Cities in King County, Wash. collected more than 1.25 million pounds of recyclables for their spring recycling round-ups this year, funded in part by the state of Washington’s Department of Ecology.
The drop-off events in March, April and May attracted 6,815 area residents. Materials delivered included motor oil, antifreeze, scrap metal, electronic waste and other recyclable wastes generally not collected through curbside programs in the county.
"Collection events provide a convenient and affordable outlet for hard-to-recycle items and ensure that the materials are handled in a manner that protects human health and the environment," according to Steven Williams, who helps administer grants for Ecology.
Fourteen cities received $114,000 in Coordinated Prevention Grants from Ecology over the past two years to help stage solid-waste collection events.
The funds come from a state tax paid by wholesale distributors of petroleum and other hazardous materials, under the voter-approved Toxic Cleanup Act of 1989. The cities matched Ecology's grants with $37,900 of their own funds.
Cities that used Ecology funds to support this year's spring clean-up events were Algona, Black Diamond, Burien, Covington, Duvall, Kenmore, Kent, Maple Valley, Newcastle, Normandy Park, Pacific, Redmond, Sammamish and Skykomish.
Ecology awards Coordinated Prevention Grants to local governments every two years. Statewide, Ecology is providing over $19 million to local governments for the 2002-03 biennium. These funds leverage local matching funds to support more than $25 million worth of solid-and moderate-risk waste projects.