The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s (DEQ) Recycling Business Assistance Center (RBAC) has awarded $442,500 in business development grant funding to 10 North Carolina recycling companies.
According to a news release, these grants are projected to create 135 jobs and generate an investment of more than $1.66 million in recycling infrastructure.
“Recycling businesses play an important role in the state’s circular economy, providing high-quality jobs while simultaneously supporting North Carolina’s environmental efforts,” North Carolina DEQ Secretary Elizabeth Biser says. “These grants fund sustainable projects that improve the efficiency and effectiveness of diversion efforts, preventing valuable materials from ending up in landfills.”
North Carolina DEQ reports that both large and small companies from nine counties received grants. Projects include upgrades to material recovery facilities (MRFs), expanding recycling capacity and efficiency for mixed paper and plastics as well as increasing recycling opportunities for other materials, such as solar panels, oyster shells and plastic garden containers. Recipients are required to provide a minimum cash match of 50 percent of the grant award.
The following companies are receiving awards from the North Carolina DEQ RBAC this year:
- Clear Path Recycling in Cumberland County to purchase a silo to provide a buffer capacity for continuity of plant operations;
- Curbside Management in Buncombe County to install an additional optical sorter, conveyor belt and relocate a robot to improve material capture;
- Direct Pack Recycling in Richmond County to purchase a plastic material wash line to recover polyethylene terephthalate (PET) from MRFs in the Southeast for use in its rPET thermoform manufacturing facility;
- Ghost Fleet Oyster Co. in Pender County to purchase food-grade buckets, trash cans, dump trailer and compact tractor to expand oyster shell collection and management from restaurants and large dump sites;
- Material Matters in Randolph County to purchase conveyors, hoppers and box dumpers for material handling to expand plastic recycling capacity;
- Piedmont Disposal in Forsyth County to purchase a conveyor to feed its paper shredder more efficiently;
- Powerhouse Recycling in Rowan County to purchase a semi truck to transport solar panels to its facility for recycling;
- R3cycle in Union County to purchase a steam boiler to remove labels and glue from PET flake to improve quality;
- Simply Green Recycling in Burke County to purchase 65-gallon recycling carts to replace 18-gallon bins to improve efficiency in recycling recovery; and
- Verity Recycling in Randolph County to purchase a truck and storage containers to expand its nursery pot reuse and recycling program.
For the past six years, the North Carolina DEQ has prioritized projects that improve the state’s capacity to domestically process and use mixed paper and nonbottle plastics, reducing the reliance on foreign buyers for these materials.
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