Washington County Awards Grant Money

Five local governments in King County, Wash., have received more than $285,000 from the state of Washington’s Department of Ecology for innovative projects to reduce and recycle wastes.

Local governments compete every two years for the grants, known as supplemental funding. Ecology earlier granted $3.1 million in regular two-year allocations to local solid-waste programs in King County for 2004-05.

The King County Solid Waste Division will use $96,657 to convert part of its vehicle fleet to run on ultra-low-sulfur diesel, reducing emissions, soot and other harmful pollutants by up to 90 percent.

Seattle Public Utilities is using $64,781 as part of a targeted media campaign to remind businesses and residents to recycle paper. A city ban on placing paper in regular garbage takes effect in 2006. A projected 2 percent increase in paper recycling by 2006 would divert 16,000 tons of paper from landfills.

A $52,000 award to Public Health-Seattle & King County will help develop policy and procedure guidelines to help local governments implement new state standards for handling solid wastes.

The city of Kirkland will use $50,000 to provide curbside food-waste collection to single-family residents citywide. The project could divert as much as 615 tons of food waste from landfills to be beneficially composted and re-used in area gardens.

The city Bellevue is using a $22,500 grant to host a series of hands-on workshops promoting sustainable building and gardening. The workshops occur at the city's Lake Hills Ranger Station, which was renovated using a $185,000 grant from Ecology in 2002.

The supplemental funding is part of Ecology's Coordinated Prevention Grants program. It comes from a state tax paid by wholesale distributors of petroleum and other hazardous materials, under the voter-approved Model Toxic Control Act of 1989. The five local governments are matching Ecology's supplemental grants with $95,500 of their own funds.