County Commission – $200,000; 
  • city of Madison – $100,000;
  • Shoals Solid Waste Authority – $120,647; 
  • Scottsboro Solid Waste Department – $172,381; 
  • city of Florence – $171,470; 
  • West Alabama Recycling Partnership – $158,844; 
  • Athens-Limestone Recycling – $144,419; 
  • Keep Oxford Beautiful –$27,000;
  • Albertville-Boaz Recycling Authority – $44,900; 
  • city of Northport – $98,147; 
  • Town of Vance – $21,800; 
  • East Alabama Recycling Partnership – $24,618; 
  • city of Luverne – $32,841;
  • city of Troy – $84,370; and,
  • city of Dothan – $98,560.

The grants will help bolster local recycling programs affected by the pandemic and support education and outreach activities to promote the importance of recycling throughout the respective communities. 

The funds are made possible through the Solid Wastes and Recyclable Materials Management Act, which was passed by the Alabama Legislature in 2008. The legislation imposed a $1 per ton fee on all solid wastes disposed of in Alabama landfills. A portion of the proceeds generated by this fee supported the creation of the Alabama Recycling Fund, which provides the foundation for ADEM to award the recycling grants annually.

The 16 recycling grants being provided this year bring the total amount of recycling grants provided by ADEM to more than $21 million and the number of grant recipients to 214. ADEM says these funds will benefit local communities and help the state reach its solid waste reduction goal of 25 percent.

“This program has been extremely successful over the years,” says ADEM Director Lance LeFleur. “The local communities benefit from the resources the grants provide, the state benefits from the overall reduction in scrap that must be disposed of in landfills and the environment benefits. Every ton of scrap recycled is one ton that won’t have to go into a landfill. That saves on landfill costs and landfill space. Plus, recycling enables reuse of these materials, which conserves resources.”