Indiana awards $1M grant funding to recycling efforts

The Indiana Department of Environmental Management’s (IDEM) Recycling Market Development Program (RMDP) has awarded $1 million in grant funding to organizations that will expand recycling efforts in Indiana. 

According to a news release from IDEM on these grants, the funding was distributed to eight recipients located across the state:

• Dearborn County Solid Waste Management District received $15,212.50 to purchase recycling drop boxes for cardboard collection. The district projects a 25 percent growth of corrugated cardboard recycling through this effort, which will result in an additional 48 tons per year, IDEM reports.
• Elliott Co. of Indianapolis Inc., Marion County, was awarded $18,184.44 to conduct a research project to determine secondary use for polyisocyanurate (PIR) foam, known as ELFOAM, to reduce industrial waste from production. The research plan will prepare samples and obtain data to determine whether pelletized recycled ELFOAM is a viable substitute for lightweight stone aggregate in rooftop and small aesthetic urban garden applications. IDEM says the project has the potential to divert up to 500 tons of scrap from landfills.
• Recycling Works Inc., Elkhart County, was awarded $478,599.06 to upgrade its material recovery facility (MRF) with a new system feed/presort conveyor, old corrugated containers (OCC) screen, glass breaker system, medium polisher system, optical fiber sorter and optical container sorter. The upgrades will increase processing capacity at the MRF and help divert an expected 435 tons of waste from landfills, IDEM reports.
• reTHink Inc., Vigo County, received $10,454 to purchase an injection mold, extruder and sheet press to upcycle plastic materials. The equipment will help divert up to 26,000 pounds of plastic from landfills in the first year. Once fully operational, reTHink expects to achieve a processing capacity of 117,480 pounds, according to the IDEM.
• Richmond Sanitary District, Wayne County, was awarded $220,000 to purchase a recycling truck and additional curbside recycling containers to expand the city’s curbside recycling program to include source-separated carboard collection. The city believes the project will result in doubling the amount of cardboard diverted from the landfill resulting in 328 tons recycled yearly, IDEM says.
• Rush County Solid Waste Management District was awarded $10,050 to purchase a cardboard compactor to capture cardboard in a manner that meets the increase in material while reducing the cost of transportation.
• Technology Recyclers, Marion County, was awarded $97,500 to launch a marketing and education campaign to encourage hazardous electronic-waste recycling. The goal is to increase e-scrap collection by 25 percent or 2,961 tons per year, IDEM says.
• Tri-State Resource Recovery Center (TSRR), Vanderburgh County, received $150,000 to purchase a specialized robotic system to process polypropylene (No. 5 plastic) at its MRF. An additional 20 percent of high-density polyethylene (or No. 2 plastic) and additional 30 percent of polyethylene terephthalate (or No. 1 plastic) is estimated to be recovered during manual sorting thanks to the new equipment increasing efficiency on the sorting line, IDEM reports.

According to IDEM, the awarded $1 million in grant funding will go to projects with an expected total investment of more than $3 million by these organizations. The projects will increase recycling for curbside recyclables, plastics, cardboard and e-scrap from municipal solid waste by almost 6,700 tons per year.